After the sad announcement recently that The Block’s Shaynna Blaze and personal trainer husband Steve Vaughan had separated, reports have emerged that Fifi Box is caught up in it all.
An insider has told New Idea that while Fifi is still recovering from her recent split with on-again, off-again boyfriend Damien Richardson, and her relationship with Steve is strictly platonic, they are becoming increasingly close as they support each other through their respective break-ups.
‘Fifi and Steve have been great friends for some time, ever since he started training her last year,’ says a source.
‘They have a lot of laughs together and for the first time in a long time, workouts have been fun for Fifi – something to look forward to.’
Shaynna went public with the breakdown of her 18-year marriage on Instagram recently, explaining: ‘Sometimes in life, our paths change directions and now this is one of those times for me with Steve and I separating.’
Fans and friends such as Michelle Bridges, Darren Palmer and Susan Carland were quick to weigh in with support messages, while Fifi ‘liked’ the post.
‘The truth is that Shaynna and Steve have just drifted apart a little,’ explains the insider.
‘They still really love and respect one another, but with her work and filming career and his PT business they were just spending more and more time apart, which is tough on any marriage.’
Steve’s loving Instagram post on March 18, captioning Shaynna’s TV Guide front cover, confirmed the couple were so busy they rarely crossed paths.
‘Every day she’s SPARKLING. Is she the busiest woman on Australian TV? Based on how often we get to see each other…it would be YES!’
Last May, Shaynna even spoke to New Idea about how in love she was with Steve and shared the reasons behind their relationship’s success.
‘The secret is every time we go out, it is date night,’ she said.
‘You treat each other as your date, rather than expecting them to always be there.
‘When you catch up, you just make sure that you’re present. You make sure that you’re there with each other and always touching base,’ Shaynna added.
But while interior designer Shaynna’s TV career has been going from strength to strength, Steve – known as Scuba Steve – has become one of Melbourne’s most sought-after fitness instructors in recent years.
Celebrity clients such as Dannii Minogue and Tina Arena frequently post photos of themselves training with him.
‘Shaynna knows that Steve is surrounded by beautiful women all day but tries not to get jealous. She has always trusted Steve implicitly,’ says the source.
A recently slimmed down Fifi, meanwhile, frequently mentions and posts photos of herself during Steve’s brutal workouts on her own Instagram feed although she remains tightlipped about their friendship.
Fifi broke up with Neighbours actor Damien in July, despite reports that they had been discussing marriage just months earlier. Back in November, when she first publicly admitted to the romance and revealed during her Fox FM show that she was ‘really happy’, she also used the code name Steven while discussing her new boyfriend.
‘It’s hard for any wife to see pics of her husband having fun with other women,’ an insider revealed. ‘And Steve has always been the type of guy that Fifi goes for – fun, positive, active. But she’s always respected his marriage to Shaynna and known that he was strictly off limits.’
‘Now that they’ve split, who knows what the future holds? In the meantime, Fifi is determined to just be a good friend to Steve and help him through this difficult time.’
For the full story see this weeks issue of New Idea, on sale now.
