Ivana Frost, the wife of swim coach and Masterchef finalist Paul Frost, has spoken of her “utter disbelief” at his 57 child sex charges for allegedly abusing boys in his care.
Masterchef Australia finalist Paul Douglas Frost has been jailed for 32 years after Sydney’s Downing Centre District Court found him guilty of child abuse.
Frost, son of swim coach Doug Frost, was arrested at his home in Sylvania, south Sydney, for grooming or assaulting a further nine boys between 1997 and 2009 when they were aged between eight and 16.
The abuser’s wife Ivana Frost, who is a senior Australian executive with furniture retailer Ikea, says she’s in ‘shock and utter disbelief’ at his sexual allegations.
Here’s everything we know about the love life and family of MasterChef finalist turned swimming coach.
Who is Paul Frost’s wife, Ivana?
Paul Frost has been married to his spouse Ivana Frost since November 2001.
Details about the couple’s love story, including how they met, and where they held their wedding, are unknown.
By profession, Ivana Frost is Ikea’s high-profile national food manager for Australia, responsible for the iconic firm’s restaurants and their menu including Swedish meatballs.
She has appeared in Ikea marketing material including YouTube videos where she is interviewed alongside former MasterChef host Matt Preston about minimising food waste.
In her affidavit, she wrote: “I am in shock and utter disbelief at the charges brought against Paul. Paul has no criminal record and has always been a loyal and caring husband.”
She said he had a “gentle personality”.
The family had been through financial strife when a food venture went sour.
Sebastian DeBrennan, Frost’s solicitor, said his client had tried, but ultimately failed, to capitalise on his TV profile.
“He was a finalist in MasterChef and had initial success in the restaurant and catering business,” Mr DeBrennan told the court. But things deteriorated that culminated in him filing for bankruptcy in 2016. The last few years, he and his family have been clawing their way back from those debts.”
Ivana Frost said losing his income after he was sacked from his casual job would be a further blow.
The NSW Education Department has banned him from working in any educational establishment in the state until a verdict.
She said: “I don’t know how I’ll manage financially with the care of Paul’s elderly mother when Paul is in custody. Paul’s mum has been beside herself with anxiety since his arrest”.
Does Paul Frost have any children?
The MasterChef finalist turned swimming coach is believed to be a father.
Per a publication by DailMail, he has two children.
The gender, names, and ages of his kids are unknown to the media.
Who is Paul Frost?
Paul Douglas Frost is a chef and a television personality best known for appearing on the Network Ten show’s first season, MasterChef Australia.
Frost made it to the finals of the show in 2009 but had been unable to capitalise on the attention that appearance brought him.
A food venture Frost started with his wife failed, forcing him into bankruptcy in 2016. The couple separated in 2017/2018 and divorced in 2021/2022, per Daily Mail.
After his arrest, Frost had been sacked from his casual jobs at the University of NSW and Malabar Public School in Sydney’s south-east.
The divorced father-of-two learned only when he was 40 that his real biological father was a man he had considered a family friend.
Frost believed for most of his life his father was Ian Thorpe’s swimming coach Doug Frost, who guided Ian Thorpe to three of his five Olympic gold medals.
He has been convicted of sexually abusing 11 former swimming students during the 1990s and 2000s.
Frost was arrested at the home he shared with wife Ivana, then furniture and homeware giant IKEA’s national food manager, at Sylvania in Sydney’s south in September 2019.
Where is Paul Frost now? Judge Sarah Huggett sentenced Frost to a maximum term of 32 years for committing 43 offences over more than a decade against children as young as 10. Frost’s earliest possible release date is June 3, 2047.