Brynne took something from Geoffrey when they got married. Now he wants it back.

UPDATE: Geoffrey Edelsten wants Brynne to change her name.

The 71 year old sent a message to his former wife via The Daily Mail today saying: “Stop using my last name, Brynne. You are only using it to get publicity and attention, it’s desperate.”

Brynne and Geoffrey were married for four years, from 2009 to 2014. When they married, she dropped her maiden name, Gordon, and took his. But they’ve split up, and Brynne has said publicly that she does not want anything further to do with Geoffrey or his new girlfriend Gabi, who has been taunting her in the press.

Isn’t it time Brynne Edelsten became Brynne Gordon again?

That’s the question Mamamia writer Kate Leaver asked when she wrote this piece recently:   

It’s time for Brynne Edelsten to take back her identity.

Right now, it half-belongs to a 71-year-old man whose main interests include helicopters, infidelity and crime.

That man, Geoffrey Edelsten, is an entrepreneur with a lot of money (though there are rumours he is flat broke) and not a lot of charm. In the ’90s, he went to jail for perverting the course of justice and his role in an assault, bought the Sydney Swans and started a medical company that decorated its surgeries with mink fur and chandeliers.

Now, in his old age, Geoffrey’s favourite hobby appears to be dating young models and then cheating on them.

Recently, it was being reported that his latest girlfriend, 25-year-old model Gabi Grecko, left him after she tweeted “Sometimes the one you love betrays you the most” with a photo of herself and Geoffrey.

So here’s a question.

Why should either of these women continue to be defined by Geoffrey Walter Edelsten?

Isn’t it time Brynne Edelsten became Brynne Gordon again?

By all accounts, Brynne is a delightful woman. Friends of mine who have met her describe her as “the world’s sweetest woman,” “immediately loveable” and “harmless as a bunny rabbit”. She’s been a reality TV star in America, but for whatever reason, Australians just adore her. We’re mad about her. She has enough of a following, that she could still be famous and successful using her maiden name.

Brynne’s 31. She was married to Geoffrey for 4 years. Which means she was Brynne Gordon for 27 years of her life.

Now, I’ve never been married or divorced, but I know the value of a name. Mine means a great deal to me, and I will always keep it. It’s mine, it’s how I introduce myself to the world and as a journalist, it’s my brand. I can only imagine — for Brynne and any other woman in her situation — that when you’re putting your life together after the end of a marriage, the feeling of owning your own name and your identity would be more important than ever.

Can you ever truly move on from someone when you still share their name?