By ANGELA GREGORY
New Zealand-born multi-millionaire Vaughan Bullivant couldn't stand living among his wife's domestic "slobbiness" so he built side-by-side Queensland mansions to save their relationship.
But Carmel Bullivant says the former vitamin king went too far when he carried on to buy Daydream Island in the Whitsundays, then spent much
of his time there.
Australian newspaper Sunday Mail reported the flamboyant pair had confirmed they would divorce after just six years of marriage.
Mr Bullivant, a former water skiing champion from Christchurch, sold his Nature's Own vitamin business for $177 million in 1999.
He then splashed out on the two waterside mansions in Redcliffe, near Brisbane, which cost more than $27.5 million to build.
In 2000, Mr Bullivant told the Herald he had been raised to "very fussy" standards.
"I'm used to things being clean and tidy ... but she is an absolute slob. You never see the bed or the floor. I just couldn't stand it."
But the solution - dual palaces - failed to save the volatile partnership of a couple who seemed to enjoy a fairytale lifestyle.
Mr Bullivant has had a series of financial misfortunes since buying Daydream Island for $12.5 million.
But Mrs Bullivant told the Sunday Mail money woes played no part in the break-up.
Her husband's frequent visits to his struggling Daydream Island resort and her refusal to leave Redcliffe had dealt the final blow to the relationship, she said.
"He's put his heart and soul into Daydream and spends so much time up there," Mrs Bullivant said.
"You can have a marriage and live in separate houses but, in the end, you can't have a marriage and live on separate islands."
"It's got nothing to do with money. All these rumours of fire sales are nonsense. We did all that years ago."
Mr Bullivant could not be reached at Daydream for comment.
