Geoffrey Edelsten appeared to lead a very lavish life.
But following his shock death at age 78, the physician-turned-millionaire businessman’s ex-wife Brynne tells New Idea he was nothing like his eclectic public persona behind closed doors.
WATCH BELOW: Brynne Edelsten on split from millionaire Geoffrey Edelsten
On June 11, Geoffrey’s body was found in his Melbourne apartment by his cleaner.
Brynne, 38, says she was “really shocked” to learn of his passing.
“I just hope he had someone by his side or went in his sleep,” the sombre star tells New Idea exclusively.
Geoffrey’s high-profile romances, beginning with his first wife Leanne Nesbitt, made him a household name. But it was his May-December relationship with Brynne that really cemented the one-time Sydney Swans owner as a tabloid fixture.
The pair first met in LA, where US-born Brynne was working as a fitness instructor.
They tied the knot in a $3.3 million ceremony at Melbourne’s Crown Casino. Geoffrey was 66, while Brynne was just 26.
Hollywood stars like Fran Drescher and Jason Alexander were among the celebrity
guests Brynne admits were compensated to attend. But she rubbishes recent reports that Geoffrey organised prepaid attendances for his funeral.
“I can’t imagine that,” she says. “He definitely paid people to come to the wedding – even some family members [were paid to attend]. They weren’t so supportive, which is disappointing, but I want to focus on the positive times.”
And, there were plenty!
In 2012, Channel Seven gave the couple their own reality show, Brynne: My Bedazzled Life.
“Once I sent him an invoice for over $200,000 worth of new clothes. I honestly thought he was going to kill me,” she recalls. “But he didn’t care.
“Publicly, Geoffrey was very flashy, but he was very reserved at home.”
In fact, Brynne says he was nothing short of a sweetheart.
“For my 30th birthday he took me to Bora Bora [Tahiti] with my friends and my family,” she remembers. “That’s not the sort of place he would want to go! He hates the sun and beach. He was so outside of his element, so it was really so thoughtful for him to do that.
“What people don’t know about Geoff is that he was a very cautious person. When I look back at those photos from our holiday, I can’t help but laugh, because even on land he wore his life vest!”
Brynne has no issue confirming that she and Geoffrey never slept together.
“It wasn’t my decision,” she explains. “It was something we never really talked about.
In the beginning, I assumed we were waiting for marriage, but then it didn’t happen. I thought maybe it was all the medication he was on … then after so long you kind of forget about it.
“It was confusing to me, because in a marriage that’s what you do. To this day,
I don’t really understand it.”
In January 2014, it was announced Geoffrey and Brynne’s four-year marriage was over. Brynne insists she doesn’t regret the split, but doubles down on her decision to keep her famous surname.
“I don’t associate my name as an attachment to him – it’s just my name,” she maintains. “I don’t see any reason why I would change it – that’s my identity with or without him.”
WATCH BELOW: Brynne Edelsten on her body transformation
One year after Brynne and Geoffrey separated, he wed his third wife, model Gabi Grecko. She was 46 years his junior.
The pair split after only a few months. Brynne says the fallout led Geoffrey back to her – with the exes reuniting for the very last time in 2015.
“When [Geoff and Gabi] broke up, we had lunch. He was telling me about how things ended and he was quite upset about it,” Brynne reveals. “Gabi and I have never spoken – she was not a fan of me from day one. I never really understood why.”
As for the estate Geoffrey leaves behind, Brynne is unsure how his assets will be divided. While Brynne says the financial part of her divorce is still up in the air following bankruptcy, she’s not ruling out a surprise gift from beyond the grave.
“I doubt I will be left anything, but that’s the thing with Geoff – nothing would surprise me!”
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