Australia was meant to be Virginia Giuffre’s escape from Jeffrey Epstein. It was another secret hell
Updated ,first published
Virginia Giuffre was finally free.
After more than two years in the clutches of the world’s most notorious pedophile and his accomplice, the 19-year-old found his savior in a charming Australian tourist.
It was late 2002. Ten days after meeting on holiday in Thailand, she married 26-year-old Robbie Giuffre in a Chiang Mai temple. After the honeymoon, the bride moved to Australia with her new husband. There he could learn how to be a functioning adult in the normal world. She would never have to see Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell again.
“It was an escape, but it was an escape with a happy ending,” Giuffre said. 60 Minutes Tara Brown He described his whirlwind courtship in a rare in-depth television interview in 2019. But that wasn’t the whole story.
While Giuffre lives a quiet life in Australia with her husband and three children, she gained worldwide fame by competing against some of the strongest people in the world.
Won legal battles against Epstein and Maxwell. It led to the downfall of the man formerly known as Prince Andrew, Duke of York.
It inspired dozens of other victims to come forward. And he fought for justice despite real threats to his life.
This strength and pain have been immortalized in countless headlines, docuseries, and books; This includes the memoirs he wrote after his death. Nobody’s Daughter.
Less well known was his battle behind closed doors, including in the months leading up to April 2025 when he took his own life at his farm at Neergabby in WA’s Wheatbelt, an hour north of Perth.
But not anymore.
Access to Giuffre’s diaries, court documents, personal messages to friends and family, and exclusive interviews with those who stood by her until the end. Have a nice weekend senior writer and Walkley Award winner Melissa Fyfe And WAtoday journalist Carla Hildebrandt We’ve pieced together what happened in the final months before Giuffre’s death at age 41.
The result is a gripping four-part investigative series titled. VirginiaIt’s a film that examines the violence that both Giuffre and her husband commit against each other, the temporary restraining order filed against her, the removal of her children by a judge, and the system she turns to for protection that ultimately fails her.
He helped destroy a prince and a millionaire. Before her death, Giuffre was wealthy and had the resources to defend herself. And yet. Yet he was mistakenly identified as a violent man and banned from contact with his children.
If this could happen to him, it could happen to anyone.
new episodes VirginiaHosted by Fyfe and Hildebrandt, it will air every Saturday starting July 11. Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, WATodayor wherever you get your podcasts. Listen to the first episode in the player above or Click here. The second part comes out tomorrow.
Responding to allegations of domestic violence in this podcast, Robbie Giuffre stated through his lawyers that his wife suffered from “significant mental health issues and an over-reliance on prescription medications” due to the pressure of being in the public eye, which may have led to her change of perspective.
His lawyer says this Nobody’s Daughter“Virginia praised and thanked Robbie for his support throughout their marriage and especially for his fight to be heard.”
The statement stated that Robbie and the children want to remember Virginia as a loving wife and mother.
If you or anyone you know needs support you can contact the National Sexual Assault, Domestic and Family Violence Advisory Service on 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732), Lifeline 131 114 or Beyond Blue 1300 224 636.
Carla Hildebrandt is a journalist at WAtoday. She previously worked as a courts reporter for the ABC’s Four Corners and for The Daily Telegraph in Sydney. For secure communication: carlahildebrandt@proton.me.Connect via email.
