In their 4 June edition Woman’s Day splashed a story on the front cover with the headline “Lisa Curry: Why I Left Grant”.

Inside, they promised, was a double spread documenting Lisa Curry (no longer Kenny’s) “heartbreak”.

The magazine promised its readers an interview with Lisa Curry herself. But apart from a large photo of the former champion swimmer, there’s no Lisa Curry in the article, unless she metamorphosed into the “former ironman who knows the couple well”:

When Lisa Curry and Grant Kenny last week announced their separation after 23 years of marriage, with Lisa moving out of the family home, their devoted fans were shocked. But while the Australian public saw them as the perfect golden couple, Woman’s Day can reveal that after enduring troubles for some time, Lisa was left with no choice but to leave Grant.

“It’s as if they have been leading, unofficially, separate lives over the last few years,” says one former ironman who knows the couple well. “When I first met Lisa and Grant back in the ’80s they were this golden-haired dynamic duo who lived for each other in their own little world.

“They had the sort of connection that made other people jealous and seemed to have even more in common than other husbands and wives. But that bond between them went up in smoke quite a while ago, and now when they’re together everyone around them feels uncomfortable.”

Standard tabloid practice really. But it wasn’t until the following issue that things got a little awkward. In the 22 June issue, an ad appeared for 30 Plus, a product to relieve the symptoms of PMT.

Under the header “Lisa Curry relieves her PMS and takes control”, Lisa Curry Kenny, a spokesperson for the product, credits 30 Plus, for, erm, saving her marriage:

I took my bad mood out on the person I love most, my husband. I would growl at the kids but my husband really copped it. A few times he walked out, but thankfully he always came back.

…The main benefit of taking 30 Plus for me is that I am still married. I no longer have that day where I rant and rave.

Carl Thompson, PR manager for Natural Health Products, the company that distributes 30 Plus, told Crikey that the company placed the ad on 13 May.

When the separation became public news around three weeks ago, Thompson attempted to remove the ad from the magazine.

But Thompson said that Woman’s Day refused, which he branded a “lack of ethical standards”. Thompson then went further, comparing Woman’s Day’s actions to the tabloids in Britain.

Mr. Thompson then said that the main photo that’s used in the story, of Lisa Curry reclining in a chair, is actually quite dated and was taken when the couple were still together.

Thompson maintains that someone from the esteemed magazine had photoshopped the wedding ring off.

Mr. Thompson told Crikey that Lisa is still spokeswoman for the product because it worked for her. He also tells us that they will continue to advertise with the Woman’s Day.

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