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After months of speculation Tess Alexander has confirmed she has upped roots and moved to Melbourne. WE’VE GOT THE SCOOP
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A fixture of Brisbane’s social, fashion and wellness scene and former Miss World, Tess Alexander, has revealed she has upped roots and moved to Melbourne after months of posting from the southern capital sparked rumours of a departure.
Speaking with Scoop insiders, Alexander says that leaving a city that she adores and that she’s “so proud of” had left her really emotional.
“You should have seen me driving over the Story Bridge for the last time – I was sobbing!” she says. “Thankfully, my family is on the Gold Coast, and I’m still running my corporate health and wellness business in Brisbane city, so I’ll always have one foot in Queensland. You can’t keep me away. No matter where life takes me, I will always be Brisbane’s biggest cheerleader. I love that the world will soon get to experience what makes the city so special when the Olympics arrive in just a few short years.”
With all that love, it was clear something pretty special must have guided her to make the move, and Alexander says she was presented with career opportunities she couldn’t pass up.
“My partner’s HQ is in Melbourne and all roads finally aligned for us to make the move,” she says.
“Every day feels like an adventure, and I can’t wait to see what Melbourne has in store!”
Power couple’s $2.5m fixer-upper
A former sporting power couple have made big moves to formally launch their boutique property development company as they start work on a $2.5m inner-west fixer-upper.
Kayla Boyd and her husband, former Bronco Darius, have revealed the details of their first official development project under new company Deseno, set to launch in the coming week, after years flipping their own homes into multimillion-dollar dreams.
Their first development? A dated, pre-war home on Collingwood St in Paddington, which will see an unbelievable transformation, if plans are to be believed.
The existing four-bed, two-bath home sitting on an impressive 708sq m hill block will be raised, partially demolished and flipped into a five-bed entertainer’s paradise, spread across three distinct levels, complete with expansive city views.
As it is a heritage home, built in the 1930s, the couple will have to adhere to strict guidelines on demolition and renovation, but Kayla says they plan to take full advantage of the site’s history.
“We’ve done two pre-war homes, House of Hendra and Vogue Haus, and it’s really exciting to see how far you can push the boundaries while maintaining and honouring their heritage,” she says.
“In those previous homes we’ve set a really strong foundation for homes that feel luxury, but keeping within that heritage scope and maintaining their original charm.”
According to the development application submitted to Brisbane City Council, the facade and upper level of the home will be mostly retained and raised, while the remainder of the undercroft, carport and back deck will be demolished.
Two lower levels will be built, as well as a terrace for each level, and a pool alongside the ground floor pool house.
“We did have some height restrictions, having to stay below that 9.5m while still being able to maximise the view which we have achieved,” she says.
“That centre level is the entertaining realm, which is where that view and outlook is going to be the most incredible.”
Kayla says the aesthetic will be in line with their previous builds, as the pair hope for their design to become instantly recognised as a Deseno build. Though keeping mum on the specifics of the design, Kayla says it is in partnership with Rogue Architects and CHS Building, who were behind their Grange property, Mala, which sold last year for $4.55m, as well as maintaining partnerships with previous suppliers for the interior fit-out.
She also says they hope to eventually transition to larger scale projects, but are taking it day by day.
Familiar face to hit screens
Brisbane foodies will recognise a familiar face on their TV screens in the coming months as our homegrown favourite Alana Lowes sets out to take the MasterChef crown, 14 years after her first attempt.
In the 2011 series of the Channel 10 cooking comp, Ms Lowes managed to chef her way to third place, with the competition launching her incredibly successful cooking career, but says this time she’s in it to win it.
From travelling the world as food and travel writer and TV presenter, working as a food stylist and photographer, to launching her own sauce range in Coles supermarkets, Ms Lowes has just about done it all, except claim that title.
Sparks’ ‘Hollywood’ home
International DJ Will Sparks has let slip that a Hollywood blockbuster has taken over his former home on the Gold Coast. The comedy Spa Weekend, starring Isla Fisher, Leslie Mann, Michelle Buterau and Anna Faris, has started filming in the five-bedroom, four-bath multimillion-dollar property in Broadbeach. In a streetside interview with Graya. TV – a project by design, development and construction company GRAYA – Sparks says his former Broadbeach Waters home had just sold.
“I live in Broadbeach, 12 Rio Vista Drive (sic, Blvd). We’ve just sold it and it’s in settlement,” he says. “They’re filming … it’s like a Hollywood film. So if you drive past you’ll see some trucks.” The movie follows three best friends whose luxury weekend escape descends into chaos.
The former Brisbane local reminisced on another former property, his $2.3m home at 192 Baroona Rd, Paddington where he lived with his long-term partner Brooklyn Clancy.
“It was called Onyx, and it was probably the best home I’ve ever owned,” he said. The sale of the home and the couple no longer following each other on social media has fans questioning what’s going on.
Corby has blood donation in the bag
Queensland’s most infamous former prison inmate, Schapelle Corby, has become a poster girl for the Red Cross blood bank.
Corby took to Instagram this week to post a pic of herself giving blood, clutching a heart-shaped “we give life” sign and asking her 160,000-plus followers “have you booked your next blood donation”.
She reveals she shares the rare O negative blood type with just 7 per cent of the population which is highly sought for transfusions. Followers paid tribute to the one-time drug trafficker – who spent almost 10 years in Kerobokan jail for smuggling several kilos of cannabis on to the Indonesian holiday island in her boogie board cover – for her blood donation.
“You’ve been through so much hardship but you want to send love into the world … you’re quite the amazing person,” one wrote.
Ryan’s bridge too far
Former stars of British reality show Made in Chelsea, married couple Louise Thompson and Ryan Libbey, have revealed Libbey was once arrested and fined for diving naked into the Brisbane River.
On their podcast He Said, She Said this week, the 34-year-old told his fiancee that on a gap year, he got drunk at Streets Beach.
“Me and my buddy were just following the herd, had a great day on the beach … we went over the bridge and saw these two local guys and they just dropped and just f..king launched themselves off. I, being the plonker I am just followed him straight in, took off my jeans and top … we scrambled up these rocks to get out of the river. Blue lights start to flash on the bridge.”
Libbey describes feeling like he could outrun the police “semi-drunk”. “They interview us, bill us with this $500 fine each … drive us back to this bridge … we put our clothes on and go clubbing.”
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