Chris Pullin has opened up about his relationship with ‘daughter-in-law’ Ellidy Pullin following rumours of a rift.
In a candid video interview with Daily Mail YouTube, the 69-year-old recalls the moment he says he knew he and wife Sally had been cut out of her life.
He also opens up in the video about caring for his wife, Sally, amid her brave battle with terminal cancer central nervous system lymphoma.
Sally passed away aged 68 on July 8, 2025 – five years to the day that son Alex “Chumpy” Pullin died.
The Olympic snowboarder tragically drowned while spearfishing on the Gold Coast. He was just 32.
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What ignited the feud
According to Chris, the couple’s relationship with Ellidy, 33, soured in May 2024.
Chris had emailed the board of the Chumpy Pullin Foundation with his concerns that it was no longer focused on its initial purpose, supporting youths in sport.
Its focus having shifted to mental health, he argued that it insinuated that his son had taken his own life – negatively impacting his legacy.
It’s at this point, he speculates, that Ellidy – who co-founded the Foundation – blocked the couple’s joint phone number soon after.
“After that [email], we came to understand we could no longer contact Ellidy,” Chris said.
“Our calls were not going through.”
While Ellidy hasn’t explicitly addressed the alleged falling out with Chumpy’s family, she’s made it clear her focus is firmly on her daughter.
In a video shared to social media, Minnie called her mum her “hero” before pulling her in for a cuddle.
A subsequent Instagram Story saw Ellidy write over a photo of the pair, “You, my little girl, are the greatest gift in the world and I will protect you at all costs.”
Carrying on Chumpy’s legacy
Ellidy famously retrieved Chumpy’s sperm hours after his shock death in order to conceive his child.
As she was never married to the Olympian, his parents signed an affidavit allowing the retrieval.
She went on to legally change her surname to Pullin before welcoming daughter Minnie in October 2021.
Chris, who lives in Eden, NSW, revealed he has only been able to see his Gold Coast-based granddaughter a handful of times since her birth.
Their first meeting, he says, was in Sydney in late 2021, while Sally was undergoing cancer treatment.
Ellidy, who juggles being a model, influencer and podcast with being a solo parent, travelled from their home in Queensland with Minnie, who was about six weeks old, for the meeting.
“It was very lovely of Ellidy to do that,” Chris said.
“Sally was over the moon about that little baby, and her resemblance to Chump.”
On the second anniversary of Chumpy’s death, Ellidy shared a carousel of sweet photos of herself and Minnie enjoying family time with Minnie’s grandparents.
Losing the love of his life
Reflecting on Sally’s death, Chris recalls she passed peacefully in his arms while lying together on her favourite lounge at their home in Eden, overlooking Aslings Beach.
“She was at peace,” he said. “She looked like she was asleep.”
Carrying her up to Chumpy’s bedroom, he spent one last night holding his wife in their son’s bed before calling an ambulance the next morning.
“For me, that night was really important,” he explained. “I didn’t want to be in a hurry [for her to go] when it happened.”
Following the loss of both the love of his life – who he met aged 14 and began dating aged 18 – and their beloved son, Chris says he’s struggling with loneliness.
“I am just so lonely,” he admitted.
“Sal was 62 when we lost Chumpy and our lives stopped.
“She died at 68, but she really didn’t get to enjoy her sixties and what we expected to be our happy retirement.”
