MCo founder Shelley Sullivan splits from husband Anthony

Seven years after their lavish Point Piper wedding, ModelCo founder Shelley Sullivan and her husband Anthony have split — but the news has not come as a surprise to many of her friends.

Shelley and Anthony Sullivan on their wedding day seven years ago.

Seven years after their lavish Point Piper wedding, ModelCo founder Shelley Sullivan and her husband Anthony have split.

Sunday Confidential can reveal the marriage ended abruptly two weeks ago, with both the beauty entrepreneur and her accountant husband moving out of their lavish home Leura in Bellevue Hill.

Shelley is believed to have moved into a nearby eastern suburbs hotel and Anthony is apparently overseas.

The split comes as Sullivan has also had a falling-out with former close friend and eyebrow artist Kristin Fisher.

Neither Shelley or Anthony returned Confidential’s phone calls on Saturday.

Sullivan is considered to be one of Australia’s most successful and well-liked businesswomen.

Sullivan with MCo ambassador Celeste Barber.

The well-liked businesswoman with Hailey Bieber.

The 50-year-old, who had a model and talent agency in the 1990s, founded her fast-growing “masstige” beauty brand ModelCo in 2016 and is on track to bank $247m in the 2024 financial year, as quoted in a recent trade magazine.

She launched her brand’s iconic Tan Airbrush In a Can more than 20 years ago. It still sells one bottle every 36 seconds worldwide.

In 2022, MCoBeauty was approached by a large Australian conglomerate that acquired a portion of the business.

We can confirm by June 30 the remainder of the business will be sold for what we believe is a figure in the hundreds of millions.

The journey to building MCo Beauty did not happen overnight.

According to those close to Sullivan, it’s been a more than 20-year journey to get to the point of becoming Australia’s most successful beauty brand.

“Yes, it was only established four years ago, but this brand took her 25-plus years to create” one insider said.

Sullivan’s former close friend Kristin Fisher. Picture: Instagram

Sullivan heads out to dinner at Tanuki restaurant in Double Bay.

Sullivan often mixes with the top end of town, having secured of Elle Macpherson, Hailey Bieber, Celeste Barber and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley as brand ambassadors over the years.

She is a respected member of the community because she has mentored many women looking to turn their ideas into successful businesses.

So liked is Sullivan that a number of people made contact with this column with information regarding her split and with concerns about why the marriage broke down.

Shelley and Anthony had known each other for years and were friends before dating.

When they met, Anthony was an accountant who lived on Sydney’s northern beaches.

In recent years, the couple have lived a high-flying life, travelling first class overseas and living in a $70m eastern suburbs home.

Sadly, the split hasn’t come as a surprise to many who are close to the beauty brand founder, with many voicing their concerns regarding Anthony’s suitability for Shelley when they initially decided to tie the knot.

It is also rumoured they had a falling out with previous business partner Justin Small, who is understood to have tried to alert Shelley to his concerns over her husband-to-be.

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