Timothy Smith is planning to clean up Melbourne’s streets.
The Married At First Sight star is running for office in his home suburb of Prahran with a view to improving life for citizens in the area.
The 52-year-old, who appeared in the reality series last year, is running as an independent and says he is not aligned with any political party.
‘I’ve been a Prahran local renter before recently buying my own apartment, so I understand firsthand the challenges of rising crime, unaffordable housing, and high rents—and I’m ready to tackle these issues head-on’ Tim writes in his mission statement on his website.
‘I’m not bound by any political party, which means I can focus on what truly matters to you—practical solutions that benefit all Melburnians’ he continued.
‘I’m determined to create a Melbourne that works for everyone, where the cost of living is manageable, housing is affordable, and crime is under control. Together, we will make this happen.’
Tim’s focus is tackling the ‘escalating cost of living, and rising crime rates, to the housing crisis’.
Timothy has himself previously had a brush with the law.
He acknowledges his drug-smuggling past after speaking out about his crimes last year.
Tim appeared on Channel Nine’s A Current Affair news program shortly after the dating series wrapped and came clean about his criminal history in which he spent more than a year behind bars.
The former reality star took to Instagram to speak out about the ‘bad decisions’ he made when he was younger, noting that he takes responsibility.
‘I’ve had a lot of people reach out and ask me about my ACA interview. I did it, I own it, and I endeavour to be open about my past,’ he captioned the post, adding the hashtag #baddecisions, among others.
The season 11 star’s criminal history was unveiled by A Current Affair in April last year, with viewers shocked to learn the real estate tycoon spent more than a year behind bars.
Timothy had been caught using a helicopter to smuggle large amounts of marijuana from Canada into the United States close to two decades ago.
During his prison sentence, tragedy struck twice when both his mother and younger brother died.
Instead of turning their backs on the reality star, fans flocked to social media to express empathy, declaring that the groom has ‘done his time’ and is ‘still a good bloke’ regardless of his past.
During his appearance on A Current Affair, an emotional Timothy expressed his regrets after being caught smuggling marijuana.
‘I was a helicopter pilot in North America who did something really stupid,’ he said, revealing he was paid to take flying lessons for the purpose of trafficking.
‘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.’
Timothy said he would make $100,000 per trip across the border flying a helicopter full of marijuana.
‘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 said.
Timothy was caught by police in Los Angeles when he returned to the country after visiting his sick mother in Australia.
The groom was sentenced for ‘trafficking marijuana over an international border’ in 2006, but Timothy said he spent another ‘four or six months in immigration’ detention.
Despite spending his days locked up with hardened criminals, the real punishment came when both his mother and younger brother Dave died while he was in prison.
An emotional Timothy said Dave called him during the start of his sentence and said: ‘”Don’t let anyone mess with you”, and, “I’ll be there when you get out’, but he wasn’t.’
Tragedy struck mid-way through Timothy’s sentence when his mother died of cancer and his brother took his own life just a few months later.
Timothy said he did not tell producers on MAFS he was a convicted drug smuggler when applying for the show.
The groom was paired up with fan favourite Lucinda Light during his stint on MAFS last year, but they broke up following a disastrous home stay visit in Melbourne.
The pair called time on their marriage at the following commitment ceremony, with Timothy acknowledging his lacklustre effort to the experts.
‘I didn’t go into homestay with the best attitude,’ he said at the time, before admitting he found deep emotional exploration ‘uncomfortable’ and ‘overwhelming’.
Despite their romance not working out, Timothy and Lucinda have maintained a close friendship ever since the cameras stopped rolling.
The former on-screen couple have been seen on nights out together, while Lucinda recently gushed over how ‘glad’ she is to have Timothy as a ‘dear friend’.