With the feuding mother off the guest list, her eldest heir finally had a day to celebrate.
John Hancock wasn’t letting his public stoush with his mum Gina Rinehart stand in the way of his nuptials a second longer. In a nod to his famous red-dust heritage, John, 38, married longtime love Gemma in a romantic, hush-hush ceremony in the Pilbara country his grandfather Lang Hancock founded.
The bluest blue skies crowning brilliant red rocks and the spectacular WA sunset provided a picturesque backdrop for 50 of the couple’s dearest friends.
It was expected John’s mum would not be joining him on the land where the family mining fortune began since the pair remain locked in a court battle for control of the $5 billion trust Lang left John and siblings Bianca, Hope and Ginia. But the proud groom still had some warm words to say about Gina in his speech.
“My relationship with my mum is complex… but I thank her for helping me become the man I am today,” admitted the Perth-based mining consultant and derivatives trader.
In exchange for participating in this story, John and Gemma made a donation to the Royal Flying Doctor Service.
Read more about John’s wedding and his relationship with his mum in this week’s Woman’s Day, on sale Monday May 26, 2014.
Related video: Billionaire Gina Rinehart inherited her wealth, but now she’s telling Australians to stop looking for handouts. A Current Affair looks at the mining baroness’ scathing attack on Australia’s welfare system.
