Eastern Suburbs heavyweights Nicole Gazal O’Neil and Charles Mellick’s $1 million high society stoush

The former friends are two of the Eastern Suburbs’s richest, most powerful and popular people. So why have a Real Housewife and a luxury property developer fallen out?

Nicole Gazal O’Neil is in the midst of a legal battle with former friend and renowned luxury property developer Charles Mellick.

It’s the high society stoush between two of the Eastern Suburbs most wealthy and powerful people.

Real Housewives of Sydney glamour Nicole Gazal O’Neil is in the midst of a legal battle with former friend and renowned luxury property developer Charles Mellick.

Late last year that Mellick’s company, Fortis, announced a partnership with globally recognised luxury home furnishings purveyor, Restoration Hardware to open The Gallery at Bay St, Double Bay in 2025.

The proposed 3395 square metre, five-level building is set to be Restoration Hardware’s (RH) first retail and design gallery in the Asia-Pacific Region, and has an end value of $140 million.

It was reportedly Gazal O’Neil who secured the massive coup, thanks to the mother-of-two’s close relationship with RH founder, billionaire Gary Friedman (who recently married Australian DJ Bella Hunter) and his family.

The Real Housewives of Sydney star, Nicole Gazal O'Neil Picture: Supplied/Foxtel

Initially, Gazal O’Neil was negotiating to put RH in her own development, but when that was not possible, she introduced them to Mellick on the basis she would be remunerated by her friend for the valuable introduction.

Gazal reportedly worked on securing the deal over a five-year period and claims she was owed a $1 million ‘leasing commission’.

Once the deal was done, Mellick reportedly offered Gazal just $15,000, which angered the former Miss Australia, who has seen no choice but to engage with lawyers.

The altercation reportedly came to a head at a party in Palm Beach earlier this year.

Fortis director Charles Mellick. Supplied

Gazal O’Neil, who runs a vitamin business named BonPatch, wouldn’t respond to Confidential’s questions yesterday, however she has engaged solicitor John DeMestre.

“Both have lawyered up and it will go to court unless he pays,” one insider said.

DeMestre looks after a number of Sydney Housewives contestants including Krissy Marsh and Victoria Montano.

Mellick’s camp said: “It is in the hands of lawyers”.

Gazal O’Neil, who is married to hedge fund manager Adam O’Neil and mother to two daughters, Neve and Nawal, is one of the original members of the Real Housewives of Sydney franchise.

Real Housewives of Sydney, from left, Victoria Montano, Krissy Marsh, Terry Biviano, Dr Kate Adams, Nicole O'Neil, Sally Obermeder and Caroline Gaultier. Picture: Max Mason-Hubers

Meanwhile Mellick, who has previously been linked to Sydney socialite Ellie Aitken, is the founder of financier, Pallas Group.

He is currently attempting to revamp Sydney’s Double Bay.

“I’ve spent most of my life in Double Bay, and I’ve watched it lose its appeal since the day they lost their cinemas in the mid-’80s,” he has said previously.

“That all shut down when Westfield opened. It lost its appeal for about three decades.”

“I want to try to recreate the village atmosphere – when it was an exciting place to work, shop and eat.”

Pallas Group has previously been ‘probed’ by corporate regulator ASIC, regarding serious concerns from investigators.

It is believed the regulator was concerned about the company’s disclosures to investors, with memorandums reporting sales but failing to disclose their links to related parties, while rebates on sales failed to be included in calculations of total returns from a string of projects.

ASIC was reportedly weighing up several Pallas property schemes it had concerns about.

The Saturday Telegraph is not suggesting any wrongdoing, only that the regulator raised concerns about the property group’s activities.

The ‘probe’ has since been dropped, with senior managers deciding the boutique property operator’s investors could look after themselves.