What seemed like a fun, engaging social media stunt for an influencer turned into a veryreal nightmarefor hisgirlfriendafter she discovered the “prank wedding” he had staged for content wasreal all along.
“He used me for hisowngain, and I want others to be aware of how dangerous this can be,” the bride said, explaining how the ceremony was legally binding and part of an elaborate scam.
HighlightsInfluencer tricked his girlfriend into a real marriage under the guise of a prank.Australian court annulled the marriage, calling it a scam for residency.Groom intended to exploit bride’s health professional status for visa.The groom claimed the ceremony was a publicity stunt for Instagram.
An Australian court has now annulled the marriage, concluding that the ceremony was not valid andthe bride had been taken advantage of.
The groom, a non-resident, met his now ex-wife online in September 2023and saw in her the chance to gain Australian citizenship. By December, the man proposed, and they were married shortly after in an allegedfake ceremony in Sydney.
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An Australian bride was duped into marrying her influencer boyfriend in a fake ceremony, only to find out it was part of an immigration scam
Image credits:stock.adobe
Thegroominitially told his girlfriend to attend an “all-whiteparty” however, once she arrived at the ceremony, she realized that no one else was wearing the color but them.
“When I got there and didn’t see anyone in white, I asked him, ‘What’s happening?’” she recounted in court.
“We have to make it look real,” the groom replied, explaining how it was all part of a “prank wedding” he had organized to create content for his 17,000 followers on Instagram.
Image credits:Emma Bauso/Pexels (not the actual photo)
“He told me he was organizing a prank wedding for his social media,” the bride explained to the judge. “To be precise, for Instagram, because he wants to boost his content and start monetizing his page.”
Image credits:RDNE Stock project/Pexels (not the actual photo)
The bride thenwent along withthe “fake ceremony,” including signing papers that she later realized werelegally bindingall along.
Image credits:Karolina Grabowska/Unsplash (not the actual photo)
It wasn’t until February 2024 that she realized the marriage was real when the man asked her to include him as a dependent on her application for permanent residency.
Thanks to her job as a health professional, she had access to a much easier application process—a fact the groom, who was allegedly in the country under a temporary student visa, tried to exploit.
“He organized the marriage to help him,” she said, explaining how she felt “lied to from the beginning” and “furious” for being used as part of a visa scheme.
Image credits:stock.adobe (not the actual photo)
The bride then separated and started a long legal process that culminated in her favor this month.
The groom,on the other hand, denied that the wedding was a stunt, claiming that the two had lived together before getting engaged and that the bride had known from the beginning that the ceremony was official.
He also claimed that a notice of intentionwas signedon November 20, 2023, weeks before the proposal. The bride, however, denied ever having signed or seen the papers.
Image credits:Kübra Kuzu/Pexels (not the actual photo)
“It beggars belief that a couple would become engaged in late December and married two days later,” Justice Joshua Wilson, who presided over the case, said, finding the groom’s story difficult to believe.
The judge also pointed outthe factthat the wedding celebrant had been hired a month before the proposal, lending credence to the fake ceremony being part of an elaborate scheme.
A review ofAustralian immigration lawallows people to inferwhat willhappen to the groom and his accomplice now that his marriage hasbeen annulled.
Image credits:Freepik (not the actual photo)
According to theMigration Act 1958 section 240, using marriage to gain residency or a visa is considered fraud.
The consequencesofsuch an actare severeand rangefrom imprisonment for 10 yearsto visa cancellation and deportation, as well as a possible banforthe accused from re-entering the country for a specific period of time.
Netizens lamented the extent to which some peopleare willing togo to gain residency and expressed sympathy toward the bride
Image credits:Gantas Vaičiulėnas/Unsplash (not the actual photo)
“That’s absolutely wild—imagine thinking it’s a joke and ending up married! The things people do for social media these days never cease to amaze me,” one user wrote.
“Wow. This is a galaxy-brain-level fraud scheme,” a reader stated. “Clearly not, when it fell apart the moment he tried to put the endgame into action,” another replied.
“This should get him deported and barred from entering the country,” a user stated.
“Australia’s immigration service is really good about deportation. Kick his ass back to wherever he came from!”
“She deserves so much better.” Netizens expressed their sympathy for what the bride had to endure and their wish for justice to be served
Renan Duarte
News
