‘No drinking, drugs’: X Factor star Isaiah Firebrace’s girlfriend warned

The girlfriend of a former X Factor winner and domestic violence prevention advocate has been warned by a magistrate she cannot see him within 12 hours of drinking or taking drugs. Stephanie Mendez, 22, pleaded guilty earlier this year to a single charge of domestic violence-related common assault against her boyfriend Isaiah Firebrace following a fight at Sydney’s Star Casino in Pyrmont. The charge was dismissed on mental health grounds in Downing Centre Local Court on Friday, but an AVO was granted on Mr Firebrace’s behalf, with stringent rules for Ms Mendez put in place. Ms Mendez allegedly slapped Mr Firebrace multiple times before he allegedly punched her in the stomach and “stomped” on her foot, court documents state. Mr Firebrace, who rose to fame through Australian X Factor and Eurovision, was separately charged with the same offence following the altercation but pleaded not guilty in August. Documents tendered to court reveal the couple of two years had travelled to Sydney for a function, when Ms Mendez approached Mr Firebrace while he was seated at a pokie machine about 11pm on Thursday, August 17. A “verbal discussion” took place between the pair before Mr Firebrace is alleged to have “lifted his leg and stomped on (Ms) Mendez’s foot”. In response, Mendez slapped the signer twice in the face and again to the back of the head, before Mr Firebrace is alleged to have struck his partner in the stomach with a balled fist. According to the documents, Mendez continued to slap Mr Firebrace in the face and on the back, before the ex-Eurovision contestant is alleged to have again punched Mendez in the stomach with a closed fist. The documents further revealed the pair had “consumed an undisclosed number of beverages” on the night. On Friday Ms Mendez returned to Downing Centre Local Court where magistrate Rodney Brender dismissed the charge against her on mental health grounds. The court was told Ms Mendez “had no criminal history” and would be on a mental health ordered treatment plan for 12 months. Court documents also reveal Ms Mendez had co-operated with police and offered full admissions on record at the time of her arrest. “Considering the factors of mental health I think the community would get a better outcome by a dismissal in this case,” Mr Brender said. Mr Brender also granted Mr Firebrace a two-year protection order, however Ms Mendez’s defence lawyer Joshua Lawson requested it be halved on behalf of his client. “Two years is the standard why would it be less?” Mr Brender asked. “Considering the relationship between the pair it is more appropriate it be 12 months,” Mr Lawson replied. Mendez and Mr Firebrace appear to have continued their relationship, with the singer posting a picture to Instagram in September calling Mendez his “beautiful lover and best friend”. The couple both live in Victoria at separate residents, court documents state. However Mr Brender warned Ms Mendez she was “not to be in his company within 12 hours of drinking or taking drugs, and you can’t be in the same place when drinking or taking drugs.” “That’s quite an onerous condition (of the order),” he said. “You can breach the AVO by doing either thing.” Mr Firebrace will reappear before the same court later this month after withdrawing an application to have the matter dealt with on mental health grounds.