Story summary
Sean Buckley, CEO of Ultra Tune Australia, has been embroiled in a legal battle since 2021 with his former partner, Jennifer Cruz Cole, over secret recordings she made during their relationship. Cole and Buckley met when Cole appeared in one of Ultra Tune's ads around 2017, but they didn't start dating until years later at Crown Casino in Melbourne. Their contentious relationship ended in December 2020 after Cole gave birth to their daughter.
Cole admitted to making the recordings during a period when she was a nurse and bikini model, including participating in an advertisement alongside Pamela Anderson. She also revealed sending one recording, dubbed the "Crown Recording," to Buckley's lawyers and another person named Anthony Swords in January 2021. In early 2021, The Age reported excerpts from a 20-minute recording that allegedly captured an assault on Cole by Buckley.
Recently, Justice Jim Delany ruled against Buckley’s request for the recordings, stating there was no sufficient reason to justify ordering them up. The dispute over these recordings is part of a broader legal conflict involving claims of $16 million in alleged blackmail plots, though details remain uncertain.
Written for “Divorce Battle Over Secret Tapes” on 2026-09-17,
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A business tycoon has failed in his bid to force his former bikini-model partner to hand over alleged secret recordings of their private conversations.
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tycoon → fail → conversations
Ultra Tune Australia boss Sean Buckley has been pursuing the recordings for years after word of their existence popped up in news reports all the way back in 2021.
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word → pursue → 2021
Melbourne nurse and bikini model Jennifer Cruz Cole - who has a daughter with Buckley - admitted making the recordings during the latter part of their relationship which ended in December 2020.
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which → have → December
She had starred in a controversial Ultra Tune TV ad alongside Baywatch icon Pamela Anderson.
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She → star → Anderson
Cole and Buckley had met more than a decade earlier when she appeared in Ultra Tune's original 'Unexpected Situations' television advertisements.
But the pair did not become a couple until years later when they met socially in Melbourne at Crown Casino.
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they → meet → Casino
Buckley had demanded Cole hand over so-called 'secret recordings' allegedly made during the relationship between about 2017 and December 2020.
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Cole → demand → 2017
He also wanted correspondence concerning their distribution and a separate recording allegedly made at Crown Metropol in Southbank, referred to in the proceeding as the 'Crown Recording'.
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He → want → Recording
Cole admitted making the other recordings and informing Buckley of them.
Jennifer Cole (left), Laura Lydall, Pamela Anderson, Tyana Hansen and Parnia Porsche at Main Beach, Gold Coast, during the filming of the Ultra Tune TV commercial in November 2019
Sean Buckley is pictured in 2019, when Pamela Anderson appeared in Ultra Tune advertisements
Cole also admitted sending the Crown Recording to Buckley's lawyers and co-defendant Anthony Swords in January 2021.
Swords was the former general manager of Gatto Corp - a debt collection agency using the surname of colourful Melbourne businessman, Mick Gatto.
In early 2021, The Age reported on excerpts from a 20-minute recording alleged to capture Buckley assaulting Cole at Crown.
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Buckley → admit → Crown
Buckley denied wrongdoing and disputed the accuracy and completeness of the recording.
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Buckley → deny → recording
The court heard that the audio was sent to police, media organisations and business and personal associates.
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audio → hear → police
Cole pleaded guilty to contempt of court in September 2021 after admitting she circulated the recording in breach of a court order.
Victoria Police subsequently charged Buckley with 12 offences, including stalking and assault.
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Police → plead → stalking
Buckley denied wrongdoing and alleged the recordings had been heavily edited.
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recordings → deny → wrongdoing
He alleged Cole 'set him up' and attempted to extort money from him, which she denied.
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she → allege → which
The criminal proceeding concluded in 2025 when the stalking and assault charges against Buckley were withdrawn or struck out in Melbourne Magistrates' Court.
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charges → conclude → Court
He subsequently launched a private prosecution against Cole.
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He → launch → Cole
Jennifer Cruz Cole has been embroiled in ongoing legal action with her former partner
Pamela Anderson and Ultra Tune franchise tycoon Sean Buckley
Buckley is seeking damages, equitable compensation and orders requiring the destruction of the recordings and restraining their further distribution.
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Buckley → embroil → distribution
The civil proceeding is listed for trial in the Supreme Court of Victoria in November 20
After the recordings were distributed, Buckley said he was 'shocked' they had been made.
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they → list → November
His lawyers alleged at the time: 'They are private tapes made without his knowledge.
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They → allege → knowledge
We believe they have been cut and spliced.
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they → believe → ?
In a decision this month, Justice Jim Delany ruled there was simply no live issue on the pleadings about the existence or contents of the secret recordings that would justify ordering them up.
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that → rule → them
'In response to the allegation that she provided the other recordings to her lawyer and Victoria Police, Ms Cole "admits she has given certain material to her lawyers and to Victoria Police",' the judge stated.
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judge → provide → Police
The court heard Cole admitted making the recordings and informing Buckley of them, but denied saying that she could use them to destroy him.
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she → hear → him
'She denies making the threats and demands for money alleged, and admits sending the copy of the Crown recording to Mr Buckley’s lawyers in January 2021, as well as sending it to Mr Swords,' Justice Delany stated.
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Delany → deny → Swords
Ms Cole does not admit the allegation that she made the other recordings for the purpose of extorting money from Mr Buckley.'
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she → admit → Buckley
The court heard Buckley had launched a private criminal prosecution against Cole in March over the same allegations.
Pamela Anderson became the face of Ultra Tune in 2019
The judge declared that ordering production of the recordings would be pointless because Cole could claim privilege against self-incrimination.
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Cole → hear → incrimination
The court heard the same category of material had already been refused multiple times by other judges over the years.
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category → hear → years
Buckley's requests for correspondence concerning the distribution of the Crown Recording and other recordings were also refused.
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requests → concern → Recording
The court heard allegations Cole threatened Buckley at the Sheraton Hotel in Melbourne in about January 2021, demanding he pay $16 million - $15 million for a Spring Street apartment plus $1 million cash - or she would release the secret recordings to the Herald Sun and A Current Affair’s Tracey Grimshaw.
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she → hear → Sun
Cole denied the allegation, saying she had never stayed at Melbourne Sheraton and that the pair were subject to intervention orders and were not in contact at the time.
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pair → deny → time
The court heard Buckley then shifted the alleged demand to the Sheraton in Sydney a full year earlier, in January 2020, admitting he never stayed with Cole at the Melbourne hotel.
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he → hear → hotel
Justice Delany found the original allegation had no proper basis.
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allegation → find → basis
Buckley was ordered to pay Coles' costs of the failed appeal, with the Supreme Court of Victoria trial set to kick-off in November.
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trial → order → November
Anthony Swords succeeded in part on his own summons, winning orders for certain Ultra Tune financial reports.
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Swords → succeed → reports
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