Pixie Skase's road from riches to a rental
EXCLUSIVE: PIXIE Skase is leading a no-frills life in Melbourne, five months after emerging from Spanish exile.
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EXCLUSIVE: PIXIE Skase is leading a no-frills life in Melbourne, five months after emerging from Spanish exile.
In stark contrast to her previously luxurious lifestyle, the wife of the late Christopher Skase is now living modestly in Toorak.
The $6 million Majorca mansion has been replaced by a $560-a-week rental flat.
And high-society living has made way for casual lunches, supermarket shopping and time spent with her grandchildren.
Mrs Skase, 67, moved back to Melbourne in February - 18 years after fleeing Australia to Spain with her fugitive businessman husband.
During a flying visit to Melbourne last year, Mrs Skase said she had been "excited to come back home".
Since making the move permanent, Mrs Skase has been welcomed back into the tight-knit Toorak Village community. The mother-of-three was given a tour of the exclusive shopping strip by close friend John Graham, partner of late florist and Toorak identity Kevin O'Neill.
"Pixie has been gone so long, so John brought her around to introduce her to everyone," said a new acquaintance.
Mrs Skase has moved into a humble brown-brick unit, and despite the dramatic downsizing, neighbours said there were still signs of more lavish taste with expensive furniture and vases.
But photographs of her husband, who died in 2001, took pride of place in the home, they said.
One neighbour said Mrs Skase was "very friendly, but she really just keeps to herself".
She is regularly seen walking her beloved dog around Toorak's tree-lined streets or lunching with friends in local cafes.
A close friend said: "Pixie was a high flyer . . . and now that's all gone. And she's back in the same town. She never complains, but coming back to reality can be a hard thing in life."
Mrs Skase fled with her husband in 1991 after the collapse of his Qintex business empire. Skase's corporate debts totalled $1.7 billion, while his personal losses tallied $170 million.