Albo and MAFS have a bit in common.
Anthony Albanese and Kyle Sandilands could be indulging in hit TV show Married At First Sight, as their guilty late summer pleasure this year – with the series hitting close to home in 2026 for the duo.
Wednesday night’s wedding ceremony between Brook and Chris would have brought back some fond memories for Australia’s Prime Minister and the country’s best known radio shock jock.
The charming venue for the latest MAFS pairing up was also the same $100m+ home where Sandilands tied the knot with Tegan Kynaston in their own $1m nuptial celebrations in 2023.
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Married At First Sight couple Brook and Chris getting married at the Swifts mansion. Picture: Channel 9
An event at which Albanese was a special guest, alongside NSW Premier Chris Minns and a series of other big names,
Swifts mansion in Darling Point in Sydney’s east is one of Australia’s grandest and most celebrated homes.
‘LAKE COMO MEETS GREAT GATSBY’
Vogue Australia has described Swifts as a home and for its appeal as a wedding venue as “Lake Como meets The Great Gatsby”.
Hiring the venues is likely a matter of – if you have to ask how much it costs you can’t afford it.
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The MAFS couple posing by the pool. Picture: Channel 9
Chris having a whinge in the garden. Picture: Channel 9
By most estimates, it costs at least $30,000 just to get in the door, as in very limited use of the grounds and the house itself.
If you want more, it costs more and of course of on top of that comes catering, ceremony planning and arrangements, and photography.
King Kyle is said to have spent more than $1m on his time at the $100m+ home.
Regardless, Channel 9 were happy to cop the bill for the MAFS extravaganza and while the wet weather and the lack of warmth between Brook and Chris put something of a dampener on the occasion, the TV footage still managed to display just what an incredible home and venue it is.
Kyle Sandilands obviously went the whole hog, but it’s easy to see how the costs pile up.
It’s also easy to see why you would want to have Swifts as the venue for your big day, despite the cost.
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Radio personality Kyle Sandilands has officially tied the knot with long-term partner Tegan Kynaston at the mansion in 2003. Picture: Instagram/KIIS1065
Guests of the Sandilands’ included Albanese, Minns, Jeff and Suzee Fenech, Guy Sebastian, pop star Samantha Jade, Kings Cross identity John Ibrahim, ex-NRL star Beau Ryan and Karl Stefanovic and Jasmine Yarbrough.
‘ALBO LOVED IT’
Sandilands said he went for a ‘circus’ theme while singer Sebastian performed.
Sandilands later revealed Albo had a ball at the wedding.
“I’m sitting in the hotel getting ready, [broadcast producer] Bruno [Bouchet] was with me and Bruno’s shuffling around doing what Bruno does, he’s always looking at the computer,” Sandilands later told his on-air audience.
The couple’s first dance. Picture: Supplied
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese attends the wedding of Kyle Sandilands, pictured holding Kyle’s son, Otto. Picture: Twitter
“He goes ‘listen to these old a***holes on the ABC,’ and there were a couple of old blokes discussing whether the Prime Minister would go or not.
“They were grumpy old blokes who were like ‘Oh, well, it was a pre-election promise – he’s damned if he does and damned if he doesn’t. My prediction, in and out, last in and first out, he’ll be there 20 minutes tops’.
“Well, Albo spent about six and a half hours there.”
A TRADITION OF TOP-END SHINDIGS
The event continued a tradition of almost 150 years of top end socialite shindigs at the home, which was originally built by beer baron Sir Robert Lucas Lucas-Tooth in 1882 and at one stage was owned by the Roman Catholic Church.
So indulgent was the original build, the home has more than 50 rooms and is said to have at one stage boasted an opium den.
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The Sandilands wedding party. Picture: Supplied
“There are so many interesting rooms. There is a smoking room and the remains of an old opium den, which traces back to when opium was legal,” Dr Moran said.
The opium den is a type of sitting room and is known as the Moorish Smoking Room or the Moroccan room, where the depressant drug would have been smoked many years ago.
According to reports, aspects of the room at times remained shrouded in secrecy and the hand painted decor in the room was rediscovered during the home’s renovation.
It features detailed Oriental exoticism in its designs and chattels from that part of the world. It is believed to be the only room of its kind in Australia.
There is no suggestion opium was consumed by anyone attending the Sandilands wedding.
Sitting on 1.35Ha, a tennis court and an eight car garage were part of the most recent improvement.
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The Darling Point mansion Swifts, which is owned by the Moran family.
House keeper Alina Garces at The Swifts Mansion, Darling Point. Picture: Justin Lloyd
The drawing room. Picture: Justin Lloyd
The home has occasionally hosted open days, where the average Sydneysider could visit the mansion and bask in its grandeur.
Dr Moran said the Camelot-like towers and turrets that make up the exterior were restored to their original 1870s design.
“The property is very similar to Government House in many respects. The original brief for building it, in fact, was to build a house with a ballroom bigger than the governor’s,” Dr Moran told The Wentworth Courier in a 2016 interview.
Inside the home is more reflective of Downton Abbey than Camelot and it is easy to imagine the British aristocracy milling in the library, preparing for festivities in the ballroom or simply greeting guests in the lavish foyer.
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The home is available to hire as an exclusive wedding venue. Picture: Justin Lloyd
Today the Morans have the home set up in a similar fashion.
A long table in the formal dining room is dotted with silver candlestick holders while its surrounds include period pieces, ornate clocks and a buffet table set with silverware.
Dr Moran said it was hard to know just how many bedrooms the property had, because the rooms could be used for any purposes (officially it has 56 rooms). The original staff quarters were broken up into small rooms.
“We kept the 1870s layout, which split the home into a male and female side. The male side features lots of wood and there’s a billiard room. The female side is brighter.”
Swifts, Sydney’s Grandest Victorian Gothic Mansion setting up for Kyle Sandilands’ Wedding. Picture: NewsWire/ Monique Harmer
The Moroccan Room at Swifts mansion at Darling Point, Sydney, NSW. The Moran family are offering free use of Swifts to charities for functions.
The library.
Main lobby.
Dr Moran said many people he had spoken to about the home have shared their gratitude that the family has taken the time and money to restore the home.
However there are the occasional passers-by who have expressed their envy.
“I’d like to think people aren’t envious,” he said.
“Some people would think we’re crazy taking on a challenge like this. No (financial) support comes from heritage or the government as it does in a lot of countries. We feel it is important to maintain the home for future generations.
“The whole house was built as a home and it’s wonderful to be able to continue using it as a home,” he said.
Mark Moran and his sister Kerry Jones at the family’s mansion Swifts at Darling Point, Sydney, NSW.
Main staircase
Swifts is said to be one of Australia’s greatest remaining private Victoria Gothic Revival mansion.
The home was extensively renovated in 1997 and by any estimate is said to be worth well north of $100m, earning it a place as one of Australia’s most valuable homes.
In 2022, Swifts mansion owner Dr Shane Moran, of the Moran aged care empire, signalled plans to rent out the celebrated venue for top-end events in order to help pay for the maintenance of the home and its grounds, which likely runs into the millions of dollars annually.
It’s one of the few Sydney grand Victorian mansions still used as a family home.
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