Jessica Mauboy’s long-time stylist left behind in singer’s reboot

With a new single and a new look, singer Jessica Mauboy has taken control of her career again, as well as the tight-knit team she works with, several months after her shock exit from Sony.

On Friday, The Voice Australia coach released Glow, her first single since signing with Warner Music. The disco-infused track represents a change of direction for the singer, who started her career as a teenager and rose to fame as a contestant on Australian Idol in 2006.

Mauboy’s high-end fashion looks have set tongues wagging since she enlisted the styling expertise of Jessica dos Remedios instead of her long-time stylist Mikey Ayoubi.

“I still work with Jess,” Ayoubi snapped down the phone when asked about his creative absence from Mauboy’s new single.

“My family were in hospital – that’s why I didn’t style her,” he said.

Jessica Mauboy has enlisted a new stylist for her latest single, Glow. What does that mean for her long-time stylist Mikey Ayoubi?Credit:

Emerald City can reveal Remedios will replace Ayoubi as Mauboy’s stylist when she returns as coach on The Voice Australia next year, news that was confirmed by a Warner Music spokesperson on Friday.

“Jessica dos Remedios was responsible for the styling of Jess for the Glow project, and yes, she will be working with Jess on The Voice,” a Warner spokesperson said.

“Jess and Mikey are great friends [and] will be working on more things together in the future. Right now we are focusing on current projects and the release of Glow.”

It is no secret the pair have had a tumultuous working relationship over the years. In 2015, the Darwin-raised songstress fired Ayoubi (before later rehiring him) after an infamous wardrobe debacle at the Melbourne Cup. The fashion saga led Mauboy to pull out of singing the national anthem after she was dressed in shoes from David Jones when Myer sponsored the event.

New housewife embroiled in bar altercation

It wasn’t all air kisses and champagne at Melbourne’s society hotspot Botanical Hotel last Friday evening. Blonde bombshell Simone Elliott, the latest yummy-mummy to join the cast of Real Housewives of Melbourne, made a dramatic entrance at the South Yarra venue after a confrontation with her former partner and his female associate.

Melbourne’s newest “housewife”, Simone Elliott, was caught up in a public dispute at Melbourne hotspot Botanical Hotel.Credit: Instagram

Emerald City is told the mother-of-two was embroiled in a war of words with her ex and his female colleague before the confrontation turned physical. Security footage viewed by Emerald City shows the glamorously dressed housewife, 42, sought out the pair amid the crowded bar before confronting them and sparking a heated discussion.

Witnesses say the altercation turned physical when the female associate corrected Elliott after she claimed to be the fiancee of her former partner, from whom she split (for a second time) in April. The reality star slapped the associate before following her ex around the bar, while the victim was consoled by a bystander who had witnessed the altercation.

“It is a private family matter and I don’t wish to comment further,” Ms Elliott said via her Foxtel publicist.

Despite being promoted as a resident of Toorak for her appearance on the show, Emerald City is told Elliott lives far from the 3142 postcode, shacking up with her mother on the Mornington Peninsula.

“It’s only temporary,” a Foxtel spokesperson said, adding that Elliott did reside there during filming.

Kick up your heels, Sydney’s back!

Could Sydney’s midweek nightlife be coming back to life? The dining room of Matteo restaurant in Double Bay played backdrop to some of Sydney’s movers and shakers on Tuesday.

While the political elite were nowhere to be seen amid the charcuterie platters and wood-fired pizzas, it was a meeting of minds for venue owner Adam Abrams, who dined alongside fellow restaurateur Nathan Dalah of Fish Shop, Fish MKT and Fishbowl. Could collaboration be in the works?

Matteo restaurant was busy with notable diners on Tuesday.Credit: James Alcock

A stone’s throw away was a scene out of Luxe Listing albeit without Sydney’s most divisive realtor, Gavin Rubinstein. The wine and beer were flowing freely as famed Sydney auctioneer and Block regular Damien Cooley held court with a table of agents hanging on his every word. And it wouldn’t be a night in Double Bay without crossing paths with colourful figure and classic car collector Big Jim Byrnes, who dined on rib eye alongside royal figure Prince Ali of Bahrain.

On Thursday night, late-night revellers braved cold and rainy conditions for popular nightclub The Ivy as Sydneysiders were welcomed back to dance floors again.

Hospitality venue density limits shifted to one person per two square metres, but unvaccinated residents must wait until December 15 or when the state reaches a 95 per cent double-vaccination rate, to enjoy greater freedoms.

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