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An Olympic golden girl who has been a Brisbanite for what seems like forever has upped stakes and headed for the Coast. WE’VE GOT THE SCOOP
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Four-time Olympic gold-medallist swimmer Cate Campbell has announced her engagement to long-time partner, Adam Kerr, in a post made on Instagram.
Photos shared with Campbell’s 114,000 followers show the couple with glowing smiles as they sit on a Sunshine Coast beach, with Campbell’s hand now sporting a fine diamond engagement ring.
The world record holder describes her surprise and joy when Kerr popped the question as they sat watching a sunrise on a Sunshine Coast beach last Saturday.
“Adam turned and said, ‘Cate, I have a question for you,’ ” Campbell recounted.
“I thought maybe he was going to ask what kind of plants to put in our gardens, what kind of dog we should get, or what we should make for dinner.
“Instead, he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. Of course, I said ‘yes’…(and cried a lot).”
Campbell told media in 2023 the pair had met in Brisbane, but briefly broke up so Campbell could move to Sydney to pursue swimming.
Kerr, an experienced geologist and geotechnical engineer, stayed in the Sunshine State.
When Campbell finally moved back to Brisbane, the pair got back together and have supported one another as the former Olympian transitioned from the pool to the auditorium, launching a career as a. motivational speaker, commentator, and author.
Never far from the water, the pair have traded the city for the coast, making the move north to the Sunshine Coast’s Dickie Beach where they’re now planning on making their happily ever after.
I SLEPT WITH MEN, THEN I FOUND GOD
Tammy Hembrow’s younger sister has dropped a bombshell confession, revealing she spiralled into a toxic world of drugs, booze, and casual sex, admitting she “slept with men” to intentionally punish herself before turning to Jesus.
In a jaw-dropping 41-minute interview with Christian platform Deliverance Down Under, Starlette Thynne, 25, said the pressures of fame and Instagram popularity drove her into a dark cycle of self-destruction.
“I’d put myself in these compromising positions, like sleeping with men that, like, I shouldn’t have slept with when I was really intoxicated, because I knew that it would hurt me and I knew that I would hate myself for it,” Thynne revealed.
Describing her former lifestyle as a “mess”, Thynne admitted she regularly took cocaine, abused alcohol, and smoked weed “every single day” to numb the pain behind her glamorous online persona.
“I would get so mad and I’d end up, like, hitting myself... I lost so much weight. I became violent,” she said.
“I just didn’t like who I was. I became really content with the idea of falling asleep and never waking up again.”
But Thynne claims a divine encounter changed everything — triggering a dramatic transformation that pulled her out of the depths of addiction and despair.
“I read about this God who just takes away your past,” she said.
“Like you’re just gonna take away my past and love me and give me a future and a purpose, and you’ve been waiting for me my whole life. I was like, What is this?”
After hitting rock bottom and ending a toxic relationship, the former influencer deleted her racy social media content, stopped partying, and even gave up paid bikini and lingerie brand deals to pursue a life of faith.
“I went one day [to the beach] and I couldn’t even get off my towel,” she said. “I feel so bad for the people behind me that have to look at me in this piece of floss.”
Now baptised and regularly evangelising on Brisbane’s nightclub strips, Thynne says she’s found her true calling.
“There’s nothing else in this world that is more important than giving your time, giving yourself, giving your will to God,” she said. “I never want to go back to the darkness, the heaviness, the confusion, the drugs, the addiction, the low self-worth.”
The emotional interview ends with Thynne praying for viewers and declaring she’s “married to Jesus”, adding: “Everything else in life has become tasteless, meaningless, other than God.”
MASS SHAKE-UP FOR NINE AFTER SHOCK RESIGNATION
Nine News Queensland is set for another major shake-up, with insiders revealing European correspondent Jessica Millward is poised to replace Tim Arvier as the network’s state political reporter.
Millward, currently based in London with her husband and newly appointed Nine co-anchor Joel Dry, is expected to return to Brisbane later this year to take up the coveted role — one of the station’s most senior and high-profile reporting positions.
It follows Arvier’s shock resignation earlier this month after more than two decades at Nine, jumping ship to lead the Queensland Government’s crisis communications team in a move that stunned colleagues and rival networks alike.
While Nine has yet to make an official announcement, multiple sources within the Mount Coot-Tha newsroom have confirmed Millward is the frontrunner for the job.
Her current contract as the network’s European correspondent is due to wrap up in the coming months, and she is expected to step straight into the political role upon her return to Brisbane.
In the meantime, short-term duties will be shared between Abbey Geran and Lily Greer until Millward’s homecoming.
The appointment is already sparking internal scrutiny, given her husband’s rapid promotion to the 6pm anchor desk earlier this year — a move that blindsided much of the newsroom and reportedly left veteran reporters Josh Bavas and Paul Taylor overlooked.
In what some insiders are calling a “strategic play,” Bavas is now widely expected to be offered the European correspondent role as a form of compensation — a prestigious post, but not the anchor chair many believed he deserved.
“The Dry-Millward duo are clearly being positioned as the face of the network,” one source said.
“It’s raised eyebrows, no question.”
Dry is expected to officially join the Nine News desk alongside Melissa Downes in August.
BOLDEST MOVE YET
She went from pouring drinks on a luxury yacht to launching one of her own — and now Below Deck breakout Aesha Scott is navigating her boldest course yet.
The Kiwi-born chief stew-turned-entrepreneur is riding high on the success of Drop, her new alcoholic coconut water venture with Moon Dog Brewery, which is now stocked in more than 250 Dan Murphy’s stores across Australia and poised to expand into the US.
“I always wondered why more people didn’t use [coconut water] as a mixer,” she told Scoop.
“When Moon Dog approached me, I knew that with the market being so saturated with beers and seltzers, this was the perfect opportunity to give coconut water its moment!”
The 3.7% ABV drink, crisp and mid-strength with no added flavours, was crafted with Aesha and fiance Scott Dobson at the helm — and the pair are already workshopping seasonal flavour drops and eyeing a US launch later this year.
But the business isn’t the only thing she’s planning.
The I’m A Celebrity alum is also prepping for her wedding — a self-organised, Thai-catered bash in her New Zealand hometown of Tauranga, complete with a sax-playing DJ and post-reception Maccas run. “I just took my ADHD medication, sat down at my laptop, found vendors I liked and sent off a bunch of emails to book them in,” she said.
“The hard part which we still haven’t done, is the guest list! I have so many wonderful friends all over the world,” she said.
While Aesha’s life now includes red carpets and global fan encounters, she admits she’s still most recognised for her stint as Chief Stew. But the pivot from yachtie to presenter was no accident.
“I always knew I’d work in TV, I just didn’t know how, but what I did know was that it would come to me” she said.
“One day, six years into yachting, my yachty friend got in touch and told me about this show they make about our jobs.
“I applied and got it, and that was Season 4 of the Med! The moment I stepped on the boat I got this energy wave roll over me and I was like ‘whoa’, this is that moment I knew would come my whole life.”
And while she’s loving life in the Med, Aesha said she still holds fond memories of her time filming Below Deck Down Under in Far North Queensland — calling it “drop dead gorgeous” and one of the most scenic places she’s worked.
Next on her bucket list? Hosting a show like The Amazing Race — a goal that’s closer than ever, as she and Dobson have just wrapped filming Amazing Race Australia together.
“My dream is to get into presenting! That’s partly why I have done Below Deck for so long.” she said.
HEAD CHEF SIGNS OFF
If like us you’ve ever had the joy of devouring a meal at beloved Woolloongabba cafe Morning After, this week’s announcement that head chef Bowyo Muangsong will be leaving the team likely had you shedding tears into your perfectly made cup of 5 Senses coffee.
The team at morning after made the announcement on Wednesday that after an incredible six years in the kitchen, Bowyo would be embarking on her “next chapter” and would finish up in the coming months.
Its not goodbye forever though for hungry Brisbanites, with the talented chef expected to remain working at the cafe’s sister venue Ping Pong in Newstead (in which she is a partner) and at her and her brother’s own restaurant Ma Chim Thai in Paddington.
Phew. Meanwhile, Morning After is on the hunt for a new chef to celebrate their 10th anniversary and we can’t wait to see which incredible talent they take on next.
DANCING WITH J-LO
Talk about dancing with the stars – Gold Coast dancer Kira Stray has scored the biggest gig of her career, up on stage alongside J-Lo.
The 25-year-old former Palm Beach-Currumbin High dance excellence student is among a talented troupe of dancers performing with the Latina sensation in front of hundreds of thousands of fans during her current European tour.
The Gold Coaster, who started dancing at the age of three, landed the big break after relocating to LA last year following years of grind to get a US work visa.
She was chosen to dance with Lopez for her
“This is Me … Live” tour last year but it was cancelled amid the singer’s relationship breakdown with Hollywood star Ben Affleck.
Kira, who also performs with hit American singer-songwriter Bebe Rexha, is also looking at more work with J-Lo when the megastar starts a new residency at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas later this year.
Originally published as The Scoop: Qld celebrity, sport, hospitality and business news and gossip
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