Now she is New Zealand's most eligible woman, but in June, Mona Dotcom made headlines, via this columnist, in an explosive tell-all interview about the breakdown of her five-year marriage to her high-profile hubby Kim Dotcom. She fled the mansion in the middle of the night on a golf cart, bypassing burly security. Dotcom was livid. Not informed about the interview before publication, he lashed back at his ex-wife. "He was very upset and angry," Mona told The Diary, "but I have the right to express my opinion. I don't need his permission. I'm not his princess any more." Too right, girlfriend. Three months later she went clubbing with Max Key.
3. Peter Williams' fake Twitter
He was exposed for faking an online abuse message he claimed to have received from a cyber bully. But TVNZ's Peter Williams told The Diary he was "pissed off and mortified" that he'd been exposed. He said he had been "asked to make the story up". He blamed "a Deep Throat" for leaking the story, and reckoned he "was sold a pup" by the network for agreeing to participate. C'mon Pete, where's the personal accountability? He told The Diary he hasn't been abused by a viewer in years, and isn't even on social media. Hello, TVNZ, how did you think you'd get away with it? The network had run a story trying to engender sympathy towards their reporters and presenters who were allegedly victims of online abuse, but it backfired more than a bogan in a Cortina in a Henderson drag race.
4. Chris Cairns washing bus stops
With legal bills mounting, former cricket star Chris Cairns took to driving a council truck and water-blasting bus shelters around Auckland for $17 an hour, his BFF Dion Nash told The Diary in July. He had to provide for his family and took on the manual labour gig, because, well, no other jobs were offered. Members of the public gave him a hard time over the match-fixing allegations leveled against him, too. He's hard up for public sympathy; hard up for money. The family have since moved from their rented digs in Herne Bay to... Remuera.
5. Ali Pugh's engagement
The bubbly blonde secretly got engaged to her muso boyfriend of seven years, Jo Barus, in May and The Diary broke it first. Ali said she was "blissfully happy" but wanted to keep the news on the downlow. However, she was happy to brandish a sparkler on her ring finger on air.
6. Adam vs. Sally in court, again
This year, the Ridge drama kept on giving. Sally Ridge lost her legal battle to gain half of her ex-partner's business and was told to pay costs of more than $100,000. But she didn't. Adam Parore then filed bankruptcy proceedings against her to recover costs. He lost, but it was a canny move. He got the BNZ embroiled, too, and that case is ongoing. Parore says he didn't want to bankrupt the mother of his two kids, but rather force her into paying what the court says she should.
7. Jock's four-letter talkback rant
RadioLive host Mark Stauffer said "f***" and "motherf*****" during a late-night talback segment, and we brought you the story. He also, bizarrely, discussed the age at which he began masturbating and how many abortions his girlfriend had had by the time she was 18. His co-host, Ian Wishart, blamed "tiredness". The network pulled the broadcast from the radio archives, and Stauffer was dumped.
8. Greg Boyed's secret wedding
TVNZ presenter Greg Boyed went to Switzerland on a two-week vacation and came home married. Hooray! He secretly tied the knot with glamorous Swiss singer songwriter Caroline Chevin in an intimate ceremony in her homeland and told The Diary the wedding had caught colleagues by surprise.
9. Richie's romantic endeavors
The Diary was the one-stop-shop for all Richie McCaw and Gemma Flynn romance news. The All Black skipper could not escape our amore glare. We told you they were getting more serious. There was talk of a ring. She moved in. He moved off, to play rugby overseas on tour. He watched her hockey game from the sidelines like a supportive plus-one, and was even snapped chatting to her mum, Michelle. Greasing the future in-law: nice one, Richie. Gem flew to the UK to watch his historic test with his folks; and then they cavorted around the States on holiday. Last week, they went to the Rugby Awards. Together. It was the first time McCaw has taken an official date to that ceremony. Must be love.
10. SBW's All Black comeback
You may not expect breaking sports news in this column, but you'd be wrong. The Diary revealed in June that code-swapper Sonny Bill Williams was a shoo-in for the All Blacks end of year tour after we busted his agent, Khoder Nasser, in a secret meeting with coach Steve Hansen at Hamilton's Novotel hotel. Nasser confirmed SBW wanted back in to the ABs camp, and well, the rest is history.
11. Getting Miley on the phone
So, international larrikin Miley Cyrus came to town and we wanted the scoop. Maybe she'd be smoking dope. Twerking. Racing around town with a giant rubber finger and her tongue poking out. It's celebrity gossip, not rocket science. But where did we find her? You won't believe how this column tracked her down. We knew she was on a boat, probably at Waiheke. Her brother posted a pic of an alpaca, and a quick call to the local Waiheke alpaca farm (yes, there is one) confirmed who owned the animal and its whereabouts. Another call, and I had the owner on the phone, an affable chap who... put Miley on the phone! "Hallooo. Hallooo. Who is this?" came the nasal twang on the other end of the phone. "Halloo, this is Miley."
12. Ali Mau's mag rant
A war of words erupted between a women's magazine publisher and radio host Alison Mau over paparazzi-style pics of Lorde and her boyfriend frollicking in the sea. Mau reckoned the pop princess should be safe from that sort of intrusion in her home country. NZ should spare Our Lorde, apparently. Woman's Day, Mau said, "printed the titillating photos for the sole purpose of selling more mags." But publisher Paul Dykzeul, CEO of Bauer Media, wasn't having a bar of it. He shot back: "Frankly why would we be concerned about what someone like Ali Mau thinks?" Ouch. Mau has had a longstanding dislike of the mag. Safe to say, she won't be selling pics of her wedding with fiancee Karleen Edmonds.
- nzherald.co.nz
