Astonishing family photo album shows the star-studded blended family of tragic Bachelorette star Charlie Newling – before he died after his car tragically plunged off a cliff
EXCLUSIVE
A troubled reality star who died when his car plunged off a cliff in Sydney’s east came from a close-knit sporting family including two AFL footballers.
Charlie Newling – who is believed to have been buried recently – is the stepbrother of Geelong Premiership player and AFL Rising Star nominee Sam De Koning and his Carlton Football Club recruit brother Tom De Koning.
Newling’s mother Jackie is married to Terry De Koning – the father of Sam and Tom. Terry himself played for Footscray (now the Western Bulldogs) in the 1980s.
The couple shares a blended family with a total of ten children.
Newling, 36, died last month after his car fell off a cliff in Dover Heights, in Sydney’s eastern suburbs.
Charlie Newling’s blended family: footballer Tom De Konin (farthest from left), stepfather Terry De Konin (second from left), Newling’s mother Jackie De Konin (sixth from left) and fellow footballer Sam De Konin (third from right)
Newling, 36, who appeared on Ali Oetjen’s 2018 season of The Bachelorette, died last month after his car fell off a cliff in Dover Heights, in Sydney’s eastern suburbs
Rising star Sam De Koning of the Geelong Cats (left) with his brother Tom De Koning of the Carlton Blues
“Our family operates on a ‘Your, Mine and Ours’ basis,” Tom said in an interview with AFL players online.
‘We are not all completely related by blood, but it feels that way. We can talk to each other about anything.
“Most of our family lives on Victoria’s Surf Coast, so I go quite a ways there and catch up with everyone.”
However, Newling became embroiled in a scandal last year when he was sentenced to 13 months in prison for threatening to torture and kill his stepfather in a series of 37 text messages over a three-hour period.
“You are still controlled by that flogging of a husband,” read one message to his mother.
“I’m going to kill him in front of you one day before I go.
“You have no idea what I’m capable of, but you just know it won’t be pretty.”
Magistrate Ross Hudson heard Newling had suffered significant childhood trauma, including caring for his biological father when he was a teenager after he had an accident and became paralyzed.
His father died of a pain medication overdose in 2018.
Newling was famously eliminated after he wouldn’t introduce Ali Oetjen to his family during visits to his hometown while appearing on The Bachelorette. Newling is circled
Throwback photo: Sam and Tom De Konin (photo front right) at a family gathering, with stepbrother Charlie (back right)
The court also heard that Newling, who worked as a builder after finding fame on The Bachelorette, had struggled with alcohol abuse.
He was convicted in 2021 of a drink-driving offense.
But in sentencing, Magistrate Hudson said he had to take into account the “fear, anguish and horror” caused by Newling’s messages.
He was given a 13-month prison sentence, which he had to serve in the community.
Newling died after his car plunged off a cliff in Sydney’s eastern suburb of Dover Heights about 11pm on Saturday evening.
Paramedics and police were called to the scene at the Raleigh Reserve after being contacted by residents in the area who found Newling’s car at the foot of the cliff.
A New South Wales Police spokesperson confirmed his death is not being treated as suspicious.
Newling had lived in NSW and Queensland for much of the past decade. He had a long history of mental health and addiction-related problems.
The tragedy is said to have happened eight weeks after Newling’s partner, Mrs Taylor, gave birth to their daughter.
Newling, who worked as a builder in Sydney, also has a 13-year-old son from a previous relationship.
After leaving The Bachelorette in 2018, Newling briefly dated ex-Bachelor star Dasha Gaivoronski who appeared on former rugby player Nick ‘The Honey Badger’ Cummins’ season.
The young father was tipped to win his season of The Bachelorette, but was eliminated after he wouldn’t introduce Oetjen to his family during visits to his hometown.
Newling (photo) was initially one of the frontrunners to win Ali Oetjen’s heart with The Bachelorette
Shortly after his reality TV debut, Newling made headlines after footage emerged of him in a fight with security guards outside the opulent Double Bay pub The Golden Sheaf.
Two days after he was kicked off The Bachelorette, footage emerged of him being wrestled to the ground outside The Golden Sheaf in Double Bay.
Newling, who had appeared on The Project earlier that evening, said he had been drinking and celebrating his time on the show with friends when a scuffle broke out with bouncers at around 10.50pm.
After the incident, it emerged that he had a then eight-year-old son from a previous relationship which he had not revealed on the show.
Newling was initially a front-runner to win Oetjen’s heart on the Channel 10 dating show and was nicknamed ‘Mr Perfect’ by viewers after boasting about his strong ‘family values’.
But fans turned on him over his alleged controlling behavior towards Oetjen, including refusing to introduce her to his family until they were ‘exclusive’.
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