EXCLUSIVEInside the lavish Philippines wedding of Molly Ticehurst's accused murderer - as ex-wife's family break their silence after Daniel Billings was charged over Forbes death

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EXCLUSIVE 

The distressed ex-wife of accused killer Daniel Billings is 'coping as best as she can' after he was charged with murdering his former girlfriend Molly Ticehurst. 

Maika Gabriel married Billings at Portico de Busto in the Central Luzon region of the Philippines in November 2018 but the couple's relationship did not last.

Portico de Busto is described on its website as 'probably the most photographed and most frequently chosen best venue in [the province of] Bulacan'. 

A video filmed after the pair had taken their vows showed them kissing passionately on a balcony in their wedding attire, with fireworks exploding in the background.

The distressed ex-wife of accused killer Daniel Billings is 'coping as best as she can' after he was charged with murdering his former girlfriend Molly Ticehurst. Maika Gabriel is pictured at her wedding to Billings

Ms Gabriel now lives with her Philippines-born parents in Dalby, 200km west of Brisbane, and all three work together in a meat processing plant in another town.

She changed her surname to Billings after getting married but has reverted to using Gabriel. Ms Gabriel has a son with Billings.

Since learning her onetime husband's arrest in the NSW central west on Monday, Ms Gabriel has been trying to cope with knowing the man she married is an alleged murderer.

'It's all a lot to take in for us at the moment,' Ms Gabriel's sister told Daily Mail Australia. 'She's coping as best as she can.

'She doesn't want to comment on anything.'  

Ms Gabriel's mother said her daughter was being supported by friends and family.

'It is very hard for everyone,' Mrs Gabriel said. 'We have our grandson too.

'It is very complicated. It is a very difficult situation at the moment.' 

Maika Gabriel married Billings at Portico de Busto in the Central Luzon region of the Philippines in November 2018 (above) the couple's relationship did not last

Portico de Busto is described on its website as 'probably the most photographed and most frequently chosen best venue in [the province of] Bulacan'. Billings wedding is pictured

Ms Ticehurst's body was located inside the home she once shared with Billings in Forbes, about 370km west of Sydney, having allegedly been murdered sometime between midnight and 1.50am on Monday.

Concerns had been raised for the welfare of the 28-year-old teacher's assistant,  whose 18-month relationship with Billings reportedly ended in July last year.

Billings was arrested at Fifield, about an hour's drive from Forbes, hours after his ex-girlfriend's body was found. 

At the time of Ms Ticehurst's death, 29-year-old Billings was on bail for allegedly raping and stalking the mother-of-one.

Ms Ticehurst's six-year-old son, born before she met Billings, is about the same age as Ms Gabriel's boy.  

Daily Mail Australia understands Billings got back together briefly with Ms Ticehurst in December last year but the relationship again broke down

It is understood Billings and Ms Gabriel lived together at her parents' Dalby address during their marriages and after their split he still used that address on official documents. 

Neighbours of the Gabriel family recall occasionally seeing Billings at the property, sometimes working on a motorcycle, up until two years ago. 

The heavily tattooed amateur boxer had worked for a time at a nearby piggery in the Western Downs region. 

Asked about her experiences with Billings, Ms Gabriel's sister said: 'I would really rather not like to comment at the moment, I'm sorry'.

Dalby has a relatively large Filipino population, with 2.2 per cent of the town's residents born in the Philippines, the most common foreign place of birth. 

One Filipino neighbour of Ms Gabriel's said she had worked at the same piggery as Billings but they had different roles and she knew little about his life.

Ms Ticehurst's body was located inside the home she used to share with Billings in Forbes, about 370km west of Sydney in the early hours of Monday

Until his arrest Billings had been employed by oil drilling company Resolution Drilling, which is based a 25-minute drive north from Forbes at Parkes. 

For the past six months he had been sharing rented accommodation with other workers in the same town.

Daily Mail Australia understands Billings briefly got back together with Ms Ticehurst in December last year but the relationship again broke down. 

On April 5 he was charged with three counts of rape, four of stalking and intimidation and two of destroying property. 

The alleged victim in each case was Ms Ticehurst and Billings was also charged with an aggravated animal cruelty offence which related to her dachshund.

Ms Gabriel, pictured with her son, now lives with her parents in Dalby, 200km west of Brisbane , and all three work together in a meat processing plant in another town

Police argued in court that Billings posed a risk to Ms Ticehurst but a registrar granted him $5,000 bail.  

Billings was also the subject of an apprehended violence order and was not allowed to enter Forbes or approach Ms Ticehurst's place of work. 

Ms Ticehurst's father Tony said his daughter had been in fear of her ex-boyfriend after he was granted bail.

'She went away for the first week of the AVO,' Mr Ticehurst told Nine. 'Thinking that if he was going to do something, it would be within that week. She said she was wary and nervous and couldn't sleep.' 

When Billings appeared in Orange Local Court on Tuesday charged with murder his bail was revoked. He will next appear in court on June 20. 

Billings' mother, Eileen Ogilvie, and a man believed to be his step-father angrily emerged from a house in Cessnock, NSW on Thursday. 

'We've got nothing to say,' they yelled, before the step-dad urged journalists to 'get out' of the street.

EXCLUSIVEREAD MORE: Molly Ticehurst: Details emerge about moments after tradie Daniel Billings allegedly murdered Forbes mum - and the tip-off that led cops to his Fifield bolthole