Disgraced footy WAG Arabella Del Busso seen outside prison for the first time – as convicted thief meets up with hunky ex-crim ‘The Muscle’ for a ‘bad girls’ podcast deal
Disgraced former footballer Arabella Del Busso has been photographed outside prison for the first time, days after her release, as she prepares for a new podcast deal.
Del Busso was spotted with the huge ex-British enforcer Neil ‘The Muscle’ Cummins, who has a podcast Secrets of the Underworld which starred ‘Cocaine Cassie’ Sainsbury and former sex worker Kim Hollingsworth.
Del Busso, who is most notorious for faking pregnancies with former NRL star Josh Reynolds, was seen laughingly embracing the 122kg, 1.93m bodybuilder on a Melbourne street.
Dressed in an Aje Athletica top and ripped jeans that exposed her heavily tattooed thighs, and carrying a $2,159 Goyard bag, the former lingerie model appeared to be enjoying the sun after her prison sentence.
The 34-year-old fled across the border from New South Wales to Victoria last Friday morning, where she lives with her also heavily tattooed lover James Warwick.
Del Busso is not an underworld figure, but a common thief. She is expected to speak on Cummins’ podcast about her humiliating and terrifying experiences behind bars.
While in Dillwynia Women’s Detention Centre in Sydney’s far west, Del Busso alleged he was threatened with a prison-made knife or ‘shiv’, forced to undress without permission and suffered humiliating shower and toilet experiences.
The claims, which formed part of Del Busso’s application for early release from prison, were almost all rejected by Corrective Services NSW.
Disgraced former footballer Arabella Del Busso has been photographed outside prison for the first time, days after being released from a prison sentence for theft
Del Busso was spotted with the towering former British enforcer Neil Cummins, who has a podcast called Secrets of the Underworld, which has previously featured ‘Cocaine Cassie’ Sainsbury and former sex worker Kim Hollingsworth
The prison’s female director went so far as to issue a statement about her saying that “the prisoner’s allegations … are not based on fact.”
Del Busso, who is known to have used 11 aliases, including Bella Donna Di Donato and her real name, Donna Preusker, has been released without any restrictions on her release on parole.
She just served a five-month prison sentence for stealing money from her employer while working as a receptionist.
The wannabe boxer was sentenced to prison for stealing $52,350 from a small Sydney medical practice between September 2019 and February 2020.
While working as a receptionist at Rheumatology Specialist Care, she devised a plan to steal tens of thousands of dollars from their practices in Kogarah and Randwick in Sydney’s south.
In April, after Del Busso argued for a reduction in her maximum 20-month jail term, New South Wales District Court Judge John Pickering ruled it was impractical to impose community orders if she left the state.
Del Busso hugs Neil Cummins, who plans to feature her on his podcast, Secrets of the Underworld, and Del Busso (right) in typical social media images she has now vowed to stay away from
Dressed in an Aje Athletica top and ripped jeans that exposed her heavily tattooed thighs and clutching a $2,159 Goyard bag, the former lingerie model (pictured above with her arm on the podcaster) appeared to be enjoying the sun after a stint behind bars.
However, Del Busso’s tears in her eyes and her pleas that she had been sufficiently punished due to the widespread and critical media coverage brought her strong criticism.
After faking her pregnancy to Reynolds twice, she did a paid interview for 60 Minutes about them and then went to SAS Australia as a contestant, before tearfully leaving the TV show when questioned about her lies.
During the New South Wales District Court hearing in April to appeal the severity of her 20-month jail sentence prison sentence, Judge Pickering cracked down on Del Busso’s lawyer Jehane Ghabrial when she tried to argue that “extraordinary punishment” or trial by the media was mitigating.
“She’s really been about it, she’s been pursuing it. She’s put herself on a reality show. She’s put herself on national television,” Judge Pickering said.
“Nobody forced her to join SAS.”
When Ms. Ghabrial responded, “Just because someone appears on national television doesn’t mean he’s inviting people [people] “To tear their lives apart… it’s like a wound that keeps opening,” Judge Pickering disagreed.
“That’s debatable,” he said. “Isn’t that exactly what you’re looking for? In a case that’s dominating the media right now, in the case of Mr. [Bruce] Lehrmann, that’s exactly what you get.
‘SAS… It’s the kind of show that people look for to raise their profile. She’s also tried to exploit it for her own profile.’
Del Busso has a new boyfriend who has promised to support her after she serves her sentence
Ms Ghabrial said: ‘It’s an issue that had nothing to do with Josh Reynolds. The media… keeps bringing it up… the reporting on it is exaggerated.’
Again, Judge Pickering disagreed: ‘The reality is that these are dishonest crimes and there are aspects of that history that are dishonest.’
Judge Pickering also referred to Del Busso’s social media pages, where the ex-con had posted dozens of photos of herself wearing skimpy lingerie and showing off her extensive tattoos.
She has now said goodbye to social media, with the support of her new partner.
Ms Del Busso’s boyfriend, Mr Warwick, gave a statement to the court describing his lover as ‘friendly, helpful, loving’.
The builder, who is in her mid-30s, said in a sworn statement: “I feel like people don’t know the real Arabella Del Busso.”
“The Bella I have come to love is the most caring, genuine, down-to-earth, and selfless person I have ever met, from a relationship perspective.”
The Secrets of the Underworld podcast is available on Apple and describes itself as ‘not for the faint-hearted, an illuminating and realistic look into the underworld of Sydney and the real Kings Cross between 1998 and 2013’.
Neil Cummins left his ‘gangster life’ behind after being convicted of ‘demand with threats’ and intimidation in 2019, but avoided prison.