Fashion designer Wayne Cooper has had a major legal win after an allegation he assaulted his wife during an argument involving a bottle of wine was dropped.
Cooper was set to appear in Sydney’s Waverley Local Court on Monday to defend an accusation that he attacked Elizabeth Adams at Bondi in Sydney’s eastern suburbs.
The case will now not go ahead after the charge was withdrawn during a brief court mention in late March.
Cooper still has a court appointment in Byron Bay in August when he will seek to prove he did not attack Ms Adams on another occasion and breach a restraining order.
The 61-year-old pleaded not guilty in January to those charges of common assault and contravening the apprehended violence order.
Cooper, who first found fame in the 1990s with his BRAVE label, married Ms Adams in December 2023, having met the mother-of-two just nine months earlier.
Claims of domestic disharmony first surfaced in public when police sought an AVO to protect Cooper from Ms Adams at Byron Bay Local Court last August.
The AVO was confirmed later that month, preventing Ms Adams from assaulting, intimidating, threatening, harassing or stalking her husband.
Fashion designer Wayne Cooper has had a major legal win after an allegation he assaulted his wife Elizabeth Adams during an argument involving a bottle of wine was dropped. The couple, who married in December 2023, is pictured on their wedding day
Weeks later, Ms Adams, 47, revealed to Daily Mail Australia that the shadow of Cooper’s ex-wife Sarah Marsh loomed over their marriage, triggering a meltdown which landed her in court.
‘Like Princess Diana said, “There’s three of us in this marriage”, so it’s getting a bit crowded,’ the former UBS banker said.
‘But, despite the uncertainties, my commitment to Wayne is unwavering. Our love for one another is infectious and we’re more committed than ever.’
At the same time Cooper told Daily Mail Australia: ‘Everything is fine. It’s a storm in a teacup. We’re together and we’re happy and that’s it.’
Ms Marsh responded by saying she was not in contact with Cooper and had nothing to do with his new wife.
‘I’ve never even met her,’ the one-time model said. ‘Except for seeing her in court once. As for him, I haven’t spoken to Wayne in over two years.’
Days after those comments, in mid-September, Byron Bay police applied for an AVO to protect Ms Adams from Cooper. That matter was dismissed on October 28.
On December 8, Ms Adams went to police claiming Cooper had assaulted her during an argument which involved a wine bottle at an apartment complex in Campbell Parade, Bondi.
Cooper appeared before Byron Bay magistrate Kathy Crittenden on Monday when he pleaded not guilty to common assault and contravening the apprehended violence order. He is pictured at a 2008 court appearance
That resulted in Cooper being charged with common assault the following day when he was also served with another interim AVO.
Cooper did not appear in Waverley Local Court on December 12 over the Bondi assault charge but pleaded not guilty and the case was adjourned for a hearing on May 19.
The charge was withdrawn on March 27, along with the AVO application.
Cooper was arrested and faced court on December 21 charged with contravening an AVO and another count of common assault.
He was granted bail with conditions including that he not enter Myocum and report to Byron Bay police station on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
Cooper was arrested again on December 27 at Myocum and spent another night in the cells.
He faced Parramatta Local Court via audio-visual link the following day accused of breaching his bail but was set free once more.
Cooper’s new bail conditions allowed him to collect a vehicle from Byron Bay and then to not go within 200km of the town except to attend court.
Claims of domestic disharmony between Cooper and Ms Adams first surfaced when police sought an AVO to protect him from her last August. Ms Adams is pictured on her wedding day
He was ordered to live at an address within the City of Sydney local government area and report three times a week to Kings Cross police station.
Cooper proposed to Ms Adams by hiding an engagement ring in a bowl of caviar during a romantic dinner at Bondi Icebergs.
The couple had been dating for just eight months following the breakdown of Cooper’s tumultuous 25-year relationship with Ms Marsh.
Cooper and Ms Marsh sold their Tamarama home for $11million in February 2022, having bought the five-bedroom, five-bathroom house for $5.5 million in 2011.
The next month they paid $5.09 million for the Myocum property, a five-bedroom, six-bathroom estate with a resort-style swimming pool, landscaped gardens and tennis court.
Cooper was arrested at the Myocum house in May 2022 and charged with two counts of domestic violence-related common assault upon Ms Marsh.
Those charges came barely 12 months after Cooper had furiously denied he and Ms Marsh had ended their marriage.
Cooper, who has two children with Ms Marsh, told Daily Mail Australia at the time that a story the pair had split was ‘completely fabricated’.
Ms Adams has said the shadow of Cooper’s ex-wife Sarah Marsh loomed over their marriage, triggering a meltdown which landed her in court. Wayne Cooper is pictured with Ms Marsh
The assault charges, stemming from alleged incidents at Tamarama in December 2015 and May 2016, were dismissed by a magistrate in August 2023.
An application for an AVO to protect Ms Marsh from Cooper was also dismissed.
Cooper was placed on a two-year good behaviour bond in December 2008 after pleading guilty to assaulting Ms Marsh just days after she had cancer surgery.
The assault occurred when Ms Marsh tried to demonstrate to Cooper how she alleged he had pushed her while on holiday at Port Douglas in far north Queensland.
Charges of assault causing bodily harm and stalking and intimidation arising from the same events were withdrawn at Waverley Local Court.
British-born Cooper grew up in London’s East End and moved to Australia in 1985, studying fashion design at East Sydney Technical College.
He started the labels BRAVE, WAYNE COOPER and WAYNE. His clothes were once sold at two boutiques in Melbourne and are now available at Myer department stores.
Cooper’s Australian Fashion Week shows have featured Linda Evangelista, Eva Herzigova and Sarah O’Hare (now Murdoch) on the catwalk and he was a regular guest on the reality TV series Australia’s Next Top Model.
