Dominique Francis tells Society Insider how new motherhood is going; Jaimee Lupton and Sophie Heatley have been combining business and babymoons overseas. Photo / Herald composite
A-List and mega-wealthy mums and mums-to-be, Jaimee Lupton, Dominique Francis, Sophie Heatley, and Francesca “Franky” Lourie have been busy this month with babies, business and babymoons.
Redroom Wellness founder Dominique Francis and her husband, property titan and Centuria NZ chief executive Mark Francis, last month welcomed their first child together, a baby girl, Saachi.
“We’re absolutely loving newborn life,” Dominique tells Society Insider. “It’s been the most incredible few weeks, and we’re completely besotted with little Saachi.”
The couple have been open about their struggle to have a child after 12 unsuccessful rounds of IVF. In February, Dominique told the Herald their dream of having a baby via surrogate had come true, with a close friend carrying their baby.
“Becoming a mum has been everything I’d hoped for and more,” says Dominique.
The family live in a modernist home on the Herne Bay waterfront, among some of Auckland’s most expensive homes. Society Insider is told baby Saachi has won the hearts of well-heeled friends around town and at Dominique’s Redroom studios.
“Becoming a mum has only strengthened my passion for building businesses with purpose,” Dominique says. “It’s also been an exciting time professionally.”
She opened her second Redroom Wellness studio in Takapuna earlier this year, a year and a half after launching her first wellness space, City Works Redroom. Both studios have gone from strength to strength, she says.
“Looking ahead, we’re also hoping to bring a Redroom Wellness Studio to life in Queenstown next year.”
Dominique says her other business, Lullabuy – which she co-founded with long-time friend Franky Lourie four years ago – has taken on a whole new meaning for her. She says the online platform, where Kiwi parents buy and sell pre-loved luxury baby goods, feels more aligned with this stage of her life.
“I have a much deeper connection to the brand now,” Dominique says. “Later this year we’re planning to expand into Australia, which is a really exciting next step for us.”
Lourie is expecting her first child with her new husband, Adam Lourie, director of ACL Buildgroup Ltd, whom she married at Tantalus Estate on Waiheke in February. Adam and Franky tell Society Insider they are excited to welcome a little boy, due around Christmas.
“Pregnancy has been incredibly special, but it’s definitely been one of the most humbling experiences of my life too,” Franky says. “Seeing Dominique’s little girl has made me even more excited to meet our little boy.”
The couple hope to enjoy a babymoon later in the year.
Meanwhile, already on a working babymoon are billionaire entrepreneur Jaimee Lupton, founder of Monday Haircare, and her fiance, Zuru co-founder Nick Mowbray.
Lupton announced last month that, after heartbreaking miscarriages, the couple were delighted to be welcoming their second child, a boy.
Lupton, sport-loving Mowbray and their 2-year-old daughter, Noa, were taking in the football action at the Fifa World Cup while attending to their business empires in North America.
“We are so excited to be welcoming a little boy to our family,” Lupton tells Society Insider. “Nick is hoping he’ll be an athlete.”
Mowbray also has a new Zuru office in Toronto, Canada. The family spent time in the nearby upscale town of Oakville, where they hired a seaplane to take in the scenery over Lake Ontario.
Lupton says she and Mowbray went to United States sporting billionaire Michael Rubin’s Fanatics Fest last week at the Javits Centre in Manhattan – the Comic-Con of sports. Mowbray and Lupton were VVIPs, rubbing shoulders with the world’s biggest athletes and musicians, among them Justin Bieber, Jay-Z, Tom Brady and David Beckham.
While in New York, Lupton also got down to business with store walkthroughs at Ulta Beauty’s Manhattan branches, one of the US’ largest speciality beauty retailers. She is planning to launch three new brands globally next year, which will expand the portfolio to eight beauty brands.
Lupton, who is entering her third trimester, says her proudest achievement continues to be the charity she founded, Gingernut’s Angels, where $4 million has funded 500 IVF treatments, with 80 babies so far being born.
She is thrilled to be having a baby around the same time as one of her oldest friends, Sophie Heatley, who – while on a luxurious holiday in Greece – revealed she was expecting.
Heatley, daughter of Rich Lister Craig Heatley, married her long-term partner, former Australian Olympian Tyler Martin, at her father’s multimillion-dollar Maui home last year. The couple lived in Sydney together for more than a decade and have two young sons; they are now based in California after Martin packed up the family and moved to San Francisco for education and venture capital opportunities in health and tech.
“We are thriving and so happy living in Silicon Valley and super excited – and shocked – to be having a girl this time around,” Heatley tells Society Insider.
Last month, Heatley and the boys watched proudly as Martin graduated from the 12-month MSx Sloan Fellows programme at Stanford University.
This month they enjoyed a babymoon at Amanzoe, the ultra-luxury hilltop resort near Porto Heli on Greece’s Peloponnese peninsula.
Heatley’s good friend, Kiwi model Georgia Fowler, is also expecting her third child and has been enjoying a babymoon in Sicily. New York-based Fowler and her husband, Australian hospitality guru Nathan Dalah, have two sons, Dylan, 4, and Zeke, 2.
This story has been corrected from an earlier version which stated Dominique Francis is hoping to open luxury accommodation in Queenstown next year. She is hoping to open a Redroom Wellness Studio.
Party people of the week
Gin Palace at Jacuzzi
Gin Palace held its winter social networking party at Jacuzzi Bar Ponsonby last Thursday evening.
Hosted by Little Empire Events founder Anna Jobsz, 160 people attended the Midsummer Night’s Dream-themed bash. Canapes included blini with creme fraiche, and spicy tuna tartare, along with the cocktail of the night, the Besos coconut and mango margarita.
Balloon NZ’s Kristine Snore created a Shakespearean feathered backdrop where guests danced to DJ Murry Sweetpants. Snore also brought a dancing robot, which was a big hit.
Guests included Jacuzzi owner Jessica Payne; entrepreneur Brooke Howard Smith and his wife, content creator Amber Peebles; Tōtara Hospice events and community lead Jodi Pretscherer; yacht broker Quention Lowe; and Pop Agency’s Tess Woolcock and Ben Parkes.
Ricardo Simich has been with the Herald since 2008, where he contributed to The Business Insider. In 2012 he took over Spy at the Herald on Sunday, which has since evolved into Society Insider. The weekly column gives a glimpse into the worlds of the rich and famous.
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Source: New Zealand Herald
