By J. Peterson and Matt Demarco For Daily Mail Australia
22:20 26 Dec 2023, updated 22:54 26 Dec 2023
Aussie Home Loans founder John Symond and his wife Amber McDonald announced their split after eight years of marriage over the weekend.
But despite parting ways, Amber and John are keeping things amicable in the family.
According to the Daily Telegraph, John’s daughter Deborah and her stepmother Amber are ‘the closest they [have] ever been’.
The pair are said to have had a ‘strained relationship’ in the past, but are now better than ever.
The real estate mogul, 76, and his wife, 52, started dating in 2011 before tying the knot in 2016.
In a joint statement to the Daily Telegraph on Saturday, they said: ‘We enter this new chapter of our lives with a deep, mutual respect and friendship for each other.’
They added: ‘We are united in our love and commitment to our family.’
John and Amber, longstanding advocates for charitable causes in Sydney, both have two children from prior marriages.
Amber’s children are from her union with Patrick Keating, the son of former Prime Minister Paul Keating.
While John, who has an estimated net worth of $580million, has two children with his ex-wife Kerrie Fox: son Stephen and a daughter named Deborah.
Deborah owns fashion retailer Mode Sportif and is married to Ned O’Neil, a prominent property developer and co-owner of Addenbrooke.
Insiders say the couple have drifted apart and are now embarking on new phases of their lives.
John constructed an iconic residence in Point Piper, where he has resided for the past 17 years.
Together with Amber, they have hosted numerous charity and corporate functions at this location and also tied the knot at the property.
In 2020, Amber bought a heritage mansion at Potts Point in Sydney’s inner city to turn it into a private residence.
For the past 30 years the property was an exclusive hotel for wealthy visitors to take in the sights of Sydney.
Constructed from earthy red-bricks with Tudor arches and stained glass windows, the house features stylistic elements dating back to the 19th century.
It has 12 bedrooms as well as an English library, drawing room and a guest lounge nestled just a 15 minute walk from the Royal Botanic Gardens.
In 2016, the couple wed in a lavish ceremony featuring a select smattering of Sydney luminaries, with hotelier Justin Hemmes among those spotted at the celebration.
Photographs taken at the reception showed guests being chauffeured in private golf carts, while others went with something slightly more traditional and arrived on foot.
Celebrity chef Matt Moran prepared a feast for the guests.
John made his fortune in finance, growing his empire for a boutique business in the 1980s to one of the biggest home loan companies in Australia.
He previously spent $75million on a super yacht which took four years to build before putting the luxury vessel up for sale two years after its completion.
