Reality TV star Sam Wood has been stood down indefinitely from his online fitness and nutrition empire after being charged with domestic violence offences.
Wood did not appear in court in Queensland on Monday, and he will remain behind bars until a bail application on Thursday.
Meanwhile, the multi-million dollar wellness businesses of which he was the face issued a statement about the allegations.
“DBG Health, the parent company of 28 by Sam Wood, has zero tolerance for domestic violence,” a DBG Health spokesperson said.
“While the matter is under investigation and before the court, Sam Wood is on indefinite leave from his duties. Our thoughts are with the family and anyone in the community affected by domestic violence,” they said.
“Mark Watkins, 28 Group’s Chief Operating Officer, will be leading the business in Sam Wood’s absence.”
The ultimate owner of Wood’s business, 28 by Sam Wood, is billionaire Dennis Bastas’ DBG Health.
Queensland Police charged the 46-year-old with assault occasioning bodily harm (domestic violence) and strangulation in a domestic setting after they were called to an address in Noosa on Saturday at about 9pm.
The move by DBG Health, which also owns medical weight-loss business Ollo For Women, comes after Wood and his wife Snezana posted a statement on their respective Instagram accounts on Monday saying they were going through a “difficult time.”
“This is a difficult time for all of us, we are working through this as a family and are cooperating with authorities,” the statement read.
Wood shot to national prominence on the Channel 10 reality matchmaking show The Bachelor in 2015, falling in love with single mum Snezana Markoski.
The Melbourne-based couple wed in Byron Bay in November 2018.
Starting out as a personal trainer and operating The Woodshed gym in bayside Melbourne, following his stint on The Bachelor that gave him a national profile, Wood established an online fitness business called 28 By Sam Wood.
He sold the business in 2022 to genomics group myDNA for $71 million. The myDNA company is backed by Melbourne-based businessman and healthcare entrepreneur Dennis Bastas.
Wood has remained the face of the 28 fitness and nutrition online platform since it transitioned ownership and, in July this year, was announced as the frontman for a new business, Ollo For Women.
Ollo is a medical weight-loss, nutrition and telehealth-focused platform catering to women aged 40.
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Fiona Byrne is the CBD columnist for The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via email.
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