Eastern suburbs domestic violence survivor Kay Schubach has been providing former television presenter Kelly Landry with emotional support and advice throughout her very public relationship breakdown with husband Anthony Bell.
Last week police applied for an interim AVO on behalf of Ms Landry, which prevents Mr Bell, a high profile accountant, from attending the couple's home.
Ms Schubach is an ambassador for Domestic Violence NSW and is committed to speaking out about domestic violence in wealthy and privileged communities, following her own experience where she was strangled by her former boyfriend, society figure Simon Lowe, in her Point Piper apartment.
"Having survived nearly being killed by the man I loved, who was my abuser, it was a long journey to understand the dynamics at play and so now that I understand how domestic violence in that context works, I could reach out to Kelly Landry," she told Fairfax Media.
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Mr Bell has strenuously denied the allegations, reportedly telling friends the incident that led his wife Kelly Landry to seek an apprehended violence order against him came after she had been drinking and accidentally bumped their toddler's head into a door frame. "I will prove myself innocent," he reportedly told employees at his accountancy firm, Bell Partners.
In an email to clients, Bell said he abhorred violence and had never taken a drug.
"By now you may have seen a most distressing piece of news about my family involving some allegations my wife has made about me," he wrote. "There is an allegation that I pushed her in November ... I did not push her.
"There is an allegation I spoke loudly and embarrassed her in front of friends. It did not happen."
Mr Bell's lawyer Chris Murphy accused Ms Landry of "perhaps suffering a little bit of celebrity deprivation" at the AVO hearing last Thursday in Waverley Court.
But Ms Schubach said leaving an abusive relationship was "difficult, stressful and traumatising".
"Kelly approached the police for advice and expressed her concerns and then an AVO was put in place as a result by the police to protect her," she said.
Ms Schubach said the fact that Mr Bell and Ms Landry were "powerful people in the spotlight" made it more difficult for Ms Landry to come forward.
"Because they are a high-profile couple there is a lot of pressure and expectation for them to always have a perfect public face," she said. "Because [Ms Landry] kept her personal life very personal, when she did come forward it took a lot of people by surprise."
Ms Schubach said people were often "quick to attack a victim".
"I think Kelly has suffered some really harmful aspersions and that speculations have been cast upon her character and her motives that are really unfair, and unkind," she said.
"Given my personal experience and my ambassadorial role I think it's important that we believe and that we support victims."
Since her domestic violence experience, Ms Schubach has been committed to educating the public that domestic violence happens in all communities, including wealthy and privileged ones. She wrote about her violent relationship in her 2012 book, Perfect Stranger.
"There's a lot more stigma and a high sense of shame, and a lot of the victims don't have any experience with identifying the problem, they have never been up against any need for social support or system support," she said.
"There's an expectation that because you are wealthy, life is rosy and that is very much not the case.
"You may have been a couple who are really in the spotlight in your community and have been held to a high standard so it can be very difficult to admit that there is a problem."
The AVO matter has been set to return to court on February 17.
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