Sitting behind bars facing assault charges, which he denies, and convicted of cocaine possession, Deborah Huttons boyfriend, Bondi meditation guru Andrew Marsh, 50, certainly has plenty of time to reflect on his lot.

Two years ago Marsh had finally conquered his drinking and was a contented and happily married family man with a successful business and wide circle of interesting and influential friends.

Deborah Hutton and Bondi meditation guru Andrew Marsh in May.Credit:Backgrid

But the alarming events of the past few days, which resulted in police taking out an interim AVO for the protection of his estranged wife Holly, have shocked even his most loyal devotees.

Not in the least his beautiful, famous and wealthy girlfriend Hutton, 58, who maintained this week that despite media reports and multiple accounts from friends to the contrary, Marsh had not been living with her.

Apparently he just visited a lot.

Andrew Marsh and Deborah Hutton in India last year after swimming in the Ganges.

But Hutton and Marsh have been coy about their relationship from the start, which in itself is a point of some conjecture given their refusal to say when it actually began.

Schooled in the black arts of image management decades ago by her former boyfriend, the late celebrity agent Harry M. Miller, Hutton has always been wary of media scrutiny of her private life. This week she bunkered down, declining to answer specific questions about her time with Marsh, and confiding in friends she hoped this latest media storm would soon blow over.

On Wednesday she issued a statement to PS: I consider him [Marsh] a very dear friend and in what has been an incredibly challenging year for Andrew, I offered him my full support during the breakdown of his marriage as he had nowhere to go. This is totally out of character for him and Im shocked at what has unfolded over the last few days and hope that Andrew is able to receive the help he clearly needs.

Hutton and Marsh grew noticeably close during a group meditation pilgrimage to India last year, which had been organised by Marshs wife Holly, who remained in Sydney.

Other members of the group told PS this week that Marsh and Huttons connection was so strong Hutton had declared in front of them she and her mediation guru had been lovers in a past life.

Deborah Hutton during a religious ritual in India last year.

But not everyone was impressed, especially those close with Marshs wife back in Sydney. While Hutton herself denied allegations from group members of emotional outbursts in temples, tensions within the group over Hutton and Marsh soon boiled over, with Hutton wanting to quit the pilgrimage early.

I have and always will respect sacred sites and holy places of worship and deny the allegations being made against me, Hutton said in a statement after being asked about a trip to Varanasi and an argument that erupted between Hutton and former Real Housewives of Sydney star Victoria Rees, an old friend of Huttons and another long-term follower of Marshs meditation classes.

While Rees did not dispute the account of what had happened, including Hutton throwing a shoe at her and shouting Walk a mile in my shoes, Rees told PS this week: I really cant talk about it.

Loading

Shortly after returning from India last October, Marsh moved out of the family home. Before long he became a regular feature on Huttons social media feeds at various gatherings hosted in her Bronte home.

They were also photographed holding hands, sipping wine on Huttons balcony and kissing, though following this weeks scandalous headlines, Hutton was only referring to him as a dear friend.

For a while, Hutton and Marsh appeared to be on solid ground. Hutton even organised and paid for a refurbishment of Marshs meditation rooms. Marsh told friends he was hopeful Hutton could help raise his profile given her media savvy.

But friends of Marsh say he recently moved out of Huttons home and had been sleeping in his car for the past few weeks leading up to Mondays events.

Waverley Local Court heard on Tuesday there was a very strong prosecution case against Marsh, who allegedly entered a home in Sydney on Monday morning scaring the two occupants and putting one victim in a choke-hold; she states to police this makes her think she is going to die.

Marshs court papers listed Huttons Bronte home as his address. However, the prosecution told Magistrate Jacqueline Trad he was homeless and sleeping in his car.

Marsh pleaded not guilty to two counts of common assault and one count of intentionally choking a person.

The matter is due back in court in January.

Things have gone from bad to worse for former high-flying barrister Charles Waterstreet, who says he intends to appeal an NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal ruling that found he must pay his former landlord Con Kalpakidis $4512 after moving out of his executive apartment on William Street. It had been Waterstreets home for a decade.

Charles Waterstreet in Darlinghurst last month.Credit:Janie Barrett

Banned from practising last year, Waterstreet, who is recovering from a double hip replacement in November and says he is dependent on Meals On Wheels and home-carers to bathe him and clean his Darlinghurst bed-sit, told PS he had no idea the tribunal hearing was happening on December 9.

They sent the notices to an email address I have never used, he said.

However in her findings Tribunal Member Deborah Ziegler said a notice of the hearing had been duly served on Waterstreets last known address for service. The tribunal also made several attempts to contact Waterstreet by telephone at the commencement of the hearing but received no response and the matter was dealt with in his absence.

Back in 2012 Texan billionaire Jim Clark, husband of Aussie glamazon Kristy Hinze, said after 28 years of owning boats, Im over it, then proceeded to put his two prized tinnies the sailing yachts Hanuman and Athena on the market for a combined $113 million.

Billionaire Jim Clark and wife Kristy have a new boat, Atlantide.

Turns out he wasnt that over it, as it has now emerged he and Kristy have purchased a new boat, a slightly downsized 90-year old vessel called Atlantide, which had been recruited to Operation Dynamo in World War II to help evacuate English and Allied troops from Dunkirk. Given Athena alone was worth $100 million, the new tub is a comparative bargain at just over $7.2 million.

James Packer went to great lengths a few years ago to assure me that his then fiancee Mariah Carey was an incredibly smart woman.

While their relationship did not last the distance, Careys business smarts certainly have, and this year she can thank the City of Sydneys ratepayers for helping out her bottom line just that little bit more.

The Christmas tree in Martin Place.Credit:Getty Images

Careys All I Want For Christmas is the finale track played on high rotation each night for this years fabulous towering disco Christmas tree at Martin Place. And each time it plays - every 15 minutes from sunset to midnight - Carey pockets a royalty fee.

Last December The Economist estimated Carey had earned more than $US60 million from that one song since its release in 1994, thanks to it being constantly played on radio, marketing campaigns, movie soundtracks, music streaming services and in TV specials.

Speaking of which, Careys Magical Christmas Special now playing on the Apple TV service is quite a spectacle. Forgiving her miming skills (those quivering glossy lips were not terribly convincing), its the collection of gowns she (almost) wears that is definitely worth watching for.

Loading

From her little drummer girl get-up to the human snowflake number, complete with fishtail bottom, and giant hair flicks sprayed into position seemingly mid-blizzard, La Carey also does a brilliant impersonation of a singing glazed ham, given her penchant for dangerously plunging neck-lines.

For a slightly more traditional way to mark this holy holiday, top marks this year should go to the light show at St Marys Cathedral, which in PSs opinion are the best yet and enhance the dignity of the architectural splendour that towers over Hyde Park, rather than those cheesy kids cartoons of previous years, which have gone by the wayside along with the hot dog stands. Go see it before it finishes on Christmas night.

Andrew Hornery is a senior journalist and Private Sydney columnist for The Sydney Morning Herald.

See more here:

Boyfriend or dear friend? The inside story on Deborah Huttons relationship with Andrew Marsh - Sydney Morning Herald