Brynne Edelsten was once synonymous with wealth, glamour and tabloid celebrity. But on Wednesday, the former reality TV figure’s steep fall from that rarefied world played out in the far more sobering surroundings of a Melbourne courtroom.
The former wife of disgraced millionaire businessman Geoffrey Edelsten appeared before Melbourne Magistrates’ Court, where she pleaded guilty to two counts of possessing a drug of dependence. She avoided a conviction and was instead placed on a 12-month good behaviour bond.
For Edelsten, it was one of the most public moments she has faced in years, long after her brief blaze of fame faded almost as quickly as it arrived.
This time, the spotlight was not a red carpet or reality television set, but the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court, with reporters in attendance and other accused people waiting for their matters to be heard.
Not long ago, Edelsten had been facing the possibility of a significant stretch behind bars at the Dame Phyllis Frost Centre.
The women’s prison houses convicted mushroom killer Erin Patterson and was recently where tragic teenage mother Tarsha Golightly died.
But Magistrate James Henderson was left with little option other than to allow Edelsten to walk free after a charge of trafficking methamphetamine — the highly addictive drug known as ice — was withdrawn.
After pleading guilty to possessing methamphetamine and a precursor to GHB, Edelsten relied on personal circumstances in court, including the existence of her child, as part of a plea in mitigation.
Brynne Edelsten does the ‘walk of shame’ outside the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday hopefully for the last time
Already the ‘victim’ of ‘tasteless reporting’, ridicule of her appearance and ‘humiliation’ on a reality show, Edelsten’s barrister Veronika Drago poured fuel on the tyre fire of Edelsten’s public image with one sad, and sorry admission.
She told the court after her client’s public split with Geoffrey in 2014 she was introduced to meth by a series of ‘difficult’ boyfriends.
Edelsten later experienced homelessness and was declared bankrupt before trying to turn her life around after she found out she was pregnant in 2021.
At the time, the then 38-year-old described the surprise news as a ‘miracle’ alongside an Instagram photo of her ultrasound.
‘Miracles do happen & each is another day closer to meeting the love of my life,’ Edelsten captioned the post.
The court heard that miracle baby was given to Edelsten’s mother as she chased love and drugs.
In arguing for her client to be cut loose, Ms Drago told the court Edelsten had began a relationship with a man but experienced post-natal depression after seeing him arrested on television.
She moved through several crisis accommodations with her young daughter before settling in her Fitzroy home with the help of community service The Orange Door.
Brynne Edelsten used her ‘miracle baby’ in mitigation at court
Edelsten’s barrister claimed her client experienced ‘difficult relationships’ after she split with crooked, ex-jailbird and the now very dead Geoffrey Edelsten
One of those relationships was with crook Cemre Volkan
The cramped, $300-a-week apartment was near the south end of Brunswick Street next-door to housing commission tower.
The Daily Mail witnessed two ambulances arrive at Edelsten’scomplex in January in less than an hour as media waited for her to emerge and discuss her latest drug woes.
The area had been described as a ‘triangle of sadness’.
Ms Drago told the court the drug bust had followed the rekindling of a past relationship and triggered Edelsten’s daughter being abandoned.
‘That was devastating and it was a wake-up call,’ Ms Drago said.
After ‘hitting rock bottom’, Edelsten sought drug and alcohol help and became abstinent, the court was told.
She told the court Edelsten had struggled mentally after an appearance on Dancing with the Stars saw her ‘humiliated’ for her dancing abilities.
Ms Drago claimed Edelsten – who also featured on SAS Australia and her own show Brynne: My Bedazzled Life – tried to maintain her public profile by attending Melbourne social events, but ‘the reality was she was getting ready in public toilets and was effectively homeless’.
Brynne’s barrister said her client was ridiculed for her performance on Dancing With The Stars (pictured)
The complex where Edelsten was living at the time of her arrest
More than two kilograms of GHB precursor 1,4 butanediol and 185 grams of almost-pure ice were uncovered inside that Fitzroy flat.
But Edelsten, who is now on Centrelink, did not know the quantity of the drugs, a prosecutor told the court.
While the drugs found were a ‘massive amount’, Magistrate Henderson found Edelsten was remorseful and spared her a conviction.
She was placed on a 12-month good behaviour bond and ordered to continue treatment with her psychiatrist and drug and alcohol support provider and make a $3,000 donation to Orange Door via the court.
‘Her rehabilitation is certainly an important consideration, but a message must be sent to the community that this type of offending will not be tolerated,’ Mr Henderson said.
Her co-accused and former lover, Simon Pienaar, has pleaded not guilty to drug trafficking offences and has been directed to stand trial at the County Court.
Sent on her way to a waiting media pack, Edelsten was hounded for surely the very last time.
She said nothing – it had all been said in court for better or worse.
