‘Don't know her': Fans spot petty detail in influencer's divorce

News.com.au

5 hours ago

COMMENT
There's a tried and tested formula to the celebrity break-up in the age of social media.
First, the more famous half of the couple posts a heartfelt, teary-eyed announcement, breaking the news.
Next, the less famous partner follows suit, confirming it's true and insisting everything is just fine.
But as anyone who's watched this play out before knows, it rarely stays that way for long.
Matt Zukowski has just proved this to be true.
After Tammy Hembrow, the fitness entrepreneur and social media powerhouse, took to TikTok to announce her divorce from Zukowski on Sunday, the internet braced for the inevitable fallout.
Hembrow's video, in which she admitted the split announcement was causing her 'so much anxiety,' racked up over nine million views in no time.
She stressed that she didn't want to 'get into the details' and wanted to be 'sensitive' to everyone involved.
But then she hinted that she hasn't always made the 'best choices' in her romantic life.
For those fluent in influencer-speak, this is code for 'I picked the wrong guy, but I'm not going to trash him publicly'.
Zukowski, for his part, responded with the classic diplomatic Instagram Story: white text on a black background, a tone of vague regret, and a promise to 'cherish' their time together.
He then admitted both he and Hembrow 'struggled' with the decision, subtly hinting that he wasn't the one who got dumped, but rather it was mutual.
Whether this is true or just spin, it's a classic move I've come to notice in the celebrity break-up playbook, given they know that the public will dissect their every word to try to find out the truth.
But let's rewind for those who haven't been chronically online in the last little while and have no idea what's going on.
Hembrow and Zukowski got engaged in 2023, but cracks quickly appeared.
Cheating rumours plagued Zukowski, but despite this, the couple still got married in November last year.
In March of this year, fans were reporting seeing Hembrow crying in public bathrooms and overhearing Zukowski allegedly badmouthing his wife at a Melbourne gym.
Zukowski soon moved out of Hembrow's Gold Coast home, flying back to Melbourne to work for his father's pool company.
Hembrow, meanwhile, began posting videos without her wedding rings (very Hailey Bieber coded), and the pair reportedly unfollowed each other on Instagram multiple times.
The drama came to a head this past weekend when Zukowski was spotted with sports journalist Taylor Little at a Melbourne bar, sparking fresh rumours about the state of his marriage.
Hembrow, meanwhile, had been dropping cryptic TikToks hinting that she was struggling to keep up appearances while hiding something big.
Within 24 hours, Hembrow made her official announcement on TikTok, confirming the split after less than eight months of marriage and the pair's lavish Vogue wedding.
Note: This might be a good time to point you in the direction of this fascinating video series investigating the Vogue Wedding to divorce pipeline.
In her clip, Hembrow reiterated that she wanted to avoid the details of the break-up and to be 'sensitive,' but her choice to blame herself for her romantic choices was a clear message to those reading between the lines, a.k.a. all of us.
Zukowski's next move was textbook influencer damage control – keep it vague, keep it positive, but make sure people know you're not the villain.
He posted that their time together would 'always be cherished and never forgotten'.
But just hours later, he got a little trigger-happy with his fingers on his Instagram posts and 'liked' a comment declaring him 'freeeeeeee!!' and when another fan asked why he'd walk away from a 'dream girl,' he replied, 'You don't know her …'
I'm no communications specialist, but it seems like that ellipsis carries A LOT of weight, and basically says that the rumours about him being the bad guy aren't true and that Hembrow might not be the saint her fans believe her to be.
It's a cheap shot – considering Hembrow is often criticised for having multiple 'failed' relationships, with someone even commenting on her divorce announcement saying, 'I'm sorry, I'm convinced it's you at this point,' which got 16.8k likes.
Zukowski knows exactly what he's doing here, and it's only fuelling that harmful narrative.
Over on TikTok, Hembrow opted for a classier approach, though it still had the vibes of a high school break-up playing out on Snapchat.
She posted a lip-synching video to a Taylor Swift song, lying on her bed with the caption 'Search Taylor Swift bride for me,' and singing along to the lyrics, 'I'm lonely, but I'm good. I'm bitter, but I swear I'm fine'.
It was a masterclass in saying everything without saying anything at all, and her fans ate it up.
So what can we take from all this?
For starters, influencer breakups are hardly the 'conscious uncouplings' they initially want us to believe.
And secondly, there will undoubtedly be more cryptic moves from both sides to come.
My bet is that Zukowski will tell his side of the story on his podcast in no time, as men just love to blab.
Also, he knows that Hembrow, with her 20 million followers, wouldn't risk getting that messy, so he'll have the last word.