Celebrity chef Shannon Bennett was the subject of an AVO on behalf of Madeleine West

Celebrity chef Shannon Bennett was once the subject of a domestic violence order issued on behalf of his embattled former lover, ex-Neighbours star Madeleine West – before it was suddenly dropped.

Bennett, who is a regular guest on the hit TV show Masterchef, dated West for 13 years before they split in 2018.

She called the divorce “messy” at the time and compared it to “crossing the Sahara desert.”

Now it can be revealed that the police have issued a domestic violence arrest warrant against Bennett on behalf of West, two years after their split in July 2020.

The case was scheduled for hearing in Byron Bay Local Court in August of that year, but the order was withdrawn and dismissed. The reasons for the order are unknown.

West has been embroiled in her own legal battle this year — Monday she unsuccessfully contested a restraining order issued against her on behalf of Bennett’s father, Benny.

Last week, magistrate Karen Stafford enforced the AVO for two years – preventing the actress from approaching Benny Bennett or Shannon Bennett’s Byron Bay estate when his father is visiting.

The appeal was filed just days after the magistrate called her an “evasive” and unreliable witness and described West’s treatment of her ex-father-in-law, 75, as “verging on aggressive.”

The domestic violence arrest warrant followed a confrontation between the pair last May.

Magistrate Stafford discovered that West had broken into Shannon Bennett’s house while the chef was abroad and Benny Bennett was at home. The encounter was captured on CCTV.

The Magistrate concluded: ‘I am convinced that Benny Bennett has these fears, not of personal violence … he is staying with the children.’

“I am sure he fears he will be harassed by (Madeleine West) when he visits his grandchildren.

West unsuccessfully challenged an AVO plotted against her on behalf of Bennett’s father, Benny

West was not charged and denied an allegation that she pushed her ex-father-in-law before taking an 11-year-old girl and telling the court ‘I didn’t touch him’.

The magistrate said CCTV footage of the incident shows West’s behavior almost verging on aggressive, shows her almost dragging that child off that property.

She stormed through the door when it turned out she had been denied entry.

“It certainly looked like she had a grip on (the child’s wrist) and was almost dragging the child . . . out of the yard.

“In many of the scenes (Mr. Bennett’s) head is bowed, his shoulders shrugged, almost in defensive acquiescence by this man she wasn’t listening to.

“Once the gate is open… (West is) assertive almost aggressive. She … walks vigorously up the path to the house, followed by Benny Bennett who looks rather dejected.

“She seems to grab hold of the child, almost forcing the child (who was sick) to be attended to, and yet she steps at a very fast pace, expecting this child to follow her very fast stride on the path and the child almost stumbles to keep up with her.’

Bennett has full custody of their six children, who are between the ages of nine and seventeen.

West, who used to star in Neighbors (pictured), said the divorce with Bennett was “messy” and likened it to “crossing the Sahara desert”

In 2020, West left Melbourne and moved to Byron Bay to be near her children, purchasing her own $4.6 million mansion in Suffolk Park.

More recently, the actress and podcaster revealed that she was a victim of child sexual abuse.

Although Benny Bennett lives in Victoria, his wife died in 2020 and he regularly visits his grandchildren at Shannon Bennett’s home in Byron Bay.

Following the alleged incident in May last year, the court heard Mr Bennett say he would not make such visits again.

“I won’t do it again, I’ll just tell my son, at my age it’s very stressful,” the court heard he said.

“I don’t want to hurt the kids. It hits them. I’m only going up if Shannon’s there.’

“I can’t stand what she’s doing,” Mr. Bennett reportedly said of West’s behavior around his grandchildren: “I can’t be the meat in the middle.”