Former Big Brother star turned luxury property tycoon Krystal Hipwell and her builder husband Neil have hit back at online scrutiny over their lavish Byron Bay mega-mansion, insisting their success \u201cdidn\u2019t just land in our laps\u201d.<\/p>\n
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Property developer Neil Hipwell and his wife, former model Krystal, are building a Byron Bay dream home<\/p>\n
First shooting to fame at 19 years old when she entered the Big Brother house in 2006 with her mother, Karen \u2013 the mother-daughter duo had matching breast implants \u2014 Hipwell parlayed her reality TV stint into a prolific modelling career.<\/p>\n
She graced the covers of more than 20 editions of now-defunct lads\u2019 mags, including Zoo Weekly, FHM, and Ralph, before marrying the Futureflip founder in 2014.<\/p>\n
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The couple is nearing completion of their new home at Ewingsdale<\/p>\n
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Features include a concrete spiral staircase and bathtub weighing 500kg<\/p>\n
After a nearly three-year hiatus from social media, the 39-year-old mother-of-three recently returned to Instagram to showcase the near-complete dream home she is building with her husband.<\/p>\n
But while feedback from her 155,000 followers was mostly positive, some slammed their spectacular eight-months-in-the-making project, which includes a statement concrete spiral staircase and round bathtub weighing 500kg.<\/p>\n
One critic labelled the build an \u201coverscaled farshion [sic] statement\u201d of \u201cexcess concrete that\u2019s blatantly insensitive\u201d, adding: \u201cIt may be well built but it is fugly as\u201d.<\/p>\n
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Krystal and her mother Karen were housemates in series six of Big Brother in 2006<\/p>\n
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She was a popular men\u2019s magazine model<\/p>\n
Another admitted they were \u201cjealous\u201d, joking the property\u2019s bath probably cost more than their entire swimming pool.<\/p>\n
Addressing the backlash, Hipwell shared a personal post detailing a gruelling 15-year journey to build their multimillion dollar empire, which includes the high-end Byron Bay boutique accommodation business, Bunker Byron.<\/p>\n
\u201cLately we\u2019ve felt scrutiny around reaching this milestone, so we thought we\u2019d share what isn\u2019t always visible,\u201d Hipwell wrote.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe definitely didn\u2019t arrive at this point in our lives by just manifesting \u2026 it came from years of commitment.\u201d<\/p>\n
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The couple purchased this site in 2025. Picture: realestate.com.au<\/p>\n
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