Fruit fight couple offered free visit

The Rees Hotel is planning to offer the couple a free stay for their first anniversary.

The newlyweds who ended up in court after a honeymoon fruit fight have been invited to spend their first anniversary back in Queenstown for free.

Ayman El Arnaouty, 33, and Olivia Mihaljevich, his 29-year-old bride, made worldwide headlines after the incident at the exclusive Rees Hotel and Luxury Apartments.

The Queensland-based doctor and his wife were charged with assault, but were eventually granted diversion after agreeing to complete a session with a psychologist.

Two weeks on, hotel manager Mark Rose said he was prepared to host the couple "on the house" for their first anniversary.

Describing the fruit fight as a storm in a teacup, he said the couple were "lovely and friendly" - aside from the incident that landed them in court.

"There was an argument, they were quite heated and there were a couple of terse words. It was the wife who asked the front desk to call the police," he said.

Hotel staff found chunks of apple in the couple's room and no property was damaged.

"There wasn't much mess. It was one piece of fruit, it wasn't the whole fruit bowl," Rose added.

Before Rose's offer of a belated wedding present, El Arnaouty spoke of the stress the case had placed on him, his wife, and their careers.

He told the Herald on Sunday the now-infamous bust-up was a minor incident.

El Arnaouty said the media coverage that followed the argument had been hurtful for the newlyweds.