“Madeline Holtznagel spared no expense on Saturday as she hosted a lavish baby shower ahead of the birth of her first child with billionaire pub baron Justin Hemmes. ”, — write: www.dailymail.co.uk
The expecting mother, 28, decked out the $100million Vaucluse mansion she shares with the hospitality entrepreneur, 52, as she entertained a Who’s Who guest list of Sydney socialites.
While Madeline has kept quiet on her socials about the affair so far, the likes of her sister Simone and ‘nude artist’ Dina Broadhurst, as well as other friends, have given a sneak peek into the extravagant event on Instagram.
The model looked every inch the proud mother-to-be as she stepped out in a white designer chiffon maxi dress with a plunging neckline—worth $620 from Arcina Ori.
She cradled her growing baby bump as she let her blonde tresses fall in loose waves and opted for a very minimal makeup look.
Guests enjoyed an unobstructed view of Sydney Harbour up close, with blue and white balloons strewn around the Victorian rustic gothic style estate.
Delicious bespoke hors d’oeuvres were circulated around the shower, including bumps of caviar, seared salmon and cream filled donuts.
At one point, Madeline could be seen grinning from ear-to-ear as she cut into a three-tier gourmet chocolate cake in her huge kitchen.
Simone, 31, put on a leggy display in a beige mini dress as she arrived at the home, hiding her eyes behind a pair of dark designer sunglasses at one point.
Meanwhile, Dina, 48, showed off her bust in a $560 baby blue mini dress from SIR.
Marcus Brodie, who is the Head of Guest Relations at Justin’s company Merivale, shared a collage of instant pictures he snapped of the occasion.
There appeared to be a theme of white dresses among some of the female guests, with Marcus also taking a picture of a toy car meant as a gift for Madeline’s newborn, who sister Simone has dubbed ‘Baby H’.
The Design Director at Merivale, Nasim Köerting, was also in attendance.
She shared a slew of images of Madeline posing with her friends, as well as a close up of the huge cake and delicious food, all made by Head Chef Tal Buchnik and Executive Chef Mike Eggert of Merivale.
Model Julia Cavanagh also shared several images of the behind-the-scenes, revealing a table packed to bursting with gifts from loved ones, and a clothes line decoration with several baby clothes pegged to it.
Montana Cox, also a model, followed with her own photo of Madeline posing against the backdrop of the Sydney Harbour as she threw her head back while friends snapped pictures of her.
The Hermitage was originally built in 1831 and snapped up by Justin’s parents John and Merivale Hemmes for $500,000 in the 1970s.
Justin grew up in the gothic-style mansion, which is now worth an eye-watering $100million, and moved back into the property in 2011 to complete an extensive renovation on the heritage-listed home.
Inside, baby shower guests took in the Carrara marble, copper fittings, natural stone and European oak joinery of the luxury mansion, which is now set to become Justin and Madeline’s family home.
The soon-to-be trio will spend their days languishing in an outdoor angular swimming pool complete with pool-side bar and lounge area which make the most of spectacular harbour views.
In November an insider confirmed the exciting news of Madeline’s pregnancy to Daily Mail Australia and revealed a friend of Justin’s recently moved out of his Vaucluse mansion to make room for their growing family.
Justin, who has a net worth of $1.39billion, already has daughters Alexa and Saachi with his ex-girlfriend Kate Fowler, from whom he separated in 2018.
The business mogul then began dating Madeline the following year, when the model was 22 and he was 47.
Though they generally keep their romance under wraps, the couple are often seen disembarking from his sea plane after enjoying luxurious family holidays with his two daughters.
The couple have gone from strength-to-strength since going public and even sparked engagement rumours in June 2023.
Eagle-eyed fans noticed Madeline was wearing a ring on her wedding finger as they questioned whether Justin had popped the question.
A picture showed her sporting the jewellery as she cuddled up to Justin while enjoying a bowl of Udon noodles together at a restaurant in Japan.
But the bling appeared to be an emerald and diamond promise ring, and another photograph showed her wearing a different ring on the same finger as she posed for a selfie.
In August, Madeline also made a rare public post about Justin as she took to Instagram to mark his 52nd birthday.
She shared a series of romantic selfies of them both and gushed over her partner in the caption.
In one picture, Madeline flashed a huge smile as she sat on Justin’s lap while he lovingly gazed at her.
Justin is considered Australia’s hospitality king, with more than 80 venues and billions in assets with names like the Ivy, Queen Chow and Establishment under his purview as CEO of Merivale.
He is the only son of Merivale Group founder and nightclub mogul John Hemmes and Justin took over the business after his father’s death in 2015.
Madeline is the younger sister of fellow Aussie model Simone Holtznagel, who welcomed her first child, a daughter called Gia, in March last year, with her now-ex-boyfriend Jono Castano.