Melbourne businessman Geoffrey Edelsten accused of ‘frightening’ abuse of Gabi Grecko

Gabi Grecko claims businessman Geoffrey Edelsten was abusive and controlling during their marriage as she takes legal action against his estate.

Gabi Grecko claims Geoffrey Edelsten was having financial problems from the time they married, although she recalls there regularly being ‘piles of cash in the apartment’. Picture: Nathan Dyer

Gabi Grecko has sensationally revealed that her marriage to controversial Melbourne businessman Geoffrey Edelsten was an “abusive, controlling” relationship that pushed her to the point where she threw herself off the balcony of their penthouse apartment in an attempt to end her life.

The New York based artist, aspiring rapper and former exotic dancer was pregnant at the time of the fall in June 2015 and subsequently miscarried, as well as suffering severe injuries including a smashed hip, broken ribs and a collapsed lung that saw her hospitalised for four weeks. At the time it was reported that she had fallen down stairs.

Grecko has also revealed that Edelsten divorced her in November 2019 without her knowledge. She believed up until a few weeks ago she was his widow.

She claims the divorce papers were served on her electronically in September 2019 ending up in two email accounts she had not used for years.

Grecko says until a few weeks ago she believed she was Edelsten’s widow.

Edelsten never told her their marriage had been legally ended.

Grecko, who is also known as Glitta Foxx, Widow Foxx or Gabi Glitta, made the devastating revelations in an affidavit as part of her Supreme Court action seeking a slice of Edelsten’s estate. She is being represented by Michael Clohesy of Clohesy Legal.

She was left nothing in Edelsten’s will following his death in Melbourne in June 2021 aged 78. His estate was valued at just over $1 million.

“Despite our marriage, sadly, Geoffrey was often unpleasant and verbally abusive to me,” she states in the affidavit.

Grecko says Edelsten was ‘often unpleasant and verbally abusive to me’

“He was extremely controlling, constantly wanting to know what I was doing. After a

particularly brutal verbal attack from Geoffrey in 2015, I jumped from the apartment’s

fourth floor balcony.

“I landed hard on the ground and suffered broken ribs, a fractured hip, chronic pain and a collapsed lung. I was hospitalised for four weeks at the trauma centre at The Alfred Hospital in Melbourne.

“I was pregnant at the time of the suicide attempt and as a result of the fall I miscarried.

“Unfortunately, despite my suicide attempt, Geoffrey’s behaviour towards me continued to

be abusive, controlling and quite frightening.”

Edelsten met Grecko in February 2014 via a dating site. They had dinner in New York soon after making contact and the following day Edelsten invited her to Australia.

Grecko says Edelsten’s behaviour was ‘abusive, controlling and quite frightening’.

“I was on a flight to Melbourne about a week later,” she states in the affidavit.

Fifteen days after her first visit she “relocated to Melbourne to live with Geoffrey.”

“At the outset of our relationship, I told Geoffrey that I was unemployed and had no income,” she states.

“He told me that this was OK and not a problem. I was totally dependent on him in a financial sense.”

Edelsten proposed to Grecko with a $50,000 engagement ring in the Flemington Birdcage on Melbourne Cup Day in 2014 and married in June 2015. She was 26, he was 72.

Grecko and Edelsten at the Melbourne Cup where Edelsten proposed.

“The volatility in our relationship was such that, from time to time, I returned to the USA but Geoffrey always asked me to come back,” she claims.

“There were other occasions when I tried to leave Geoffrey and in response he called the police and told them I was trying to take things from the house. He sometimes took my mobile phone and my passport so that I could not leave.”

By the end of 2017 the on again off again relationship was back on.

“Around Christmas 2017, Geoffrey and I had frank discussions about his disrespectful and abusive treatment of me,” Grecko states.

Grecko says she and Edelsten had an on again off again relationship. Picture: Alex Coppel.

“Those discussions were positive and we agreed that we would renew our marriage vows in a Jewish synagogue in New York. Geoffrey asked me to convert to Judaism and I agreed to do so.”

The vow renewal never happened.

“After each of our arguments and disagreements, Geoffrey and I reconciled. This was the case until 2020, about a year before Geoffrey died,” Grecko states.

“For the last year of Geoffrey’s life, we were estranged, although I had hoped that we might reconcile. I had always considered myself married to Geoffrey.”

The couple was estranged for the last year of Edelsten’s life. Picture: Roy VanDerVegt

Grecko claims Edelsten was having financial problems from the time they married, although she recalls there regularly being “piles of cash in the apartment.”

She states that she is struggling to make ends meet.

“Whilst Geoffrey’s last will makes no provision for me, on more than one occasion he told me when we were together that he had signed a will leaving everything to me,” the affidavit states.

She is asking the court to provide her with funds from the estate for “my proper maintenance and support.”

“I am a person for whom my Geoffrey had a moral responsibility to provide for my proper maintenance and support, and that he failed to make adequate provision for me in his last will.”

Clohesy Legal, representing Grecko, launched her claim against Edelsten’s estate in the Victorian Supreme Court in late December under Grecko’s real name of Gabriella Rose Curtis.

The action is listed as being between Gabriella Rose Curtis and Michael John Webb and Lindsay Lawrence Hosking in their capacity as executors of Edelsten’s will.

Edelsten’s ex-wife Brynne Gordon and his son Matthew Beard are also contesting the will, with Gordon having launched legal action in July 2022 and Beard kicking off his action in April 2022.