Julie Bishop’s rumoured beau hard launches romance with Melbourne socialite
The entrepreneur who famously denied dating Julie Bishop has stepped out at Melbourne’s NGV Gala with another glamorous leading lady.
Three years after he attended the NGV Gala with rumoured partner Julie Bishop, Sydney-based entrepreneur Luke Hepworth stepped out with another glamorous leading lady on Saturday night.
Hepworth attended the NGV Gala, launching the Westwood/Kawakubo exhibition, on the arm of Melbourne socialite Amanda Smorgon.
The mum of three, part of one of Melbourne’s most affluent families, is “very happy” after dating Hepworth for the past four months.
Smorgon, also a fundraiser, public speaker and co-president of the United Israel Appeal Women’s Division, was previously in a relationship with tour promoter Christo Van Egmond.
In August, she farewelled her South Yarra house, with the Victorian-era home selling for an undisclosed price after listed with $5-$5.5m expectations.
She and Hepworth posed for pictures on the navy carpet in their first public outing together.
He and Bishop had been seen at a string of events back in 2022 but he shut down rumours they were an item and insisted they were just friends.
“I am not in a relationship,’’ he said.
“She is just a good friend of mine and a wonderful human, so we have been to a couple of charity events.”
Bishop separated from her former partner, Sydney property developer David Panton, in July 2022 after eight years together.
Originally published as Julie Bishop’s rumoured beau hard launches romance with Melbourne socialite
