B
rynne Edelsten, once the glittering face of Melbourne’s elite, now lives in a modest $300‑a‑week flat above a graffiti‑covered FoodWorks on Fitzroy. The former socialite, who once owned multimillion‑dollar homes in Port Melbourne and the CBD, has fallen from the heights of high society to a cramped, gritty reality.
Edelsten shot to national attention in 2009 when she married Geoffrey Edelsten, a flamboyant Australian businessman. Their $3 million wedding at Crown Casino, attended by celebrities and featuring a speech from Jason Alexander, cemented her status as a fixture on the Australian social scene. Born Brynne Gordon in Oklahoma in 1983, she leveraged her glamour‑model background into a career that included reality shows such as SAS Australia, Dancing with the Stars, and her own series, *Brynne: My Bedazzled Life*. Together, the couple owned a Melbourne penthouse and Geoffrey’s portfolio of luxury investment properties.
The marriage ended in divorce in 2014, after which Brynne was declared bankrupt in 2016 and received no financial settlement from her ex‑husband. In a 2022 interview on *Seven News Spotlight: The Fame Game*, she admitted that the divorce led to domestic violence, homelessness, and a stint in crisis accommodation. She described a painful journey of self‑rebuilding and expressed gratitude for the support that helped her regain independence.
Geoffrey Edelsten died in June 2021 at the age of 78. Since then, Brynne’s life has been marred by a series of drug‑related controversies. Police raided her Fitzroy apartment on Monday, alleging the discovery of commercial quantities of illicit substances. The following day, she appeared before Melbourne Magistrates’ Court, where investigators said it could take up to a year to analyze her phone data to determine her involvement. Brynne denied any knowledge of the drugs, wept in court, and was granted bail on the condition that she report to a police station three times a week.
The apartment complex sits adjacent to refugee‑housing towers and backs onto an alley known for drug activity, littered with needles and other hazards. The Daily Mail reported that ambulances arrived within an hour of the raid, as media waited for Brynne to address her legal troubles. Earlier drug‑trafficking charges against her have been dropped, but the current case remains unresolved.
Brynne declined to speak to the press on Wednesday and will appear in court again on January 7. Her story, once one of opulence and celebrity, now serves as a stark reminder of how quickly fortunes can change.
