Tattle Life, an online gossip forum featuring endless threads tearing influencers apart and causing some severe trauma, has had its day in court – with the founder behind the heinous website finally exposed.
For over 7 years, nobody knew who set up the website, but after a global investigation launched by an Irish couple, Neil and Donna Sands, it's been revealed that a plant-based recipe influencer and author, Sebastian Bond, better known online as Bastian Durward (of Nest & Glow), has been behind the entire thing.
The Sands have been awarded £300,000 after suing the website which hosted defamatory and harassing commentary about them both. Tattle Life billed itself as a place for "commentary and critiques of people that choose to monetise their personal life as a business and release it into the public domain", but which also saw influencers routinely defamed, bullied and even doxxed on occasion.
Cosmopolitan UK has spoken with one content creator whose home was doxxed via Tattle Life while she was pregnant – at the time, she had made just £500 from her account. She says when she tried to contact the site about feeling afraid and vulnerable in her own home, after users worked out the street she lived on via a 'for sale' listing and discussed it openly, she was met with a wall of silence from Tattle Life. "I had such paranoia that someone was going to break in and kill me, and my unborn baby, that I was signed off work for a week," she recalls.
Another social media user previously told Cosmopolitan UK how she deleted her social accounts due to cruel comments about her weight, diet and struggle to conceive on the site.
The website is thought to attract millions of views each month and in 2021, The Guardian reported Tattle Life made over £276,000 in advertising revenue during a six-month timeframe.
Everyone's clicking on...
Here's what we know about the Tattle Life court case which finally exposed the mysterious founder behind it.
What is Tattle Life?
Tattle Life, founded in 2018, describes itself as a website and chat forum in which social media users can 'fairly' scrutinise influencers, viewing them as fair game because they choose to openly share some aspects of their life online to generate income. However, the threads on the website are far from limited to influencers and mock, degrade and dox family members of content creators, those not making money from social media and even children.
Tattle Life claims to have a "zero-tolerance policy to any content that is abusive, hateful, harmful and a team of moderators online 24/7 to remove any content that breaks our strict rules - often in minutes". Many reports say otherwise, and in the court case involving the Sands it is reported that Neil Sands first flagged defamatory and harassing content about himself in February 2021, but that the posts were allowed to remain live on the website until May 2025.
The website describes influencer marketing as "insidious; it revolves around people that occupy the space between celebrity and friend to stealthy sell". It adds that content creators "hoodwink followers into thinking they care what they have to say to foster the faux friend relationship [but] the main reason is to get brands to reach out to offer cash and freebies to advertise. Can you really trust social media influencers to give impartial and honest opinions once money is involved?".
Tattle Life also bills itself as a defence mechanism for the public's mental health and a champion of free speech. "It’s an important part of a healthy, free and fair society for members of the public to have an opinion on those in a position of power and influence; that is why tattle exists. We allow people to express their views on businesses away from an influencers feed on a site where they would have to go out of their way to read, this is not trolling."
Who is Sebastian Bond, the man exposed as Tattle Life's publisher?
On 13 June 2025, The High Court of Justice in Northern Ireland issued an application that lifted reporting restrictions and revealed that the identity of Tattle Life's publisher is Sebastian Bond, a businessman who used a number of different names (including Bastian Durward and 'Helen McDougal'). He is 43-years-old and was an influencer himself, with a vegan cooking account, Nest & Glow, on Instagram boasting 135,000 followers.
On the Nest & Glow website, Bond describes himself as "a former office worker that quit long days in London to move to the countryside and share natural recipes and lifestyle tips".
According to The Journal's coverage of his legal case involving the Sands, it took two years for Bond to be brought to justice.
Bond has two businesses linked to his name: Yuzu Zest Limited (a UK-registered company) and Kumquat Tree Limited (registered in Hong Kong). Tattle Life's website states it is operated by 'Lime Goss', which fits in with the citrussy theme.
When discussing the case, Peter Barr, an experienced litigator at Gateley, said: "This wasn't just a matter of law – it was a global forensic investigation. We had to pursue the money around the world, from the UK to Hong Kong, using a mix of legal innovation and digital evidence to expose what was clearly a sophisticated effort to avoid scrutiny.
"This judgment sends a clear message that online anonymity cannot shield unlawful behaviour."
Who are Neil and Donna Sands?
Neil and Donna Sands are the Irish couple who successfully sued Tattle Life and Bond. They were awarded £300,000 in damages after a two-year legal battle. Donna is the owner of clothing brand Sylkie and is also in the process of starting a drinks business with her husband, Neil.
Neil is said to be a founder involved in the AI space and owner of Fox Design Venture Studio.
Posting about the outcome online, Neil Sands said: "As a couple we never wanted or expected to undertake this work, however when we discovered the hate site Tattle.Life we were forced to take action. We are very grateful for your support, and hope that this serves as a reminder to those who want to attack others from behind a screen - that the internet is not an anonymous place.
"We will share more soon, but for today, we hope that this news will provide some peace to those affected by online hate and harassment, and that the internet can be a safer space for us all."
Talking about the case, he is also reported (by Gloss.ie) to have said, "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. We were in the fortunate position to be able to take the fight to these faceless operators, and it took a lot of time, effort and expense."
The High Court is due to review the case on 26 June 2025.
Jennifer Savin is Cosmopolitan UK's multiple award-winning Features Editor, who was crowned Digital Journalist of the Year for her work tackling the issues most important to young women. She regularly covers breaking news, cultural trends, health, the royals and more, using her esteemed connections to access the best experts along the way. She's grilled everyone from high-profile politicians to A-list celebrities, and has sensitively interviewed hundreds of people about their real life stories. In addition to this, Jennifer is widely known for her own undercover investigations and campaign work, which includes successfully petitioning the government for change around topics like abortion rights and image-based sexual abuse. Jennifer is also a published author, documentary consultant (helping to create BBC’s Deepfake Porn: Could You Be Next?) and a patron for Y.E.S. (a youth services charity). Alongside Cosmopolitan, Jennifer has written for The Times, Women’s Health, ELLE and numerous other publications, appeared on podcasts, and spoken on (and hosted) panels for the Women of the World Festival, the University of Manchester and more. In her spare time, Jennifer is a big fan of lipstick, leopard print and over-ordering at dinner. Follow Jennifer on Instagram, X or LinkedIn.
