East Sydney's Feuding A-List: The Great Eastern Suburbs Civil War

Sydney’s eastern suburbs are roiled by a string of feuds that have unsettled the social order in recent months, with party lists, brand partnerships and marriages pulled into the orbit of a high-society rift season. The latest compendium of feuds—spun by insiders and surface-scraped by the tabloids—reads like a who’s-who of the harbour’s most closely watched circles. At its core sits a dynamic reminder: in a world where influence travels as fast as a post on a story, alliances can unravel with equal speed.

Katelin Gregg and Ella James, the co-founders of exclusive eastern suburbs skin clinic Fayshell, have parted ways, and Katelin is now positioned as the sole face of the brand. The Bondi Junction flagship opened in 2022, followed by a Neutral Bay outlet a year later, with the clinic billed as Australia’s first membership-based skin clinic. Insiders say the partnership frayed as the pair drifted into different roles: Katelin as CEO-driven, media-facing, and increasingly focused on expanding the business; Ella stepping back from public appearances and brand partnerships, which some described as a strategic retreat rather than a retreat from the business. When Ella reportedly moved overseas, sources suggested a clean break rather than a negotiated settlement. Katelin has since rebranded Fayshell as a solo venture on social media and has begun pursuing further dermal therapy credentials to stay ahead on treatments. The pair had previously teamed on Cosmechix, a beauty podcast, before the split.

The split has reverberated through broader circles, where the fates of partnerships are often tied to media exposure and the ability to land other high-end collaborations. The eastern suburbs’ social calendar, once a predictable rotation of gala events, art openings, and charity weekends, now often features a deliberate avoidance of one another’s social orbit, with guests balancing interests in both loyalty and optics.

Litsa Stavropoulos and Nicholas Stavropoulos, once a central couple in a tight-knit circles, announced their separation amid what insiders described as seismic fallout. The break-up prompted a cascade of relationship realignments: Nicholas began dating Litsa’s former best friend, Pembe Bekir, complicating friendships that were previously held as a line of defense against public scrutiny. The entangled trio reportedly strained further when Pembe’s friendship with bridalwear designer Lillian Khallouf also deteriorated. The social matrix that used to hold these couples together now shows fractures that ripple through other relationships in the orbit, with commentators noting how the loss of cohesion among partners can destabilize a wider network of hosts, venues, and media connections.

Cartia Mallan and Ashton Wood, known in Brisfluencer circles for their combined social following that surpassed a million, built a lucrative empire by sharing life online across TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and a widely followed podcast. They had been planning a real-life business venture together when, last October, they canceled the project amid heightened questions from followers. The dispute was reportedly tied to a dispute over Cartia’s ex-boyfriend from Australia, and sources say tension poured into their collaboration, eroding the trust that had sustained their decade-long partnership. The pair had described their bond as family, and for a time they had portrayed a united front; the break appears to reflect a broader pattern in influencer collaborations where personal history intersects with brand ambitions.

Elle Salagaras, known to followers as EasternSuburbsMum, and Cindy Kilian, who runs RegardingCindy, had been friends for years before months of distance turned into a formal rift. The disagreement traces back to a disputed assault narrative that surfaced during a dinner out, with Elle recounting her side on her podcast, Ellefluential, and indicating she would no longer dine at a venue connected to the alleged incident. Cindy signaled a different stance, choosing to continue patronage at the venue, which could not be named for legal reasons. The public split appeared to widen the scope of their once-close circle and underscored how a single incident can dissolve long-standing social ties when public perception and private loyalties collide.

Ellie Aitken and Hollie Nasser have also punctuated the eastern suburbs’ social drama. Hollie’s high-profile affair with Ellie’s husband, Charlie Aitken, became public in late 2021 and catalyzed a dramatic collapse of two marriages. Charlie was in business with Hollie’s investor husband, Chris “CJ” Nasser, complicating the breach. Charlie and Hollie announced their break in May 2022, with Hollie later moving on to a brief relationship with James Hodgman, a finance executive, announced at a racing event in late 2022. Hodgman’s own ties drew scrutiny in 2023 amid a separate eastern suburbs brouhaha, a sequence that fed gossip about how personal relationships intersect with business networks and social leverage. The episode left the original friendship between Ellie and Hollie under strain as the circle adjusted to new realities.

Victoria Montano, a Real Housewives of Sydney star and owner of the fashion label Sport Luxe, has been at the center of another notable feud with Martine Chippendale, a fellow DarlinPoint resident and wife of a retired banker. The drama has spilled onto the social calendar, with both women reportedly pulling out of events to avoid the chance of a direct confrontation. Their split reportedly traces to Montano’s discovery that Martine had been discussing her with others on set, creating a rift that has reshaped the dynamics of this season’s RHOS portrayal and the access each woman maintains to a protected network of media allies and fashion industry figures. The on-camera tension is mirrored off-screen in the way both women choose appearances and engagements in a way that preserves the fragile balance of influence within the circle.

Terry Biviano and Victoria Montano have also found themselves at odds in a public setting. Montano has been labeled a repeat offender in terms of feuds, with a long-running back-and-forth with Biviano culminating at a high-profile birthday party hosted by Elaine Kwan. The confrontation drew a Who’s Who of eastern suburbs elites, including Elllie Aitken and Alina Barlow, the daughter of prominent business figure David Traktovenko. The incident, witnessed by numerous guests, underscored how a single event can become a catalyst for broader estrangements, with participants re-evaluating who they will greet, sit with, or invite in future gatherings. The broad implication is a social landscape in which reputational risk is as consequential as any business risk—and where a party can crystallize years of undercurrents into visible fault lines.

The pattern across these feuds points to a broader cultural shift in Sydney’s harbourfront elite: a move toward greater public exposure of private disputes, amplified by social media, and navigated by PR considerations that can make private grievances into public spectacles. Several feuding figures have relied on careful messaging or selective public appearances to preserve brands, marriages, and friendships that were once treated as near-permanent fixtures of the social calendar. The timing of these episodes coincides with a generation of influencers and businesspeople whose livelihoods depend on their ability to maintain a narrative of exclusivity while feeding public curiosity.

Experts in Sydney’s social ecosystem note that the stakes extend beyond mere reputation. The feuds affect charitable allocations, guest lists for marquee events, and even real estate opportunities tied to social capital. In a market where status can translate into access—to venues, to deals, and to media coverage—the fissures among a handful of long-standing players can ripple through multiple networks. Some observers caution against assuming a single trigger for every rift, noting that the Eastern Suburbs’ elite labor under a confluence of personal choices, business ambitions, and media dynamics that rarely align perfectly. The result is a climate in which friendships can drift apart as careers and brands evolve, and the boundaries between private life and public persona grow increasingly porous.

As the season of high-society events continues, attendees and watchers alike are left to interpret the signals: who shows up, who avoids a direct encounter, and which partnerships survive the pressure of intensified scrutiny. The eastern suburbs’ social drama—often referred to with a mix of bemusement and reverence—appears unlikely to settle soon. Instead, it seems poised to unfold in real time, with new chapters written at brunches, launches, and the next round of televised or streamed appearances. In a culture that prizes connection and visibility, the price of staying relevant may well be the willingness to navigate a shifting landscape where friendships, partnerships, and reputations are in a constant state of redefinition.