The bitter divide at the heart of the Pullin family feud: Forget the tragedy, the charity and the tattle about Ellidy’s personal life… our new photos reveal the stark truth of this rift

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There’s an old saying about war: history is written by the victors.

Ellidy Pullin’s fans, especially those from Generation Z, were thrilled to see her on Saturday at the launch of her new clothing line in Torquay, along Victoria’s Great Ocean Road. She greeted them with a warm smile.

Ellidy has continued her inspiring journey, building a successful career as an influencer after facing immense heartbreak in 2020. Following the tragic loss of her partner, Australian snowboarding champion Alex ‘Chumpy’ Pullin, she rebuilt her life and now travels the world with a thriving personal brand.

The launch of Ellidy’s fashion collaboration with Ena Pelly almost faced a setback when her partner Chumpy’s father, Chris Pullin, publicly revealed a family dispute just weeks before the release.

Chris claims Ellidy cut off contact with him after he questioned how her charity, created in memory of Chumpy, was being run. He also says he hasn’t seen his granddaughter, Minnie, and that Ellidy’s followers are spreading untrue rumors about him online. (There’s no suggestion Ellidy herself is spreading these rumors.)

He shared his thoughts with us from his home on the New South Wales Sapphire Coast. He lives there with his dog, Stella, and has been coping with the loss of his son, who died in an accident five and a half years ago, and his wife, who passed away from cancer last April.

During the second of his two interviews, he admitted: ‘I am just so lonely.’

Ellidy hasn’t responded to the accusations, except for a vague post on Instagram where she promised to fiercely protect her daughter, Minnie. However, her recent actions suggest she doesn’t feel a response is necessary, letting those actions speak for themselves.

On Saturday, Ellidy seemed to be carrying on with her life as normal, suggesting she’s put the issues surrounding the now-closed Chumpy Pullin Foundation behind her. The foundation had operated for three years before closing in December 2024.

Losing Chumpy has deeply affected her, and continues to shape her life, but she appears to have found ways to cope and move on. However, Chumpy’s father has been open about still struggling with the loss.

At first glance, it might seem like Ellidy is coming out ahead in this unfortunate situation, if you were to think of it in terms of who wins and who loses.

The podcast host, 33, looked confident and stylish at her fashion launch, wearing a short denim dress she designed in collaboration with Ena Pelly.

She completed her outfit with frilly white socks and thick black heels, then put on mirrored sunglasses as she posed for pictures and chatted with shoppers.

She looked positively glowing, perhaps reflecting her recent surge in popularity on social media. 

Even if she was bothered by the news about her disagreement with Chumpy’s father, she didn’t let it show.

Her path to public recognition started with a heartbreaking loss in July 2020: the unexpected death of her partner, Chumpy, a well-known Winter Olympian, in a spearfishing accident at just 32 years old. Soon after his death, and with his parents’ consent, sperm was collected, and she later became pregnant with his child through posthumous IVF.

Since then, Ellidy has openly shared her experiences as a single mom to Minnie, alongside pursuing other projects like writing a book, hosting a podcast, and, until the end of 2024, leading The Chumpy Pullin Foundation.

She’s found love again and shared the happy news on Instagram last November, introducing her partner, Brock Wadsworth, who works in construction.

Her podcast, Darling, Shine!, co-hosted with Chloe Fisher (wife of DJ FISHER, who’s been nominated for a Grammy), has become very popular, attracting nearly 400,000 followers on Instagram. Fans use the platform to follow along with her inspiring personal journey.

Ellidy’s online following dipped a bit in early January when Chumpy’s father publicly shared his perspective on their disagreement. He explained that it started with an email he and his wife, Sally, sent to the board of The Chumpy Pullin Foundation in May 2024. In the email, they expressed concern that the foundation was moving away from its initial goal of supporting young athletes and was instead focusing on mental health initiatives.

The brief drop in Ellidy’s popularity quickly reversed after Chris shared his story. Her follower count has surged recently – Social Blade reports an increase of nearly 4,000 in just the last few weeks, bringing her total to over 372,000.

By the standards of local influencers, this puts her close to the top tier.

Ellidy recently achieved another career milestone by partnering with Ena Pelly, a brand famous for working with well-known personalities like Bec Judd and Elle Ferguson.

Ellidy’s new clothing line, Lucky Star, launched this week, and she’s the face of the advertising campaign.

Just a week before, Ellidy announced she was working with Jetstar, and she and her daughter Minnie enjoyed a sponsored, first-class trip to Far North Queensland courtesy of the airline.

She shared a video of their trip and explained they enjoyed a fantastic tropical vacation thanks to a Jetstar Holidays deal where kids fly and stay for free.

She scored accommodation, flights and even a trip to K’gari, formerly known as Fraser Island.

Ellidy hasn’t publicly addressed the family conflict, but it’s obvious her busy life as a well-known social media personality is very different from her late husband Chris’s quiet, solitary life in Eden.

The Gold Coast mom often posts beautiful photos from her trips around the world, featuring relaxing beach vacations and luxurious villas.

Since losing her husband, Chumpy, Ellidy Pullin (formerly Vlug) has partnered with several brands, often including her daughter Minnie in the campaigns. These collaborations include promotions for companies like Covergirl, Cetaphil, Breville, and Tigerlily.

Ellidy’s glamorous life often sparks discussion online, but it also highlights the difference between her world and the more private life of her father-in-law, Chris Pullin, with whom she reportedly has a strained relationship.

Chris told the Daily Mail that he and Ellidy had a major disagreement, which began with arguments about how to run the charity created to honor their late son.

Chris and his late wife, Sally, originally approved the creation of the foundation. However, Chris says it strayed from its initial goal of supporting kids from disadvantaged backgrounds in sports, and it shut down quietly before the end of 2024.

Almost two years ago, Chris and Sally emailed the charity’s board to express their disappointment that the foundation had moved away from supporting youth sports and was now concentrating on mental health programs. They later shared this email with the Mail.

Chris said the change troubled him.

In July 2020, Chumpy tragically died in a spearfishing accident off the Gold Coast in Queensland. His father maintains this accident wasn’t related to any mental health concerns.

Honestly, it breaks my heart, but it seems like everything went south after the drama with the foundation. He says Ellidy completely cut off both him and Sally – just blocked them on everything – after they emailed the board and didn’t even get a response. It’s just… awful. I can’t believe she’d do that!

Chris maintains he has not seen his only grandchild since the charity falling-out.

He described the situation as ‘devastating’.

Sally Pullin passed away in April 2025 after a difficult fight with cancer. Her husband, Chris, shared that the distance between her and her daughters, Ellidy and Minnie, caused her great sadness.

After the loss of his son and wife, Chris is now on his own and wants to keep the memory of Chumpy alive. He plans to do this by starting a sports camp for young people at the Alex Pullin Stadium, located at Mansfield Secondary College.

 

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2026-01-27 16:15