What Sam Armytage was telling friends about her husband before their ‘amicable’ split… and which socialite wore jodhpurs to a teenager’s funeral? THE GROUP CHAT WITH LUCY MANLY

Welcome to the group chat with Lucy Manly, where Australian society’s most trusted insider shares the hottest gossip BEFORE it makes the news

Sam’s high school reunion

The champagne wasn’t the only thing that was full of air at the 30-year reunion of Kincoppal-Rose Bay’s Class of 1994.

The old girls of KRB (as the prestigious Catholic school is known) gathered for a long, boozy lunch at the Woollahra Hotel on October 12. The center of attention was, of course, the most famous alumnus of their graduating class, Samantha Armytage.

I understand from an impeccable source that Sam regaled her school friends with stories of her blissfully happy marriage to Bowral businessman Richard Lavender.

How surprising! Because a few weeks later she would announce that the couple, who married on New Year’s Eve in 2020, had parted ‘amicably’.

Perhaps the TV star – who recently jumped from Channel Seven to Nine – was trying to keep up appearances in front of her happily married friends?

Or maybe she just wanted her exclusive break-up interview with The Daily Telegraph (which we spoiled anyway – sorry, Sam!)

A guest at the reunion tells me, “She was a bit boastful about their happy marriage and upcoming travel plans. It was like she had something to prove… there were more than a few eye rolls among the girls.”

It is understood that Sam had long since left the marital home in the Southern Highlands by the time of the school reunion.

About 40 women attended the meeting, who traveled to Sydney from across the country, and their group chat ‘exploded’ when news of Sam’s divorce broke.

‘Yes, Richard and I have broken up. All separations are difficult, but it is somewhat mitigated by the fact that it is amicable and we wish the best for each other,” Sam said in a statement last Friday.

‘I appreciate you respecting our privacy. I will make no further comment.”

Sam, who was recently announced as host of senior dating show The Golden Bachelor, is said to have been bunking in her Sydney investment property since splitting from Lavender.

The former couple were last photographed together at Sydney Airport in September after a trip to Noosa to celebrate her 48th birthday.

Sam’s relationship with Lavender’s is believed to be fraught adult daughters Grace and Sasha played a role in the marriage’s breakdown.

Socialite’s funeral fashion raises eyebrows

The mysterious death of an 18-year-old boy in Indonesia has sent shockwaves through the elite of Sydney’s eastern suburbs.

Aston Looker, the model son of designer Amanda Lennon, was found dead in a swimming pool in Bali on August 22, but the tragedy was only reported last week.

His distraught mother told friends she only learned about her son’s death – and his funeral – through a text message from her former husband, Saxon Looker.

“Her ex cremated him before she arrived in Bali,” said a friend. “She received a text from Saxon saying: ‘Aston cremated’.”

But that’s not the end of the story.

While Aston’s death and hasty cremation remain shrouded in mystery, some strange details of his funeral service have come to light.

Amid the tears and tributes at Aston’s funeral, more than a few eyebrows were raised over a guest’s allegedly ‘disrespectful’ attire.

My phone blew up last week Several sources claim ‘yummy mummy’ and Real Housewife of Sydney star Victoria Montano arrived in the eastern suburbs for her godson Aston’s funeral… in her ‘riding clothes’.

‘She was wearing jodhpurs and [riding] boots – she came straight from riding,” a source told me.

“You’d think she’d have the decency to put on a gown for the occasion and not wear her riding gear.”

When contacted for comment, the mother of two could not remember what she wore to the funeral, which was held at St Joseph’s College in Hunters Hill on September 6.

“I don’t know if that’s the case,” she said.

‘I got a call from his mother last week saying she didn’t want me to speak to journalists [about Aston]. Sorry, I can’t help you, honey.’

According to the folks at the Sydney Society, Aston’s mother got into an argument with Ms Montano over the outfit faux-pas, but the avid rider was quick to wash down the rumour.

“I’m not sure who told you this. Amanda and I have been friends since I was 28 years old. We spoke four days ago.’

Ms Montano wrote a tribute to her godson on social media, describing him as a “life wasted” that was “taken too soon”.

“Asty was a complete contrast: visually perfect face, a jawline that looked like it was chiseled from marble, and broad shoulders from countless hours of surfing,” she wrote on Instagram.

‘It was his vulnerability that attracted you. His sensitivity. His creative mind that was undoubtedly working a million miles an hour all day long.

‘He wore his heart on his sleeve. When we had time for a deeper conversation, I always noticed that he could express himself differently than all the other men I knew. Asty was structured, he had depth.

‘This combination of masculinity and vulnerability was capped off by his mother Amanda’s favorite characteristic: a finely tuned, perfectly timed sense of humor. The ability to be witty and modest at the same time. Not many can make you laugh as much as this young man can.”

And finally… guess who, don’t sue

Her flirty, feminine silhouettes have made her a fashion designer.

But it’s not her success in the rag business that people are talking about. The Group Chat hears that this Sydney fashionista – and I’ll be quick to point out that it’s not Amanda Lennon – treated herself to a not-so-subtle, lower facelift earlier this year.

The cosmetic procedure, known as rhytidectomy or “jaw lift,” is a surgical procedure that tightens and lifts the skin of the lower face and neck.

It has become so popular that a new yummy mummy-turned-fashion designer-influencer has reportedly also gone under the knife.