For years, Tattle Life tormented influencers online. Until one couple went after its creator.

There's a corner of the internet where faceless trolls gather. They dissect every aspect of people's lives. Pick apart influencers' appearances. Critique their parenting choices. Mock their relationships. Spread vicious rumours about their personal lives.

This cesspool of online toxicity is called Tattle Life, and for seven long years, nobody knew who was actually behind it.

Until now.

For those blissfully unaware, Tattle Life has become notorious as one of the most toxic gossip forums on the internet. The site claims to offer "commentary and critiques" of people who "monetise their personal life as a business," but in reality, it's often just a breeding ground for unchecked bullying and sometimes, doxxing.

Even Mamamia has been a target of this toxic site.

Behind the scenes, the site's mysterious founder operated under the pseudonym "Helen McDougal," leaving victims wondering who was profiting from their misery.

Thanks to an Irish couple who refused to be victimised, we finally have an answer.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Neil O. Sands (@neilsands_)

Entrepreneurs Neil and Donna Sands discovered a 45-page thread about them on the site, containing what the Belfast High Court described as "a calculated exercise of extreme cynicism" filled with defamatory and completely false claims.

Donna runs the clothing brand Sylkie and has more than 31,000 Instagram followers, while her husband Neil is an AI founder and businessman.

After discovering the thread in 2021, they contacted Tattle Life demanding removal of the content. When that went nowhere, they took legal action in June 2023, as reported by The Journal.

The court awarded the Sands £150,000 each in damages (that's about $300,000 AUD total), plus legal costs that have ballooned to an estimated £1.8 million. The judge also froze over £1 million believed to be Tattle Life's proceeds as investigators tracked down the money trail.

Justice McAlinden delivered a powerful warning: "A day of reckoning will come for those behind Tattle Life and for those individuals who posted on Tattle Life."

Remarkably, the thread about the Sands wasn't removed until May 2025 — four years after they first complained.

The man behind the mask.

This month, the court finally allowed reporting restrictions to be lifted, revealing the identity of Tattle Life's founder. A man named Sebastian Bond.

Even more surprising? According to The Journal, Bond is known online as Bastian Durward — a vegan cooking influencer who runs the Nest & Glow recipe site and Instagram page, which boasts 135,000 followers.

That's right, the man profiting from vicious comments about influencers was an influencer himself.

Speaking outside the court, Neil Sands explained they took this action not just for themselves, but for everyone affected by anonymous online forum.

"We believe in free speech, but not consequence-free speech — particularly where it is intended to, and succeeds in, causing real-world damage to people's lives, livelihoods and mental health," Neil said, per The Journal.

"Along the way we heard many stories from those damaged by the scurrilous commentary on the website and we are glad to be finally able to shine a light into this dark corner of the internet.

"What we have established today is that the internet is not an anonymous place."

Neil and Donna Sands unmasked the person behind Tattle Life. Image: Instagram/donnasands_

It's an important reminder for all of us. Tattle Life has reportedly attracted up to 12 million visitors monthly. That's 12 million clicks funding a platform built on cruelty and harassment.

Many influencers, including Steph Claire Smith, have publicly thanked the Sands for their courage in fighting back.

As Justice McAlinden put it, sites like Tattle Life are "solely aimed at making profit out of people's misery."

So next time you feel tempted to click on a gossip forum, remember that your view is directly supporting someone who profits from others' pain.

Our words and actions online have real consequences, even if we're hiding behind a screen.

Feature image: Instagram/donnasands_