Just days after Married at First Sight’s 2024 season wrapped airing, groom Timothy Smith has revealed details of his criminal past.
The 52-year-old, who was married to fan-favourite Lucinda Light during the season, sat down with A Current Affair on Tuesday night, shedding light on his time spent in an American prison.
Explaining that he was living in Vancouver at the time, Timothy shocked audiences after revealing he used a helicopter to illegally smuggle large amounts of marijuana from Canada to the US.
“I was a helicopter pilot in North America that did something really stupid,” he said, sharing that he was paid to take flying lessons for the purpose of trafficking.
“I would take off from a little unmanned airport and I would fly up a valley into a creek where I would meet a four-wheel drive… within a minute, the helicopter would be loaded,” he continued.
Timothy was caught by police in Los Angeles when he returned to the States after visiting his sick mother in Australia.
In 2006 he was sentenced for “trafficking marijuana over an international border” and served an additional “4 or 6 months in immigration,” after pleading guilty he was sented to one year in prison.
“It’s something I’m not proud of. I’m definitely not proud of it, but it doesn’t define who I am and I’m not the same person I was 17 years ago,” he shared with the Australian news program.
The loss of Timothy’s mother and brother was an emotional storyline during the recent season of MAFS, and during his appearance on A Current Affair, he revealed they both passed while he was serving time in Prison – an experience, which he found harder than his initial serving time.
“I wasn’t there when my mother and brother died. I paid the price. I pay the price every day,” he said.
Timothy also revealed that he did not tell producers on Married at First Sight he was a convicted drug smuggler when applying for the show.
Despite being one of the more popular pairings of the season, Lucinda and Timothy departed the show early, however, the couple have maintained a close friendship.