'Fortress Hemsworth': Actor's Byron Bay bush compound makes waves

With an annual pay packet most recently estimated by Forbes magazine at $US64.5 million ($88.1 million), it's clearly good to be the God of Thunder.

Chris Hemsworth and wife Elsa Pataky.Credit: AAP

So it makes sense that Chris Hemsworth would build a suitably imposing private palace in the lush rainforests near Byron Bay, that would fit right at home among the splendour of Asgard.

Except the locals have dubbed it "Fortress Hemsworth".

Fortress Hemsworth fit for Asgard. The actor's multimillion-dollar new home is taking shape outside of Byron Bay.Credit: Matrix Pictures

With at least another six months left of the build, PS's spies took to the skies this week to capture the new home's emerging footprint, revealing an edifice on the scale of which locals have not seen before.

The modernist palazzo is expected to feature all the mod-cons a Hollywood royal such as Hemsworth and his glamorous wife, Spanish actor Elsa Pataky, would expect, with a gym, steam room, an infinity pool and spa with ocean views overlooking the spectacular Seven Mile Beach.

Also on the plans are a media room, a games room, the expansive outdoor living and play areas along with six bedrooms, which means there is plenty of room for when the in-laws, such as Miley Cyrus, blow into town to stock up on dream catchers with her beau Liam Hemsworth.

There's even a huge mature palm tree that has been transplanted on the roof, though it does little to truly blend the residence into its surrounding rainforest.

And while a few of the locals have been making some not-so-flattering comments about the giant new home, nothing has stood in the way for Hemsworth, who lodged his plans with Byron Shire Council in late 2016 and they were eventually approved in March 2017.

The actor bought the original, Gilligan's Island style compound for $7 million in 2014.

Initially the application estimated the total cost of the new build at $8.8 million, but even to the untrained eye it would appear the budget may have been blown somewhat given the enormous scale of the place.

And while Hemsworth and his family await the completion of their jewel in Broken Head, the family have bunkered down in nearby Suffolk Park in another multimillion-dollar abode, which Hemsworth's investment company Byron Bay 1st Management bought for $4.3million in July, with direct beach access.

The Hemsworths have bunkered down in another multimillion-dollar home in nearby Suffolk Park while they await the completion of their new property.Credit: Matrix Pictures

After meeting through a dialect coach (that Aussie accent can be tricky for the Americans), Hemsworth and Pataky married in 2010 and soon after became regular fixtures on the Byron Bay "circuit".

With three young children in tow, Pataky said life was much better in Byron than Hollywood.

"In LA, my kids had a camera in front of them all the time and it made my daughter [India] become very scared of photos. She didn't want pictures taken and didn't want to be in photos," she said last year, though judging by her own Instagram feed, Pataky does not share her daughter's aversion to the lens.

Thorburn set for the spotlight

While Ivana Trump famously said of divorce: "Don't get mad, get EVERYTHING", it would appear Cassandra Thorburn is taking a slightly different approach.

Ready to tango: Cassandra Thorburn shakes off the divorce blues with a turn on Dancing with the Stars.Credit: Belinda Rolland

With a final property settlement with Stefanovic still months away, rather than getting mad, Thorburn is getting dancing, and is set to appear on the re-booted Channel Ten version of Dancing with the Stars next year.

Thorburn's name has been mentioned in hushed tones around Ten, with the network keen to cash in on the huge amount of publicity her marriage break-up with Karl Stefanovic has generated over the past two years.

Indeed, the acrimonious split has portrayed Thorburn very much as the scorned woman, though she is keen to not be seen as the "victim" as her ex-husband and father of her three children walks down the aisle in Mexico next week to his new love, the much younger Jasmine Yarbrough.

Karl Stefanovic and Jasmine Yarbrough.Credit: Belinda Rolland

And while Stefanovic and Yarbrough have weathered the storm of publicity together, Thorburn has had to face the gauntlet alone.

Friends say Thorburn intends to be "surrounded by the people who care about her the most" next weekend as the high-profile reception gets under way, PS revealing last week that Stefanovic and Yarbrough are already married in the eyes of the law and have been for some months.

Love triangle fixated on Liberals

There has been much chatter about the "hard right" of conservative politics in Australia of late.

However, PS can only wonder exactly how hard it really is, especially given the amount of squishy silicone that has managed to ingratiate itself in the inner sanctum of everyone from Gina Rinehart and Peter Dutton to our very own Prime Minister, Scott Morrison.

"Human Ken Doll" and social media personality Justin Jedlica with former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull. Credit: Instagram

PS is referring to the American chap known in the tabloids as "The Human Ken Doll", a performance artiste who has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on every implant, injection and cosmetic treatment known to man. He's made a career out of his cosmetic procedures.

His actual name is Justin Jedlica, who not only pops up in high rotation down the Daily Mail's "Sidebar of Shame" but somehow is also posing with the likes of senior Liberal party members and even billionaire mining mogul turned beef queen Gina Rinehart.

Justin Jedlica (left), who proudly calls himself "The Human Ken Doll", and is happy in a love triangle with Stephen Walden and Jayson McNaughton.Credit: Instagram

Turns out Jedlica is actually one-third of a cosy love triangle that also counts big Melbourne-based Liberal party donor and dentist Jayson McNaughton and his lover Stephen Walden.

PS asked McNaughton to explain.

"So we attended a private charity dinner function with Gina Rinehart, which was hosted by Rosie Lew at her home in Toorak to support her and Tania de Jong for their amazing work they do for charity Creativity Australia, a charity to support isolated people to get together," he enthused.

Jedlica relaxing on one of his many holidays.Credit: Instagram

"Yes, Stephen, Justin and myself are in a love triangle as you so call it and have been for many years. We met travelling together, and continue to travel together around the world some 10 or so times a year. We have a very special relationship, though to some it may be considered unconventional, it works well for us. Our common interests are not just travel, but charity work as well."

"Regarding politics, we support with political donations, the Liberal Party, and as such are invited to attend federal budget night in Canberra each year, among other events.

"Justin has attended with us in the last two years, as an invited guest with us. He was cleared with all security checks, and I can tell you that he was given to all clear to attend by the Prime Minister Turnbull himself."

It must be love for Singleton

While the back cover might sound all too familiar, Sydney lawyer Julie Singleton says her first novel Love Bites, is actually a "complete fabrication".

Julie Singleton decided to self-publish because "I really couldn't take the 'constructive criticism' of the publishing world".Credit: Helen Nezdropa

And apart from the occasional typo, the tome is actually an impressive first offering from the former family law lawyer who shot to fame when she became millionaire advertising mogul John Singleton's sixth wife, the couple staying married for 10 years and having two daughters.

"I decided to self-publish because I really couldn't take the 'constructive criticism' of the publishing world. I was determined to finish the book and get it out there, so I did it myself," she explained to PS, adding that Love Bites is part of a planned trilogy about a family law solicitor named Sarah Walters, who sounds an awful lot like Singleton.

"Well, I had plenty of real stories in my own life and career to inspire me," Singleton admitted.

"People end up in the family law world at the worst time in their life and this was a way to educate people about what goes on through a novel ... the next two books will be titled Love Shrinks and Love Pays, and yes the last one is about carving up property settlements with your ex."

As for recent discussion about her choice to retain her ex-husband's famous surname, she told PS: "Quite frankly changing my surname was the last thing on my mind. I was due to give birth in three weeks when my marriage with John ended, I kept the name because it was also my daughters' name and after 10 years it really did feel like my name. Anyway, it's no one else's business really."

As for her "amicable" relationship with Singleton, she says he is yet to comment on her debut as an author. "He's been divorced enough himself, I think he would find it very interesting," she said.