The Bachelor’s Laurina Fleure reacts to Nadia Bartel’s snorting scandal

The Bachelor‘s Laurina Fleure has extended her sympathies to Nadia Bartel in the wake of her lockdown scandal.

Nadia, a former WAG and socialite, was left humiliated after being filmed snorting white powder at an illegal gathering in Melbourne earlier this month.

It’s a story Laurina knows all too well, as she too faced controversy six months ago after a video showing her snorting white powder surfaced on social media.

‘My heart goes out to Nadia,’ the I’m A Celebrity star told The Herald Sun on Sunday.

‘I know the excruciating humiliation of having your privacy violated,’ she added.

Laurina was left mortified in March after a video surfaced on popular Instagram  account Celeb Spellcheck showing the brunette snorting white powder on a counter top while surrounded by a group of friends.

Speaking to The Herald Sun at the time, Laurina said: ‘I feel sick. I am humiliated. I don’t know what else to say. I am really embarrassed.’

Laurina insisted that she tries to maintain a ‘healthy lifestyle’ but had fallen into a habit of hard-partying since Valentine’s Day this year.

‘I always aspire to live a sober life just mainly for beauty and anti-ageing, and things like that, but there is also balance in life too,’ she told the publication.

‘Sometimes I try to be absolutely as good as I can and then the scales tip the other way and I have a blowout sometimes when I go out.’

The brunette said she planned to remain sober for the rest of 2021.

It comes after Nadia was slammed for issuing a ‘gutless’ apology after footage emerged of her breaking Melbourne’s lockdown and snorting what appeared to be a white powder at a party on the evening of Thursday September 2.

Victorians living under lockdown are prohibited from holding private gatherings.

The video was accidentally uploaded to Instagram by her friend Ellie Pearson, and was published for about 10 minutes before being deleted.

Nadia wrote a statement to Instagram after the embarrassing video was leaked, but some fans slammed her brief apology and condemned her for turning off comments on her post.   

Entertainment reporter Peter Ford Tweeted: ‘Probably wisely Nadia doesn’t want to see public response with comments turned off… and to her credit she didn’t reach into the Glomesh and pull out the mental health card.’

‘Cannot believe ANY company will keep her on as an influencer! Choices have consequences. Committed a crime shoved it in the face of everyone following lockdown rules,’ one person commented.

In Nadia’s short apology, she vowed to ‘make better choices’ moving forward and admitted that she was humiliated over the incident.

‘Hi everyone, I have let you all down by my actions. I take full responsibility and I am committed to taking all necessary steps to ensure I make better choices in future,’ she wrote in an Instagram post.

‘To my family and friends, my business partners and the public health workers trying to keep us all safe, I am embarrassed and remorseful.

‘I am truly and deeply sorry. I hope I can earn your forgiveness and, in time, your trust.’

Nadia is also facing calls to ditch her AFL star ex-husband Jimmy’s famous surname, with critics saying she should revert back to her maiden name Coppolino. 

The fashion designer has continued to use former Geelong Cats star and Brownlow Medallist Jimmy’s surname since the AFL couple’s split in August 2019.

‘Seems like now would finally be a good time for Nadia Bartel to stop using her ex-husband’s surname and revert to her own. Sure, no one will know who she is, but maybe that’s for the best after today,’ one user Tweeted last Friday.

‘Bartel surname ruined,’ one added, while another agreed: ‘Dragging the Bartel name through the mud yet again.’

Nadia and three other women were issued with Penalty Infringement Notices for breaching COVID lockdown on September 2.

‘Four women have been issued with Penalty Infringement Notices following a gathering at a Richmond address in contravention of the Chief Health Officer’s restrictions,’ a Victoria Police spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia on Monday.

‘The incident occurred at a private address on Thursday, September 2, at 4pm.

‘A 36-year-old Windsor woman, a 32-year-old Richmond woman, a 33-year-old Pascoe Vale woman and a 35-year-old Strathmore woman have all been issued with a Penalty Infringement Notice for failing to comply with requirements in relation to a private or public gathering.

‘The monetary penalty for each Penalty Infringement Notice is $5,452. A fifth woman at the address was not charged as she was complying with CHO employment restrictions.’

The Chief Commissioner of Victoria Police, Shane Patton, confirmed that they were taking no further action because officers were ‘unable to determine what the substance on the plate was’.