Their painful estrangement became a high-profile legal battle - but now the mother of pop star Vanessa Amorosi is turning the page on her heartbreak with a fresh start in the leafy hills of Cockatoo.
After being evicted from the sprawling Narre Warren North property she had called home for more than two decades, Joyleen Robinson, 70, has started a new life nestled in a picturesque hamlet 48km south-east of Melbourne's CBD.
The Daily Mail revealed in October that the Narre Warren North address she had described as her 'dream home' sold on August 20 for an undisclosed amount, after being listed for sale between $2.4million and $2.6million.
The sale followed a prolonged and bitter tug-of-war in the Supreme Court of Victoria over the six-bedroom property, which had centred around the claim Amorosi had gifted the home to her mother during a kitchen chat sometime in 2001.
The singer claimed 'victory' after a long trial that saw both she and her mother in the witness box.
In September last year, Justice Steven Moore ordered Ms Robinson to move out of the home within 60 days of being paid $870,000 in restitution by her daughter.
The sale of the property marked an end, of sorts, to the public feud that began in 2014 when Amorosi brought in forensic accountants to examine the management of her funds at the peak of her popularity.
Ms Robinson's new million-dollar home - a spacious seven-bedder on more than an acre of land - boasts wide hallways, extensions galore and classic country charm with room for the whole family, including a private bungalow for guests.
Joyleen Robinson, 70, has started a new life in the leafy hills of Cockatoo
Joyleen Robinson (second from right) on her son's wedding day in November
On Tuesday, the Daily Mail observed four dogs enjoying the sprawling property.
A woman who emerged from the home confirmed that Ms Robinson had indeed moved in there, but was working when we visited.
It is understood Ms Robinson continues to work as a cleaner as she rebuilds her life after almost bankrupting herself during the trial instigated by her estranged daughter.
Cockatoo is a charming, leafy town of about 4,400 residents nestled in the Dandenong Ranges.
Surrounded by lush forests, walking trails and Cockatoo Creek, it offers a peaceful semi-rural lifestyle with a small main street of shops and cafés, with a strong community spirit.
Ms Robinson's fresh start in Cockatoo marks a new chapter after years shaped by tragedy and health struggles.
It is understood the family also recently celebrated the marriage of her son Anthony, Vanessa's stepbrother.
Indicating the family rift goes deeper than just mother and daughter, the Absolutely Everybody star is believed to have been absent from the celebrations.
Vanessa Amorosi went on 60 Minutes to talk about her fractured relationship with her mother
Amorosi is pictured performing with Dave Stewart of Eurythmics in England on July 11, 2024
Anthony had previously told the Daily Mail that his mother would never give up hope of rekindling her relationship with her famous daughter.
'The crazy truth is if Vanessa had just come to mum instead of doing all this, mum would have been happy to have sold the place. Even though we'd have nowhere to go. Once we lose this place, we have nowhere to go,' Anthony said in 2024.
'Mum isn't really concerned about losing the house. It's losing her daughter. Losing her grandson. She is really set on wanting to meet her grandson.'
Ms Robinson had claimed that a brain aneurysm her daughter allegedly suffered before the birth of her son Killian made her forget the agreement she made with her over the Narre Warren North home.
In court, Ms Robinson argued that she had struck a deal with Amorosi in 2001 for full ownership of the property in exchange for a future one-off payment of $650,000.
She claimed the agreement was that if Amorosi was ever in financial difficulty, Ms Robinson would pay her the original $650,000 purchase price of the home.
Court documents showed that Ms Robinson and her husband Peter transferred $710,000 from the sale of their home to help pay off Vanessa's $1.2million mortgage in California in 2014.
Ms Robinson alleged that Amorosi's move to the United States made her vulnerable to influence from lawyers, who persuaded her to pursue legal action against her.
Inside the million-dollar Cockatoo home of Joyleen Robinson
It is believed to have been sold for a little over $1million
Shops and cafés in the quiet village of Cockatoo
Cockatoo locals are known for their community spirit and sense of humour
'A lot of what's happened, as a mum, doesn't even sound like my daughter,' Ms Robinson told the Daily Mail at the time.
'It sounds like her lawyer. It sounds like she's got a good, strong lawyer that's doing everything and Vanessa is the type of person, if she doesn't understand it, she'll just let them deal with it.'
In October 2023, the Australian singer entered the witness box in a Supreme Court trial in Melbourne to describe how her mother had allegedly mismanaged her finances and turned her family against her.
Amorosi later told 60 Minutes she earned at least $10million at the peak of her successful pop career, only to learn she was in fact bankrupt and could not afford to keep up the mortgage payments on her Los Angeles 'dream home'.
Her mother managed Amorosi's trust at the time, and while there is no suggestion the accounts were mismanaged, Amorosi did not realise she was drowning in debt.
Amorosi claimed she had no choice but to challenge her mother in court, as she had to sell her assets to repay the debts she did not realise she had incurred.
'Like, people want to know, "Why would you do this to your mum?" Like, trust me, that's not a good time,' Amorosi told 60 Minutes.
'I think she banked on me never having the guts, or I would just walk away. And it took a lot of buckling down, because if I walked away, I walked away with a debt. That's where I was left,' she said.
Joyleen Robinson was supported in court by Vanessa's sisters
Vanessa Amorosi had faced the trial alone
During the trial, the court heard that Amorosi believed her mother had exploited her wealth during the height of her popularity when she was just a teenager.
'She's being very generous with my money,' she said.
Amorosi told the court she had been brainwashed into believing that her mother was the only person to be trusted to handle the millions she earned after becoming a star in the year 2000.
'That had happened since [I] was young. No one was to be trusted. Like, that is something that is just... not your crones, not your best friends, not your management, not your stepdad. The person at the end of the day that you are to trust is your mum,' Amorosi said, breaking down in tears.
'She's there because she really loves me and doesn't need anything else from me other than for me to be her daughter. And so, as time progressed and I made more money, and I became more successful, everybody became the enemy.
'Boyfriends were enemies. [My] husband was the enemy. She was to be the only one there with the right intentions, and I believed it.'
After enduring a trial that became a media circus, Amorosi won the case and was awarded the Narre Warren North home her mother claimed she had been gifted.
Amorosi angrily refuted her mother's claim that she had suffered an aneurysm, leading to memory loss and being manipulated by others.
The Narre Warren North home that was at the centre of the bitter legal dispute
The home included a shack that had once been used as Vanessa's studio, but had fallen into disrepair by the time the property was sold
The Narre Warren North home had been strewn with trash leading up to its sale
'It's a straight-up lie. Do you know how angry that makes me, that in front of the whole country [she is] taking away my credibility? [Suggesting] that I've lost my mind?' a furious Amorosi said.
'It's infuriating because it's like you are taking away my credibility.'
Amorosi said she felt silenced by her mother since childhood, and the aneurysm claim reflected a pattern where she was 'conditioned' to appease her.
The hit-maker said that she was heartbroken that she had lost her family over money.
'You know that saying, "A mother's love is unconditional?" Her love is conditional. And that's the only way I can make it simple,' she added tearfully.