Welcome to The Group Chat with Lucy Manly, where Australia’s most trusted society insider shares the hottest gossip BEFORE it makes the news.
Sam’s school reunion.
Champagne wasn’t the only thing filled with air at the 30-year reunion of the Kincoppal-Rose Bay Class of 1994.
The old ladies of KRB (as the prestigious Catholic school is known) gathered for a long, drunken lunch at the Woollahra Hotel on October 12. The center of attention was, naturally, the most famous student in her class, Samantha Armytage.
I have it on impeccable authority that Sam was regaling her schoolmates with stories of her happy marriage to Bowral businessman Richard Lavender.
How surprising! Because just a few weeks later he would announce that the couple, who married on New Year’s Eve 2020, had “amicably” separated.
The Kincoppal-Rose Bay Class of 1994 met for a long lunch in Woollahra on 12 October. The center of attention was, naturally, the most famous student in his class, Sam Armytage.
I have it on impeccable authority that Sam (left) was regaling her school friends with stories of her happy marriage to Bowral businessman Richard Lavender.
Perhaps the TV star, who recently left Channel Seven to Nine, was trying to keep up appearances in front of her happily married peers with children?
Or maybe he just wanted to protect his exclusive breakup interview with The Daily Telegraph (which we ruined anyway – sorry Sam!)
A guest at the meeting tells me: ‘She was a little “bragging” about her happy marriage and upcoming travel plans. It was like he had something to prove… there were more than a few girls who rolled their eyes.’
It is understood that Sam had long vacated the marital property in the Southern Highlands by the time of the school reunion.
Around 40 women attended the meeting, traveling to Sydney from across the country, and their group chat “exploded” when news of Sam’s marriage breaking up broke..
‘Yes, Richard and I have separated. “All breakups are difficult, but they are made somewhat easier by the fact that they are amicable and we wish each other the best,” Sam said in a statement last Friday.
‘I appreciate you respecting our privacy. “I will not comment further.”
Sam, who was recently announced as host of senior dating show The Golden Bachelor, is believed to be holing up at her Sydney investment property since her split from Lavender.
How surprising! Because just a few weeks later he would announce that the couple, who married on New Year’s Eve 2020, had “amicably” separated.
The former couple were last pictured together at Sydney Airport in September after a trip together to Noosa to celebrate their 48th birthday.
Sam’s strained relationship with Lavender is believed to Adult daughters Grace and Sasha played a role in the breakdown of the marriage.
The socialite’s funeral fashion surprises
The mysterious death of an 18-year-old in Indonesia has shocked the elite of Sydney’s eastern suburbs.
Aston Looker, the model son of designer Amanda Lennon, was found dead in a Bali pool on August 22, but the tragedy was not reported until last week.
His distraught mother told friends that she only found out about her son’s death (and his funeral) through a text message from her ex-husband, Saxon Looker.
“His ex cremated him before arriving in Bali,” said a friend. “He got a text from Saxon that said, ‘Aston cremated.’
But that’s not the end of the story.
While Aston’s death and hasty cremation remain a mystery, some strange details of his funeral have come to light.
Aston Looker (left), the model son of designer Amanda Lennon (right), was found dead in a pool in Bali on August 22.
Aston’s death and hasty cremation remain a mystery
Amid the tears and tributes at Aston’s funeral, more than one eyebrow was raised at a guest’s supposedly “disrespectful” attire..
My phone blew up last week with Multiple sources claim that eastern suburbs ‘delicious mum’ and Real Housewife of Sydney star Victoria Montano had arrived at her godson Aston’s funeral… with her ‘riding gear’.
“He was wearing jodhpurs and (riding) boots; he came straight from horseback riding,” a source told me.
“You’d think she’d have the decency to put on a dress for the occasion, not wear her equestrian gear.”
When contacted for comment, the mother of two He did not remember what he was wearing to the funeral, which was held on September 6 at St Joseph’s College in Hunters Hill.
Sydney housewife Victoria Montana is said to have attended her godson’s funeral dressed for horseback riding. When contacted for comment, the mother-of-two could not remember what she was wearing to the service, which took place on September 6 at St Joseph’s College in Hunters Hill.
“I don’t know if that’s the case,” he said.
“I got a call from his mother last week saying she didn’t want me to talk to any journalists (about Aston). Sorry, I can’t help you, darling.
According to Sydney socialites, Aston’s mother quarreled with Mrs Montano over the outfit faux pas, but the keen equestrian was quick to dispel the rumour.
‘I’m not sure who told you this. Amanda and I have been friends since I was 28 years old. We spoke four days ago.
Montano paid tribute to his godson on social media, describing him as a “wasted life” who was “taken too soon.”
“Asty was a complete juxtaposition: visually, a perfect face, a jaw that looked chiseled from marble, broad shoulders, courtesy of countless hours of surfing,” he wrote on Instagram.
‘It was his vulnerability that attracted you. His sensitivity. His creative mind, which undoubtedly worked all day at a million miles per hour.
Amanda Lennon told friends she only found out about her son’s death (and his funeral) through a text message from her ex-husband, Saxon Looker (pictured).
Amid the tears and tributes at Aston’s funeral, many eyebrows were raised at Sydney housewife Victoria Montano’s “disrespectful” outfit.
‘He wore his heart on his sleeve. On the occasions when we had time for a deeper conversation, I always noticed that he was able to express himself like no other man I knew. Asty had texture, he had depth.
“This juxtaposition of masculinity and vulnerability was topped by what his mother Amanda liked about him: a perfectly tuned and timed sense of humor. The ability to be witty and humble at the same time. There aren’t many who can make you laugh like this young.
And finally…guess who, don’t sue
She has become a reference fashion designer thanks to her feminine and flirtatious silhouettes.
But it is not his success in the rag business that is talking. The group chat hears that this Sydney fashionista, who I hasten to add, is not Amanda Lennon, treated herself to a not-so-subtle bottom facelift earlier this year.
The cosmetic procedure, known as a rhytidectomy or “jowl lift,” is a surgical operation that tightens and lifts the skin of the lower face and neck.
It has become so popular that a newly single yummy mummy turned influential fashion designer is also rumored to have gone under the knife.