Madeleine West slammed her ex-partner Shannon Bennett’s father’s claim that he was afraid of her – saying his AVO against her was just part of the celebrity chef’s “continuous battle” following their “toxic” split.
The former Neighbors star is fighting a violent arrest warrant issued two months ago by a judge who described the mother of Bennett’s six children as “evasive, almost aggressive and scary.”
After West was granted a temporary stay of the two-year order barring her from entering Bennett’s Byron Bay mansion when her father-in-law was visiting her children who live there, West appealed to the NSW District Court.
In a hearing before Judge Jonathon Priestly in Coffs Harbor on Thursday, West’s lawyer claimed Benny Bennett complained to police about his former daughter-in-law “because his son told him to go and take action”.
Andrew Fernon, SC, told the NSW District Court the reason Mr Bennett, 75, said ‘I don’t speak to her’ was not because he was afraid of her, but was a result of the ‘ongoing battle between … Madeleine and Shannon’.
In Mr Bennett’s main statement of evidence of domestic violence, the court heard that he had described West’s actions at the Byron Bay home on May 4 last year as follows: ‘She pushed me on the arm, she pushed me out of the way, she pushed me easy.” ‘,’ and, ‘[She] stormed through the fence’.
However, Mr Fernon argued that there has been no evidence of harassment since the incident and an AVO could only be used on the basis of “repeated…continued behavior and the lack of evidence”.
Madeleine West (seen near Byron Bay before her court appearance in March) has challenged a two-year AVO that effectively barred her from entering her ex-partner Shannon Bennett’s Byron Bay mansion
West’s attorney claimed the reason was because Shannon Bennett’s 75-year-old father (above the cook) was because the celebrity told him as part of the estranged couple’s “continuous argument.”
West’s lawyer said Mr Bennett said he “never really had bad words for her” but the reason he didn’t speak to her was the hostile “marital relationship” between her and his son.
Mr Fernon said it was that and not the so-called “barging” incident that Benny Bennett was referring to when he told police about his grandchildren: “I won’t do it anymore.” I will tell my son. At my age it’s very stressful, I don’t want the kids to have to go through what’s happening. It affects her.’
When Benny Bennett said, “I can’t be the meat in the middle,” Mr Fernon argued that it wasn’t because West trespassed on the Byrons’ home uninvited.
Video of the incident was played to Judge Priestley when West picked up her daughter from Benny Bennett while Shannon was abroad.
Different views of the encounter from five security cameras at the chef’s mansion show West shoving into the mansion, Benny Bennett throwing up his hands as she stalks inside, and half-dragging her daughter to the car.
Mr Bennett follows the couple outside and then speaks to Ms West before she drives off.
West’s lawyer said Benny Bennett (pictured) had no lingering fears about his ex-daughter-in-law Madeleine West and that his son had told him to go to the police and complain
The district court heard the Neighbors star and her ex-celebrity chef (the former couple pictured in March 2016) had an ongoing feud that also involved their six children
Confirming the AVO in Byron Bay Magistrates’ Court in March this year, Judge Karen Stafford said the video surveillance “shows her nearly dragging the child off the property.” She actually burst through the door, although it appeared as if she did she would have done it [been] entry denied.’
Judge Stafford said she considered Benny Bennett “a reliable witness,” bar one discrepancy. I did not find it [West] be a reliable witness’.
A suspension order for the AVO was issued on April 13 and will remain in effect until June 26.
Mr Fernon argued the judge made “factual and legal” errors and that Benny Bennett’s testimony to police was “contradictory with what happened”.
“He lives in Victoria, his son lives in Byron Bay and she [West and Benny Bennett] “have very little to do with each other”.
Judge Priestley responded that it was “a little excessive to interpret it as you suggest.” His fear was found [Magistrate Stafford] based on the fact that he is scared every time he visits [Shannon Bennett] If this is not the case, he is afraid of being attacked by her.
Prosecutor Nicola Breward briefly argued that Benny Bennett was “not welcome”. [West] Inside… she has made the decision to go through the door and enters the property uninvited.
“He’s obviously feeling some kind of stress.” “He’s elderly and hard of hearing, she showed up unannounced, that’s all.”
Judge Priestley said he will present his findings on June 26, or sooner if a vacancy arises in the court schedule.
Mr Fernon said if he won he would seek reimbursement, after which His Honor said he thought the sides would “make it sweet”.
West made her appeal immediately after the March AVO ruling, in which Judge Stafford warned the actress to comply with the ban or face up to two years in prison.
A judge has now granted a two-year AVO against West (pictured) and warned her she could face up to two years in prison if she approaches and molests Shannon Bennett’s father
Ms Stafford warned West not to “physically harm” Mr Bennett and to discourage him from “threatening or harassing him, damaging his property or harming his animals” and that she “must not enter any place where he lives or.” works, including.” [Shannon Bennett’s Byron Bay property].
“In the event of a violation, police can charge you with violating the Domestic Violence Arrest Order and face up to two years in prison.”
Shannon Bennett, who rose to fame at MasterChef Australia, revealed in May last year how the split process between him and West had “made love toxic”.
In 2020 West left Melbourne and moved to Byron Bay to be near her children and bought her own mansion in Suffolk Park for $4.6million.
The actress and podcaster recently announced that she was a child sexual abuse victim.
Speaking publicly for the first time about her battle with anorexia, she said the trauma of the abuse caused her to become obsessed with looking “perfect” — a quest that is both “punitive” and never-ending.
“For any person who has been sexually abused, what happened to them will manifest as self-destructive behavior in their life,” she said earlier this year.
Last year, Shannon Bennett said West saw her kids every two weeks while they were with him the rest of the time.
“The kids live with me full-time and visit their mom every two weeks for a few days,” he revealed.
WHO IS MADELEINE WEST?
Madeleine West is an actress and model, best known for playing Dee Bliss and then Andrea Somers on the hit TV series Neighbors, the first role in the early 2000s and the second between 2017 and 2020.
While filming Neighbors, West was hit by a bus and suffered head injuries that forced her to relearn her motor skills.
West was an amateur actor as a child and also appeared in the television series Underbelly and Fat Tony & Co.
West was once engaged to Shopping for Love co-host Peter Lazer before moving on to restaurateur Shannon Bennett, best known for her guest appearances on MasterChef.
The couple met in 2005 and had six children together before splitting in 2018 — a process Bennett described as a case of “toxic” love. They never got married.
West wrote a book about her experiences as a mother called Six Under Eight.
Despite her split from Bennett, West moved to Byron in 2020 and bought a $4.6 million home to be closer to her children, who live with the cook on his Byron waterfront estate.
In 2022, West announced she could stand as an independent for the Ballina seat in the 2023 NSW election, but did not nominate her.
In January 2023, West revealed that she had been sexually abused as a child and the trauma she suffered had caused her to suffer from anorexia.