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Businesswoman and part-time TV celebrity Annette Presley has broken her silence over a dispute with estranged husband Malcolm Dick - denying that he took the lead to have her sacked as chief executive of CallPlus, the internet and phone company the pair founded.
In September, Dick sent out a press release claiming Presley was stepping down from the business. Presley, who was on holiday in Fiji at the time, denied she was leaving and has refused to talk to the media until now.
In an email to the Business Herald, Presley said she made the decision about a year ago to step down from being the face of Slingshot, the residential internet arm of CallPlus.
"I notified them of this about three months ago and this was entirely driven by me," she said.
This is a change of tune for the internet diva who initially reacted to Dick's press release by saying she knew nothing about plans for her to step down as Slingshot spokeswoman.
Presley said she owned nearly half the company so could not be fired at any stage.
The stakes in the battle between Dick and Presley, who split in June, are high, with CallPlus' annual turnover in excess of $70 million.
Presley rose to fame as the face of Slingshot but, while the owner-operated brand strategy had been successful, she said it was time to move on.
"I continue to support the management of CallPlus while recognising there have been some ill-judged decisions made over the last six months," she said.
"I have invested the last 10 years of my life into this company and made it what it is today and will always support Slingshot and CallPlus and the team of people I have hired that make the company what it is today."
Presley, Dick and Martin Wylie would remain as executive directors and appoint independent directors this year.
Dick yesterday agreed with Presley's comments. "We are still negotiating the final terms of the investments in the company," he said.
Dick said he had not had a face to face with Presley since the June split as she had appointed an independent director to attend board meetings in her place.
