Daily Mail
· collected 2026-10-07 · by Jo Scrimshire, Rob Mcknight, Nicholas Comino, Ali Daher
- Why banker's ex emerged as the biggest loser in Sydney's 'MAFS mansion' war
asserted
ex → emerge → war
- Turmoil at The Chrissie Swan Show after her right-hand man defects to KIIS
-
asserted
man → defect → KIIS
Nine insiders' schadenfreude as top Channel Seven PR is given the boot
-
asserted
PR → give → boot
Troubling reason Farmer and The Voice are vanishing from 2027 schedules
asserted
Farmer → vanish → 2027
The Spanish-style Rose Bay mansion that has featured on Married At First Sight and The Bachelor has generated yet another dramatic chapter in one of Sydney's most extraordinary property feuds.
asserted
that → feature → feuds
The latest judgement in the long-running Villa Biscaya saga has ended with NSW Supreme Court Justice Ian Pike ordering Lisa Rothner to pay Waterhouse's legal costs on an indemnity basis after delivering a scathing assessment of her role in the saga.
asserted
Pike → run → saga
The dispute arose after Waterhouse agreed to sell Villa Biscaya to Rothner for $25.75million on an extended settlement.
asserted
Waterhouse → arise → settlement
Under the arrangement, Rothner was allowed to move into the property and begin planning renovations before the purchase was completed.
asserted
purchase → allow → renovations
But relations between the two men rapidly soured after trees on a neighbouring property began disappearing, opening up previously obstructed views from the mansion towards the Harbour Bridge.
asserted
trees → sour → Bridge
Investment banker Michael Rothner and his ex-wife Lisa (pictured together) were embroiled in a bitter dispute involving a multimillion-dollar property deal
David Waterhouse (pictured) is the estranged brother of bookmaker Rob Waterhouse, uncle to Tom and Kate Waterhouse, and brother-in-law to horse trainer Gai Waterhouse
The WhatsApp messages as described in the Supreme Court judgement, mocked up here
As the Daily Mail's Lucy Manly previously revealed, the judge found Michael Rothner had authorised Lisa to oversee a covert tree-clearing operation involving contractor Al Shahwan, rejecting his claims that he knew nothing about the scheme.
uncertain
he → picture → scheme
The proceedings unearthed a remarkable cache of WhatsApp messages between the former couple, including discussions about ensuring there was 'no evidence' left behind and removing rubbish from the site.
asserted
proceedings → unearth → site
Justice Pike ultimately found Lisa was the 'architect' of the tree removal operation and described the destruction of the trees as 'an act of vandalism unconnected with the carrying out of authorised works on the property'.
asserted
Lisa → find → property
But it is the newly published costs judgement that contains some of the court's most pointed observations.
asserted
that → publish → observations
While Waterhouse and Rothner escaped having to pay each other's legal costs after each enjoyed only mixed success in the litigation, Lisa fared considerably worse.
asserted
Lisa → escape → litigation
The judge ordered that she pay Waterhouse's costs on an indemnity basis, a much harsher order than ordinary costs and one that could leave her responsible for the vast majority of his legal bill relating to the claims against her.
uncertain
that → order → her
In reaching that conclusion, Justice Pike was highly critical of the way Lisa conducted the litigation.
asserted
Lisa → reach → litigation
Villa Biscaya is pictured, though it is not suggested that the trees shown are the same trees that were the subject of the Supreme Court proceedings.
uncertain
that → picture → proceedings
The Rose Bay Spanish-style mansion has been featured on Married at First Sight and The Bachelor
asserted
mansion → feature → Sight
According to the judgement, she filed a defence, participated in the proceedings and served evidence before ultimately adopting a submitting appearance during the hearing rather than continuing to actively contest the allegations.
uncertain
she → accord → allegations
The court had previously noted it would have been 'natural' for Michael to call Lisa as a witness about the tree-clearing operation and whether he authorised it, but she never took the stand.
asserted
she → note → stand
One passage is likely to attract particular attention in legal circles.
asserted
passage → attract → circles
'I think there is considerable force in the submission advanced by Mr Waterhouse that Mrs Rothner participated until the point in time she had to choose whether to further perjure herself or not, and made an informed choice not to do so,' Justice Pike said.
asserted
Pike → think → choice
The judge did not make a finding that Mrs Rothner committed perjury and Inside Mail does not suggest anything to that effect.
asserted
Mail → make → effect
However, the extraordinary remark formed part of a broader criticism of her conduct in the proceedings and helps explain why she ultimately emerged as the biggest loser in the Villa Biscaya saga.
asserted
she → form → saga
The development marks a significant blow for the eastern suburbs socialite, who remains closely associated with Villa Biscaya despite the breakdown of her marriage to Rothner.
asserted
who → mark → Rothner
On the mansion's website, Rothner is described as a 'host, stylist extraordinaire and creative director' and the 'visionary' responsible for transforming the Spanish-style estate into one of Sydney's most sought-after private properties.
asserted
Rothner → describe → properties
Her flair for entertaining helped make the Rose Bay property a favourite backdrop for television productions, fashion shoots and high-profile events.
asserted
property → make → productions
But it was another vision entirely that helped spark the legal war.
asserted
that → spark → war
Radio silence
No sign of Chrissie Swan at Nova since her executive producer, co-host and longtime best mate Jack Charles jumped ship to front KIIS FM's new Sydney breakfast show.
asserted
producer → jump → show
As Inside Mail revealed last month, Charles' defection would have cut deep, with two sources saying Swan likely 'hit the roof' when she learned he was leaving.
asserted
he → reveal → roof
Any suggestion the split was seamless wasn't helped by what happened next.
asserted
what → help → ?
Swan, who missed Charles' final week in the office while recovering from surgery, somehow found time to stay completely silent about his departure on Instagram.
asserted
who → miss → Instagram
That changed only after Inside Mail approached Nova's PR team for comment, prompting a hastily assembled farewell post to appear on her feed.
asserted
Mail → change → feed
Now comes another curious development.
asserted
development → come → ?
Swan's continued absence has tongues wagging that all may not be well on The Chrissie Swan Show without her trusted lieutenant by her side.
uncertain
all → continue → side
We're told the drive program is beginning earlier, at 3pm, effectively erasing Swan's lucrative 2-4pm school pick-up slot from the schedule.
asserted
program → tell → schedule
One spy told us: 'It looks like the wheels are falling off.'
Will it be a short-term programming tweak until Swan is back on her feet?
asserted
Swan → tell → feet
Nova execs will certainly be hoping so.
asserted
execs → hop → ?
As for why Charles walked away from a comfortable gig at Nova for the higher-profile but riskier challenge at KIIS FM, the answer is likely straightforward: money.
asserted
answer → walk → FM
Industry sources say he was earning around $200,000 a year at Nova, a relatively modest sum compared with Swan's reported seven-figure package, and was offered a substantial pay rise to make the switch.
asserted
he → say → switch
…and 132 more, not listed.
The Aporia
