Rental crisis: Bella Varelis reveals pricey belongings after rent rise

A TV star has raised eyebrows by sharing a glimpse of her expensive home décor shortly after slamming her landlord for jacking up her rent by ‘$400 a week’.

Bella Varelis, 28, a former Bachelor runner-up, revealed on Monday she had no choice but to vacate her home in Sydney’s ritzy Vaucluse due to the prohibitively expensive rent and allegedly poor standard of property management.

But everyday Aussies struggling during the rental crisis expressed little sympathy for the full-time influencer – because just hours later she posted a slew of photos on Instagram of designer furniture inside her new eastern suburbs apartment.

Her living room featured an opulent stone coffee table worth $390, a brass dome lamp worth $314, a wave-shaped designer mirror worth $796, and a $1,000 Dyson air purifier.

She also showed off her copy of Athens Riviera, a coffee table book worth $195.

Bella’s dining area features several designer boucle dining chairs with gold accents, each worth $349.

She has previously boasted about owning a matching terrazzo dining table, which retails for a whopping $1,895.

Later on Monday, Bella shared a photo of her ‘bedside essentials’, which included upmarket products like a $180 brass lamp and an artisanal candle worth $100.

On Monday afternoon, Bella shared this photo of her living room, showing off her stone coffee table ($390), a brass dome lamp ($314) and a wave-shaped designer mirror ($796)

She posted a video in which fans could see her $1,000 Dyson air purifier in the background 

Later that day, Bella uploaded a photo of her ‘bedside essentials’, which included upmarket products like a $180 brass lamp and an artisanal candle worth about $100

Also spotted on her bedside table was a $45 ‘detoxifying’ pillow spray that claims to promote deep sleep, a $38 lip balm and an Amazon Kindle worth about $300. 

It comes after Bella was slammed for complaining about her rent going up by $400, with critics claiming she should just ‘move to the western suburbs’ instead of relocating to a nearby property in the east.

Some claimed Bella, who often shows off her designer purchases, could easily have afforded her rental increase if she reduced unnecessary expenditure.

Bella was slammed for complaining about her rent going up by $400, with critics claiming she should just ‘move to the western suburbs’ instead of relocating to a nearby property in the east

Some critics said Bella, who often shows off her designer purchases, could easily have afforded her rental increase if she reduced unnecessary expenditure

‘Feed full of designer bags as if she’s rich, but then can’t even afford the rent,’ one wrote.

‘Lol Vaucluse, cry me a river,’ another added.

Others encouraged her to seek traditional employment so she could pay her rent, instead of promoting products on Instagram for cash.

‘Maybe if she got a real job she could afford her rent, instead of selling teeth-whitening kits or whatever these “influencers” do,’ one critic said. 

Bella, who was a finalist on Locky Gilbert’s season of The Bachelor in 2020, made headlines on Monday when she slammed her landlord for increasing her rent ‘by $400’ per week

However, there were plenty of Aussies who rushed to support Bella by saying she shouldn’t have to adjust her lifestyle just to pay rent.

Bella, who was a finalist on Locky Gilbert’s season of The Bachelor in 2020, made headlines earlier this week when she slammed her landlord for increasing her rent ‘by $400’ per week, and also claimed they never fixed faults with the home.

‘Not moving out because I want to, but my owner never fixed anything in this place and then tried to put the rent up by $400 a week so it was a hard no for me,’ she said on Instagram on Sunday.

The social media star said she had no choice but to move out of her Vaucluse unit because of the prohibitively expensive rent and allegedly poor standard of property management 

‘The only good thing about this place was the view.’

Ms Varelis went on to list the issues she’d been having with the apartment. 

‘The dishwasher was broken, [the] fly screens were broken, [the] top lock on the door was broken, [the] oven had no symbols on the dials for temperature, [and] the balcony door never closed properly,’ she said.

‘Not moving out because I want to, but my owner never fixed anything in this place and then tried to put the rent up by $400 a week so it was a hard no for me,’ Ms Varelis said on Instagram

‘[It] was actually horrible but it served a purpose in my life for the last year.’

The top-floor two-bedroom apartment is currently available to rent for $1,150 per week with a $4,600 bond.

According to its listing, the property boasts ‘wonderful ocean views’ and a ‘kitchen with modern appliances, including a dishwasher’.

There is no mention of the dishwasher being broken.

She also claimed the ‘oven had no symbols on the dials for temperature’

The top-floor two-bedroom apartment is currently available to rent for $1,150 per week with a $4,600 bond. According to its listing, the property boasts ‘wonderful ocean views’