There’s an immortal line in the movie Dazed and Confused where Matthew McConaughey’s sleazy character says, “That’s what I love about these high school girls, man.” I’m getting older, they stay the same age…’
A similar philosophy can be found in Sydney’s eastern suburbs, where the aging silver foxes of Bondi, Vaucluse and Double Bay continue to grow older, while their girlfriends (even if not in school) rarely seem to live to 25.
However, there seems to be one very notable exception to the rule.
Pip Edwards – 44, a single mother and a powerhouse in the fashion world – is perhaps the most in-demand woman in the East. If you look at her dating history, it’s a Hall of Fame of Sydney movers and shakers. The beautiful young influencers paying $2,000 a week to live on the beach just can’t keep up.
Her former flames include Ksubi king Dan Single, former Australian cricket captain Michael Clarke and Grill’d co-founder Geoff Bainbridge.
Then there’s bar czar Cam Northway and, most recently, interior designer Joshua Clapp – who happens to be the ex-partner of her best friend Leah Simmons, the famous personal trainer.
What do these men have in common? In some cases controversy. But most of all, they are all rich, all powerful, all admired.
And at some point they all tripped over themselves to date Pip, despite having their pick of the most beautiful women in Sydney.
Pip Edwards – 44, a single mother and a fashion powerhouse – is perhaps the most in-demand woman in Sydney’s east (pictured here with her latest flame, Joshua Clapp)
Pip’s personal brand is so bulletproof that even Michael Clarke’s messy brawl in Noosa can’t take the shine off her
Of course, I’m not suggesting that Pip isn’t as beautiful as the twenty-somethings roaming around Bondi. However, what I’m hearing from eastern suburbs insiders is that it’s not just her looks and banging body that have men wrapped around her little finger.
A former flame confessed he was ‘addicted’ to her during their time together. He knew he should probably break it off, but she kept pulling him back in, like a siren.
“She’s a temptress, I couldn’t control myself and kept coming back for more.”
There is a term for that: raw sex appeal. Not all women have it, even the most beautiful among them. But Pip has it in spades. Seriously, ask every man you know.
Aside from her effortless cool-girl style and impressive outfit, another ex said it was Pip’s mix of ambition and nonchalance that kept him captivated.
“She is confident, successful and a little intimidating,” they revealed. “And you know she’s not after anything too serious, unlike most women out there.”
Although her love life is legendary, Pip rarely pays attention to her boyfriends in interviews. Only recently did she say she didn’t understand the public interest in the men she dates, dismissing most of them as uninteresting. Ouch.
‘I don’t know what’s so interesting about my friends. I think I’m more interesting,” she told Stellar magazine.
‘Respect for the ex-boyfriends, but for me there are much more interesting things and more layers than that.’
Pip’s former flames include Ksubi king Dan Single, former Australian cricket captain Michael Clarke and Grill’d co-founder Geoff Bainbridge (pictured with Pip in New York City)
We so often hear about the ‘Peter Pans of Bondi’: the men in their 40s and over who like to date younger women. It happens so often that it’s a cliché.
That’s perhaps why it’s so refreshing to see Pip pluck these rich, middle-aged divorced men from Icebergs, show them a good time… and then move on to the next one a few months later.
I’m sure most women in their 40s would dream of living her life.
And besides her siren-like sex appeal, the other thing that makes Pip so unique in Sydney’s east is the way she emerges from all her relationships completely unscathed.
No man can bring her down or tarnish her brand. No matter who she dates, she remains an icon for PE Nation-clad yummy mummies from coast to coast. Her personal brand is so bulletproof that not even Michael Clarke’s messy brawl in Noosa can take the shine off her.
Speaking of Clarkey’s arrest (you know, the one where he blindly swore to his girlfriend about not sleeping with Pip behind her back), Pip’s reaction to the argument was so cool that it was my favorite part of the whole thing. stays. sordid saga.
A year later, she dismissed it all as a “distraction” that took attention away from “the bigger picture of my life and what is really real – and that is my business, and work, and my son.”
Will her latest love affair with Joshua Clapp make the difference? Who knows. I doubt Pip is even thinking that far ahead.
Whatever happens, I know from reliable sources that she is well aware of her attraction and the power she has over her past, present and future suitors.
“She’s a real sorceress,” one ex said.