Sean Penn quietly flew into Sydney where he spent NYE with Kick Gurry and estranged wife Leila George.supplied
The on-again-off-again couple celebrated New Year’s Eve with a front-row seat to the iconic fireworks display from a sprawling mansion in Point Piper.
An excited fan who attended the New Years’ gathering said theI Am Sam actor was a ‘nice guy’.
The status of Penn and George’s relationship is unknown.
The pair dated for four years before marrying in the midst of the global pandemic in July 2020 during a small home ceremony surrounded by family. Penn confirmed the big news just days later during an appearance on Late Night WithSeth Meyers. George filed for divorce just 15 months later.
This is George’s first marriage and Penn’s third. Penn was previously married toMadonna from 1985 to 1989 andRobin Wright from 1996 to 2010.
Leila,29,is the daughter of actorsVincent Philip D’Onofrio andGreta Scacchi and is only a few months younger than Penn’s now 30-year-old daughter Dylan,and less than two years older than his son Hopper,28.
Celebrating alongside the pair included fellow actor Australian heartthrob actorKick Gurry who coincidentally starred alongside Leila’s mum,Greta on iconic Australian coming of age drama Looking For Alibrandi.
Border breacher’s NYE bar brawl
Hayden Burbank is understood to have gotten into a bar dispute days after his prison exit.Rachelle Unreich
Days on from returning to Melbourne after his three months in jail for breaching health orders sneaking into Perth for the AFL grand final,Hayden Burbank was embroiled in a NYE bar dispute.
Sources say the Chapel Street bar and restaurant owner got into a war of words with an acquaintance at Melbourne’s newest venue Bar Bambi on ACDC lane.
According to an onlooker,Burbank and a fellow patron got into a verbal dispute over profanities towards a mutual acquaintance. The pair was separated by security and Burbank was escorted from the venue.
“Apparently he thinks prison ’roughed him up” onlookers joked.
While Burbank had no comment when repeatedly contacted by Emerald City,he’s managed to keep busy socializing. Upon returning to Melbourne days after Christmas a celebratory return party was thrown at his Toorak home the following evening.
After landing back in Melbourne on December 27 following his release from prison Mr Burbank toldNine Newsthat he and fellow border breacher Mark Babbage were “deeply sorry for the selfish and stupid decisions made”.
Wearing a white buttoned-down shirt and a black cap,Mr Burbank said he felt he had let down his friends in healthcare the most after dodging isolation,considering the “sacrifices they’d made throughout the pandemic”.
“Even though we were both double vaccinated before we left Melbourne,and we’d both received negative test results in Darwin before arriving in Perth,the time in jail has made us realise and understand the seriousness of our offending,” he said outside Melbourne Airport.
The pair is due to appear in a Northern Territory court to face several charges including contravention of an emergency declaration,giving false or misleading information,uttering a forged document,and criminal deception to obtain a benefit.
Game,set,pop! Magic Millions and Australian Open to forge ahead despite the latestoutbreak
Despite the latest outbreak of COVID-19,the show must go on when it comes to getting life back to normal. Next week will see the Magic Millions kick-off with an action-packed schedule of racing,glamour,celebrity spotting and celebrations with modelErin McNaught andCandice Dixon as event ambassadors at the celebrated Gold Coast event.
Magic Millions to go ahead despite pandemic.Michael McInally/Magic Millions
Erin said of the upcoming event:’Celebrating The Star Gold Coast Magic Millions week with The Star,is the ultimate way to kick-start 2022.
‘I absolutely love this city and I’m so excited to see the fashion,racing and energy of the races both on and off the track bring people together for the ultimate week of entertainment,’ she added.
Monday 17th will see the Australian Open kick-off in Melbourne. And while Novak Djokovic awaits Monday’s legal challenge to the decision to cancel his visa,he remains at an infamous Melbourne hotel best known for immigrant detentions and maggot-ridden food.
The Park Hotel in Melbourne’s Carlton neighbourhood,where Novak Djokovic is being held after having his visa cancelled.Chris Hopkins,Getty
However,off the court longtime AO partner Piper- Heidsieck will host a glamorous bar at Rod Laver Arena that will be the place to see and be seen.
Emerald City is told the who’s who including Melbourne royaltyChris and Rebecca Judd, comedianJoel Creasey and Sydney’s very-ownPip Edwards - with rumours her on-again-off-again partnerMichael Clarke may even make an appearance. But the real showstopper yet to be formally announced is singer Robbie Williams who is rumoured to be paying a visit Down Under.
The Australian Open has re-signed champagne house Piper-Heidsieck as a sponsor.Supplied
While many of us are unlucky enough to have kicked off 2022 with a positive COVID-19 test,Emerald City was reminded it’s not all bad. “It’s harder to get a booking at Totti’s than it is to get a RAT (rapid antigen test).