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1Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems2Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches3Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsGeorge Calombaris said he began drinking daily during Melbourne’s COVID lockdowns, when he was isolated at home and had little work. His account, reported by PerthNow from an interview on the Ouzo Talk podcast, came against the backdrop of the MAdE Establishment wage-underpayment scandal and the collapse of the hospitality group. The reported figures distinguish an initial audit finding from the larger total identified later; neither his comments about drinking nor his reported use of the word “PTSD” establish a clinical diagnosis.
What did George Calombaris say about his drinking?
In an account published on 14 July 2025, PerthNow’s Joseph Cassidy reported that Calombaris described drinking daily after COVID restrictions left him at home in Melbourne without much work. He recalled: “After COVID hit, I’m suddenly sitting in Melbourne, which is shut for now two years, sitting with my pyjamas on … looking at my phone going there’s no emails, there’s nothing to do (and I) start drinking daily,” he said. (PerthNow)
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Calombaris also described a moment about three months into that period when he got into his car intoxicated and his brother intervened. Recalling his brother’s response, he said: “And that was a moment, he really slapped it out of me and went enough is enough.” This is Calombaris’s recollection as reported by PerthNow, not an independent account or medical assessment.
In a September 2026 profile, The Nightly reported Calombaris describing drinking as a way “to numb the pain” after the scandal’s fallout and the collapse of his planned move to Greece. The article quoted him saying: “I started drinking, to numb the pain, and a couple of months went by and my best mate said ‘enough is enough.’” (The Nightly)
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New Idea’s 31 January 2026 interview reported that Calombaris said he had “a lot of PTSD” in relation to the wage scandal and that binge drinking had been part of how he coped. “PTSD” here is his reported description of how he felt; the interview does not establish a diagnosis. (New Idea)
What happened at MAdE Establishment?
The wage issue involved substantial underpayments to staff over six years. The amounts in the reporting refer to different stages, rather than competing descriptions of a single audit result:
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| Figure | What the outlet reported |
|---|---|
| $2.6 million | The Nightly’s 2026 profile says an internal audit in 2017 initially uncovered this amount in underpayments; the company self-reported the issue. (The Nightly) |
| $7.8 million across 515 workers | The Nightly says a later investigation brought the total underpaid over six years to this amount. (The Nightly) |
| More than $7 million over six years | PerthNow’s 2025 report summarized the underpayment period this way and said wages and superannuation were repaid. It also reported a $200,000 fine. (PerthNow) |
The Nightly reported that MAdE Establishment entered voluntary administration in February 2020. It also attributed a $50 million turnover figure to Calombaris, who recalled that the business lost 30 to 40 per cent after the media storm. That turnover and decline are his recollection as presented in the profile, not figures independently established here.
Calombaris’s statement to The Nightly about the fallout was: “We owned up, we paid back and that is something that I know, and the people around me know,” The outlet reported the quote in connection with his appearance on I’m A Celebrity. Repayment does not change the scale of the underpayments reported by the outlets.
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The reporting places the scandal and business difficulties alongside other career events, but does not establish that the wage issue alone caused his departure from MasterChef Australia. Calombaris, Matt Preston and Gary Mehigan left the show in 2019 after contract negotiations broke down, according to PerthNow and New Idea.
After the fallout, The Nightly reported that Calombaris and his family planned to move to Greece, then changed their plans as COVID emerged. He recalled that the phone stopped ringing. The profile says he returned to cooking at home for his family before later returning to hospitality work.
The Nightly’s September 2026 profile described hospitality residencies and plans to expand a Sydney-based hospitality group, including a signature restaurant. Those were plans as reported at the time, not confirmation that the proposed venues had opened.
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What the account does—and does not—show
- Calombaris’s descriptions of daily and binge drinking are personal recollections reported by the named outlets, not a clinical evaluation.
- The reports do not establish that he received treatment or that his brother’s intervention resolved the issue.
- The wage figures should be read in sequence: an initial audit finding of $2.6 million, followed by a later reported total of $7.8 million across 515 workers.
- His later hospitality activity and announced plans do not erase the earlier underpayments or establish that planned venues opened.
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