Widow’s burden after dentist kills himself at Crown
Her reputation as the go-to injector for Perth’s social elite means she has clients reaching as far afield as Sydney’s eastern suburbs.
But Dr Clara Hurst – a close friend of Group Chat regular Kristin Fisher – is now facing her greatest challenge yet, and it could not have come at a more difficult time.
Her husband, dentist-to-the-stars Dr David Hurst, killed himself late last year at the age of 43. The reason he ended his life is unknown.
The British-born founder of luxury dental clinic Perth Dental Rooms left behind a collapsed empire with more than 130 patients ‘in limbo’ without treatment or refunds.
His company fell into liquidation weeks after his sudden passing at Crown Perth on December 10, after which his widow stepped in as caretaker of the business.
Cosmetician Dr Clara Hurst (left) faces a storm that can’t be smoothed over with a few units of Botox after her dentist husband Dr David Hurst (right), killed himself late last year at age 43
The Welsh-born founder of Perth Dental Rooms died at Crown Perth in December. His company fell into liquidation weeks later with 132 patients ‘in limbo’ without treatment or refunds
There is much gossip in Perth’s western suburbs about the Hursts’ seemingly opposite fortunes in recent years – as Clara’s cosmetic empire rapidly grew and expanded, her husband’s business was spiraling.
Clara, a 43-year-old mother of two well known in the WA capital as a glamorous cosmetician, boasts many famous friends, including the aforementioned Ms Fisher, Shelter wellness hub founder Ben Mills, and technology investor Grant Schaffer.
A former dentist herself, Clara transitioned into cosmetic injectables and dermal therapies.
She owns the high-end Cottesloe salon Blanc and also co-founded prescription skincare brand The Secret, which offers customers medical-strength skincare by filling out a questionnaire of their skin type.
The Secret hit $1million in sales in six months and net sales of $2.65million by 2021. Earlier predictions indicated the business would reach $7million in revenue by 2023.
Dr David Hurst first arrived in under a cloud.
The dentist, from the Vale of Glamorgan in south-east Wales, had received a suspended jail sentence in 2012 after admitting 69 counts of theft totalling £15,584 (about AU$41,225 in today’s money) from Britain’s National Health Service.
He relocated permanently to in 2013 where he seemingly had no problem re-registering as a dentist despite his criminal record in the UK.
There is gossip in Perth’s west about the Hursts’ seemingly opposite fortunes in recent years – as Clara’s cosmetic empire rapidly grew and expanded, her husband’s business was spiraling
She owns the high-end Cottesloe salon Blanc (pictured) and also co-founded prescription skincare brand The Secret, which offers customers medical-strength skincare
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EXCLUSIVE
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His widow has not publicly commented on her husband’s criminal past nor the circumstances surrounding the collapse of his business.
We do not suggest Clara had any knowledge of his illegal activity in Britain, nor are we suggesting she was aware her husband was allegedly extracting large sums from his n patients’ prepayments before his sudden death.
Against the backdrop of all this mess, we hear it’s ‘business as usual’ for Clara’s thriving clinic and skincare brand.
The only sign anything is amiss is that she appears to have deactivated her Instagram account.
Game, set and love match?
It’s that time of year again when globe-trotting socialite Kate Champion descends on the city of love to begin her summer jaunt across Europe. Oh, to be rich.
The single mother-of-two, who is the ex-wife of Laser Clinics co-founder Alistair Champion, flew to Paris for the French Open and, true to form, has been lapping up the local culinary delights.
Now, I’d heard whispers for a while that Kate had a new man in her life, and it seems she may have used her tennis holiday to serve up a ‘soft launch’.
Well, either that or she’s just having a bit of fun baiting gossip columnists like yours truly.
She shared a clip to Instagram of herself dining with a shaggy-haired local named Damien at an upmarket brasserie, where they were joined by Vaucluse property developer Barbara Coombes (née Tzaneros).
Little is known about Damien besides the fact he seems to be camera-shy, as evidenced by him covering his face as Kate panned her phone in his direction.
Kate Champion (left), the ex-wife of Laser Clinics co-founder Alistair Champion (right), is turning heads in Paris after jetting off for the French Open
The globe-trotting socialite posted these snaps of a camera-shy Paris local known only as Damien
Rumours of Kate and Alistair’s marital discord emerged when she began to sell her designer wardrobe at a discounted rate on Instagram
But the two do appear to be somewhat intimately acquainted, if Kate’s snap of their overlapping hands at the table is anything to go by.
In recent years, Kate has made a habit of offloading her designer wardrobe at a discounted rate, including items from Valentino, Céline, Chanel, Gucci and Dior.
When I previously asked her why she was selling expensive, barely worn items for such a bargain, she humbly replied: ‘I believe in giving back.’
Kate struck gold when she met her now former husband Alistair working at his Laser Clinics business 2009.
Eight years later, he and co-founder Babak Moini would sell the company to a private equity firm for a tidy $650million.
I first reported their marriage break-up in January last year, but Kate denied the split at the time, dismissing the rumours of marital discord as ‘Sydney people being d**kheads’.
But just seven months later it was revealed Alistair was in a new relationship with socialite Rique Miroshnik, the ex-wife of renowned plastic surgeon Michael Miroshnik, and a former girlfriend of Michael Clarke‘s.
Secret past of Queen Bee Bernie
The phenomenal rise of society queen bee Bernadette Fahey is practically legend in Sydney’s eastern suburbs. But it’s often forgotten she used to be one of Roxy Jacenko’s blonde ‘clones’
The phenomenal rise of new society queen bee Bernadette Sukkar (née Fahey) is practically legend in Sydney’s eastern suburbs.
Today, the fashion-PR-dynamo-turned-fitness-queen-turned-manifestation-guru runs the Emerald City’s most buzzy Pilates studio, Body by Berner.
But before her wildly successful pivot into the wellness space, she spent a decade working in public relations in New York.
And before her move to the Big Apple… no one really knows what she was doing.
In Sydney’s elite enclaves, it’s as if Bernie materialised out of nowhere during Covid -suddenly, she was the most talked-about woman in the east.
Well, Daily Mail sat down this week for an interview with Roxy Jacenko who offered a rare glimpse into Ms Sukkar’s life before her rise to fame.
Bernadette spent a decade working as a fashion PR in the Big Apple (left, at New York Fashion Week in February 2014) before returning to during Covid and reinventing herself as an eastern suburbs Pilates guru
Bernadette married Buildcorp COO Jordan Sukkar (right) at Scots College last year
It turns out a young Bernie worked for Roxy’s now-defunct, Paddington-based Sweaty Betty PR firm before moving overseas, making her one of the many society starlets Jacenko helped launched.
‘I am so proud of Bern,’ says Roxy, who now lives in Singapore.
‘She was a publicist for me at Sweaty Betty in the early days, then left and moved to NYC where she continued in the space.
‘Since coming back to and seeing her develop her own business, it makes me so happy to see.
Bernadette (middle) is behind the buzzy Body by Berner Pilates studio in North Bondi
‘Funnily enough, I looked at an article yesterday to see her photographed picking up rubbish outside her studio and thought to myself, “She learned that from me.”
‘You’re never bigger than the business or more important – just get it done.’
Wise words, indeed.
Bernadette, of course, isn’t the only wide-eyed blonde to graduate from Roxy’s employment and go on to better and brighter things.
Her former right-hand woman Holly Nasser, who worked at Sweaty Betty from 2014 until 2018, is now head of public relations at Merivale.
Her wedding to husband Jake Kaiser was even featured in Vogue, just like Bernie’s nuptials with Buildcorp COO Jordan Sukkar.
- Stay tuned this weekend for an update on what happened to Roxy’s army of Sweaty Betty ‘clones’, exclusively for Mail+ subscribers.
‘s hottest WAG joins OnlyFans clone
”s hottest WAG’ Chelsea Becirevic has joined an OnlyFans clone but promises her content will be classy with no nudity
Sport? in the Group Chat? Surely not! Never fear, we are strictly in WAG territory here.
Chelsea Becirevic, the pneumatic, blonde girlfriend of towering Port Adelaide ruckman Ivan Soldo, did what many in footy circles had long expected her to do this week, and dropped a ‘link in bio’ announcement on her Instagram.
But anyone hoping for a raunchy OnlyFans would be disappointed, as she has instead chosen to sell her wares on Fanfix, a rival platform with the unique selling point of… no nudity.
Good, clean fun from ‘s hottest WAG – all for just $10 a month? Sign us up!
Plus there’s an ‘Ultra VIP’ package for an eye-watering $80 per month, which includes tantalising perks such as unlimited free messaging, ‘random freebies’ and ‘custom requests’.
Her boyfriend, towering Port Adelaide ruckman Ivan Soldo (right), has been ‘super supportive’, says Chelsea, and is ‘always there to help shoot content when I need it’
Chelsea tells us her Fanfix, like a paid version of Instagram, will be where she shares a ‘more real and unfiltered side of my life’ where fans can get to know the real her.
Ivan, she says, has been ‘super supportive’ and is ‘always there to help shoot content when I need it’. (It’s a tough job – but someone’s got to do it!)
The model also reveals she and Ivan are launching a brand together in October which they have been working on for more than a year now. So watch this space.
Estate swindler’s proof of life after vanishing act
She was a no-show at court last month, just weeks after she was declared bankrupt for a second time.
But celebrity wedding planner Kashaya Williams didn’t seem to be keeping a low profile when I spied her enjoying a night out in the eastern suburbs last weekend.
Dressed in a black lace mini dress, the single mother looked to be having the time of her life at Bondi watering hole The Royal, the ramshackle pub attached to Totti’s.
Celebrity wedding planner Kashaya Williams (right, with her ex-husband Evan Williams) was a no-show at court court last month, sparking fears for her welfare. But, worry not, I found her
We last heard she was dating cryptocurrency entrepreneur and St Joseph’s College old boy Michael Dunworth, but she now looks to be single and ready to mingle.
Kashaya was infamously gifted a $900,000 house with ocean views from the estate of her late grandfather, the famous radiologist Alan Grant, based on a 50-word letter that a judge later accepted was a forgery.
While it was never established whether Kashaya or her mother Nerez Grant was responsible for forging the letter, Justice John Slattery ruled that Kashaya had obtained the property in a ‘dishonest and fraudulent scheme’.
The former florist was declared bankrupt and had her assets seized in the wake of the decision as other relatives tried to recover their share of the inheritance.
In March, she was declared bankrupt yet again.
I spied the elusive Ms Williams enjoying a night out in the eastern suburbs last weekend
The single mother looked to be having the time of her life at Bondi watering hole The Royal
Williams was due for sentencing at Waverley Local Court in early April after she missed an earlier sentencing date for a series of unpaid fines and driving offences due to ‘illness’.
I reported six weeks ago there were concerns for her welfare after her court no-show and reports from neighbours she had not been seen at her three-bedroom Double Bay home for ‘some time’.
So you can imagine my relief to see her alive and well at The Royal sipping schooners with a gaggle of single gals. I was worried for a moment!
Martha tut-tuts Totti’s
Martha Stewart rocked up to a midday booking at Totti’s in Bondi, only to be told by the modelesque Merivale staff that her table wasn’t ready yet. The horror!
We reported on Wednesday that culinary queen and former jailbird Martha Stewart had dined at Totti’s Bondi, the preferred restaurant of the eastern suburbs in-crowd.
A diner who eavesdropped on Martha’s lunch said she loved the food, especially the antipasto and wood-fired bread.
But it wasn’t a flawless dining experience.
Speaking later that evening during an ‘In Conversation With’ event as part of the Vivid Festival, Martha had a bit of a whinge about the quality of service.
It turns out the celebrity chef had a noon booking but when she and her team showed up at the Italian restaurant, their table wasn’t ready.
America’s Homemaker-in-Chief had to wait on the street as the modelesque Merivale staff scrambled to get everything prepared.
It’s the sort of thing sure to rankle a famous perfectionist like CEO Justin Hemmes.
And finally… guess who, don’t sue!
This influencer never shows her husband or even mentions his name on social media – despite oversharing almost every aspect of her life.
At first, fans thought it was cute that she respected his wishes to lead a private life.
Now, they’re not so sure.
Outrageous rumours are doing the rounds about the husband’s past and his family – including a lot of lies and misinformation.
Maybe it’s time he came out of the shadows – if only to set the record straight.
- The subject of this blind item is not mentioned or pictured elsewhere in this article
- Additional reporting by Jo Scrimshire
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