At the risk of being crucified by my journalistic peers, court reporting can be painfully dull. Even cases that look gripping in print can be a drag.
Fortunately, that wasn’t the case at Tuesday’s AVO hearing involving the former male escort Michael Burn, his ex-boyfriend Geoffrey Williams, and Burn’s extremely wealthy fiancée Alexandra Jakob, the co-founder of haircare brand BondiBoost.
Having sat before many a restraining order matter in the past, this one felt less like a procedural slog and more like a spicy bisexual soap opera.
An emotional Williams, after previous attempts to settle things had failed, opted to self-represent. I knew straight away as I sat down at Downing Centre that this would make for compelling viewing.
It was a day of chaos: constant interruptions, detours and the misplaced confidence of a man who appeared not to understand court procedure but pushed on regardless.
The case had already been dragging on for months: AVOs, counter-allegations, claims of threats followed by denials, unproven allegations of domestic violence.
And the glamorous cast of characters made the dispute doubly compelling.
You had Jakob, the wealthy entrepreneur; Burn, her bisexual British-born husband-to-be; and Burn’s former partner Williams, an older man with whom he once shared a bed and an escort agency.
Former male escort Michael Burn (right) and his multimillionaire fiancée Alexandra Jakob (left) put on a united front as they left Downing Centre Local Court on Tuesday afternoon
Geoffrey Williams (right), the former partner of Michael Burn, is seen outside Downing Centre Local Court with his support person
The centrepiece of Tuesday’s hearing was a phone call between Williams and Jakob on September 2, 2024, after Jakob had discovered Burn and Williams’s history.
Under cross-examination, Williams recounted: ‘She asked what position my husband takes in the bedroom.’
To translate for my less worldly readers: Williams alleged in court that Jakob had asked him whether Burn had been the initiator or receiver during his former sex life.
I laughed quietly, but not quietly enough given the looks I got. Then I wrote it down.
Jakob, when it was her turn, didn’t flinch under the gaze of her fiancé’s former lover.
‘I knew you were in a relationship with my fiancé, and I wanted to know more about the sex industry,’ she said. She was certainly direct.
From there, the case only became more tangled, with one witness failing to appear.
There were also mentions of Jakob’s former husband Gabriel – who is not a party to these proceedings, though he is involved in a separate matter involving his ex-wife.
In a former life, Burn was a male escort in a same-sex relationship with Williams. Now he is engaged to Ms Jakob, the co-founder of haircare brand BondiBoost
At one point, Williams became visibly emotional, speaking about the ‘family home’ he and Burn once shared.
Burn, clad in a fitted navy blazer, cinched-up slacks and sockless loafers, and drinking every tradie’s favourite energy drink ‘Mother’, barely made eye contact with his former lover.
In turn, Burn didn’t look at him. Not once.
Burn – a UK expat who amusingly once featured in the Daily Mail while plying his former trade as an escort, ostensibly for female clients – was in the process of applying for a partner visa when his nine-year relationship with Williams ended.
In court, Williams maintained his most incendiary claim: that Jakob had threatened to have him killed – a bullet in the head, he said. She firmly denied it.
But what of the recording that would allegedly prove this allegation?
‘The recording is lost,’ Williams said. A pause followed.
‘You said earlier you could provide it,’ Burn’s barrister AJ Karim responded.
‘It was lost two or three months ago,’ answered Williams.
Michael and Alexandra are due to marry in England later this year
Williams (left) became emotional while cross-examining his ex-boyfriend Burn (right)
Williams also accused Burn and Jakob of courting a ‘media circus’. It was a curious claim given that Williams had repeatedly called me before eventually attracting the attention of Nine’s A Current Affair, which ran not one, but two episodes on the saga.
By the end of the day, nothing had been resolved. The alleged threat was disputed, and the evidence remained missing. Magistrate Howard looked, if not surprised, then certainly tired.
Judgment on the order sought will be handed down on Thursday.
Jakob and Burn’s whirlwind romance began in September 2023. They became engaged in September 2024 and plan to marry at the 17th-century Grantley Hall in England’s Yorkshire Dales later this year.
Adding further intrigue, Jakob has also been in and out of court with her ex-husband Gabriel Jakob, a former pack-and-send worker. They had been together for 12 years, building a fortune from childcare centres before separating in March 2023.
Williams (left) ran the high-end Jake Ryan escort agency with his ex-partner Michael Burn
British-born Burn (pictured) amusingly once featured in the Daily Mail while plying his former trade as an escort, ostensibly for female clients
‘I knew you were in a relationship with my fiancé, and I wanted to know more about the sex industry,’ Ms Jakob said in court after Williams recounted their September 2, 2024, phone call
Unfortunately, the former Mr and Mrs Jakob, and her new partner Burn – who has Alexandra’s name tattooed on his chest – have not made for a harmonious trio.
In a hearing back in December, an apprehended domestic violence order was made to protect Mr Jakob from Burn for 12 months.
The order prohibits Burn from contacting or approaching Mr Jakob – a man so media-shy he wouldn’t let the AFR show his face in a fawning 2024 profile – except through lawyers, and from engaging in any form of assault, harassment, or intimidation.
The Daily Mail does not suggest Burn has done any of these things, only that these are standard AVO conditions.
