Ellidy Pullin’s engagement to Gold Coast builder Brock Wadsworth has prompted a bitter reaction from the father of her late partner, Olympic snowboarder Alex ‘Chumpy’ Pullin, who says he believes she will continue using the Pullin surname.
Chris Pullin, 69, told the Daily Mail that Ellidy’s name had become central to her public identity since Chumpy’s death and suggested she was unlikely to adopt Wadsworth’s surname after their marriage.
“I don’t think she’ll change her name, because it’s her whole persona; it’s been her cash cow,” he said.
Ellidy, 34, announced the engagement on Wednesday, September 9, sharing photographs of herself and Wadsworth with her ring on display. “He wants to be stuck with me forever!” she wrote.
The news comes six years after Chumpy died in a spearfishing accident at Palm Beach on Queensland’s Gold Coast. He suffered a shallow-water blackout and was found unresponsive on the ocean floor by another diver.
Ellidy and Chumpy had been in a long-term relationship but never married. After his death, she changed her surname from Vlug to Pullin by deed poll.
Chris Pullin questions the future of the Pullin name
Chris said he was unhappy that Ellidy continued to use the surname, although he acknowledged that she might also want to share a name with her daughter, Minnie.
“She is a Pullin, but she’s not,” he said. “They weren’t married. I hate it, but what do I do? All I can say is, ‘What would Chumpy think about that?’ It annoys me because it’s out of our control.”
Ellidy became pregnant through IVF using sperm retrieved from Chumpy after his death, with his parents’ permission. Their daughter, Minnie, was born in October 2021 and is now four.
Chris said he had seen his granddaughter only “three or four times” and claimed he had no current relationship with either Ellidy or Minnie.
“I don’t have any relationship with either of them,” he said. “I don’t see anything because it’s all blocked. I don’t even know where they live.”
The engagement follows a public falling-out between Ellidy and Chumpy’s family. Chris has previously claimed that she blocked him and his late wife, Sally, on social media and stopped responding to their calls.
Sally died from central nervous system lymphoma in April 2025. Chris said Ellidy later published a tribute to her but did not offer private condolences, which he described as a continuing source of hurt.
Chris believes the rift began after he emailed the board of the now-shuttered Chumpy Pullin Foundation in May 2024. He said he was concerned that the organisation had moved away from its original focus on supporting young people in sport and towards mental health initiatives.
He claimed the change had contributed to confusion about the circumstances of Chumpy’s death, including suggestions that he had died by suicide. His comments are disputed by no response from Ellidy, who was contacted through her talent agent for comment.
Ellidy Pullin says she is happy with Brock Wadsworth
Ellidy first spoke publicly about her relationship with Wadsworth on her podcast, Darling, Shine!, after initially worrying about how people would react to her finding love again.
She said she had once believed it would be “Chump and I forever”, but insisted she had not made a rushed decision.
“I’m just so happy right now,” she said. “I’m really enjoying the feelings and the emotions and falling in love with Brock and having this new love.”
Wadsworth has become a father figure to Minnie, according to the source material, while Ellidy has described the relationship as a new and welcome chapter in their lives.
Chris, however, said he feared the marriage would end badly for Wadsworth.
“I feel sorry for him because it’s going to end badly,” he said.
He added that the engagement could create further distance between himself and Ellidy, saying it might become more difficult for her to speak about Chumpy while married to somebody else.
“So this might be a good thing,” he said.
