Why surgeons refuse to work on a certain socialite… Plus, TWO friendship bust-ups rock Sydney’s elite and what made society snobs scold Pip Edwards? THE GROUP CHAT WITH LUCY MANLY

Welcome to The Group Chat with Lucy Manly, where Australia’s most-trusted society insider shares the hottest gossip BEFORE it makes the news

Pip forgets to do her homework

Activewear supremo Pip Edwards really can achieve anything she sets her mind to.

And that includes being the face of Women’s Health magazine, despite her well-documented fondness for a drink and a dart.

But it wasn’t her naughty habits that had the eastern suburbs gossips throwing shade this week, rather her loose lips.

She was attending an event for the high-tech glasses produced by Ray-Ban and Meta, for which she is an ambassador, when she apparently made some rather amusing announcements.

Pip Edwards certainly looked the part as a brand ambassador for Ray-Ban Meta glasses, but guests who attended a PR event this week say she didn’t know the first thing about the product

My spy tells me that when asked about the shades, she laughed awkwardly and said, ‘I hope you can shop on these!’ before regaling fellow party-goers with tales of the big night she’d just had.

According to my insider, she seemed to lack knowledge of the glasses’ tech specs which was a little awkward because a top Ray-Ban exec had flown in from Asia for the occasion.

Come on, Pip. We all know the golden rule of brand endorsements: Thou must know the product that thou spruik! Max Markson could tell you that.

And we hear she was given ample opportunity to do her homework, with Meta’s PR geeks providing extensive briefing documents to talent and their agents in the days prior to the event, including key talking points about the product and its functionality.

They even provided some handy videos, I am told.

So, how much was Pip paid to wear a pair of cutting-edge specs that she didn’t really know much about? Well, we don’t know for sure, but short-term brand deals this high end are usually in the tens of thousands.

In other words, certainly worth sitting through a 10-minute YouTube tutorial.

Of course, Pip wasn’t the only one turning heads at the Ray-Ban x Meta event.

Pip is the current face of Women’s Health magazine…

… despite her well-documented fondness for smoking darts (pictured in October 2020)

High-profile stylist and Instagram creator Kim ‘thekimbino’ Russell stunned the room to silence when she announced she was skipping Australian Fashion Week.

‘When asked by the event’s host Laura Dundovic how would she be using the glasses at Fashion Week, Russell responded, “I’m not going.”

‘The room went deathly quiet – you could have heard a pin drop. The glasses were launched globally to align with Fashion Week!’ one mortified guest spilled.

Best friends forever?

The marriage split of popular eastern suburbs couple Nicholas and Litsa Stavropoulos has caused much hand-wringing among their high society friends who feel compelled to pick a side in the break-up.

And I hear glamorous project manager Pembe Bekir became collateral damage in the split after she offered Nicholas a shoulder to cry on.

This gesture didn’t sit well with Bekir’s one-time best friend and couture bridalwear designer Lillian Khallouf. They were once ‘thick as thieves’ but now don’t speak.

Coincidentally, Pembe’s own marriage also recently ended, and Lillian remains friends with Pembe’s ex-husband Deniz, who was once close friends with Nicholas.

‘Lillian unfollowed her after Litsa and Nicholas split up,’ a source tells me.

That’s all we know for now. As soon as we get more details, you’ll be the first to know.

Pembe Bekir (left) became collateral damage after popular eastern suburbs couple Nicholas and Litsa Stavropoulos split up. She offered Nicholas a shoulder to cry on, which didn’t sit well with Bekir’s one-time best friend and couture bridalwear designer Lillian Khallouf (right)

Nicholas and Litsa Stavropoulos are pictured in happier times, lounging on a luxury yacht

Laura Hazzouri (left) and ‘chicken heiress’ Jessica Ingham (right) are said to have fallen out too

But that’s not the only friendship rift making the rounds.

We hear whispers so-called ‘chicken heiress’ Jessica Ingham and influencer Laura Hazzouri have fallen out.

Perhaps the duo ran out of things to talk about after they both dropped Roxy Jacenko, the PR supremo who first introduced them?

Long-time Daily Mail readers will know Ingham and Jacenko used to be BFFs but had a falling-out over their (wait for it) luxury candle business, XRJ.

Hazzouri, who lives in Milsons Point with her property developer husband and three sons, was managed by Jacenko’s influencer talent agency The Ministry of Talent, but subsequently sided with Ingham.

Doyles on the move

The most talked-about couple in the Sutherland Shire, Matthew and Kelsea Doyle, are making property moves after quietly welcoming a baby boy in December.

Matthew, a cashed-up developer, ended up in the slammer for trying to smuggle $85million worth of cocaine into Australia back in 2019. Kelsea, who was not involved in the plot, loyally stood by her husband as he served his time behind bars.

Now a free man and father of two, Matt is selling his Burraneer home and hopes to fetch anywhere between $2.4million and $3million for it.

The most talked-about couple in the Sutherland Shire, Matthew and Kelsea Doyle (pictured), are making property moves after quietly welcoming a baby boy in December

The property, described as an ‘entertainer’s dream’ in the effusive language of real estate agents, boasts pristine finishes and a luxury plunge pool.

The Group Chat revealed in January the Doyles had moved to Oak Park in south Cronulla, despite rumours they had been eyeing off a home in Rose Bay.