Married At First Sight Australia 2022’s Al Perkins has finally spoken out about his relationship with teenage TikTok star Hope Kelesis for the first time.
ICYMI: The 26-year-old reality star began dating the influencer when she was just 17 years old. However, held out from publicly confirming their relationship until she turned 18.
The Love Island star first debuted his new romance on Valentine’s Day, sharing a photo of the pair enjoying a romantic dinner together. However, has stayed mum on how their love story came to be.
Now, Al has broken his silence, confirming on his podcast Back to Reality on February 22, that Hope is his “first proper girlfriend.”
“Obviously, I’ve been seeing someone and I’m over the moon. I want to respect her privacy, so I don’t want to talk about her too much…” he told his podcast co-host Taku Chimwaza.
“But we met on The Island (a floating club in Sydney) and had an amazing time there, and then we’ve just been speaking ever since. It wasn’t until last week that we did the official hard launch on the Instagram story.”
In NSW, it is illegal for minors to enter licenced premises unsupervised
It is unclear how 17-year-old Hope was able to attend an event held at a club. In NSW, minors under 18 are allowed in many licenced venues, however, they must be adequately supervised by a responsible adult at all times.
Under NSW liquor laws, a responsible adult is defined as an adult who is: a parent or guardian of the minor or the minor’s spouse or de facto partner standing in as the parent of the minor for the time being. If caught, minors can be fined for breaking the law, such as entering or remaining in a bar area or a hotel or registered club and consuming alcohol on a licensed premise.
It is unclear if Hope’s parents chaperoned her to the event.
Al Perkins confirms he’s dating teenage TikTok star Hope Kelesis
The former MAFS groom went on to confirm that the pair are “boyfriend and girlfriend”, adding: “We’re official!”
“We’d been talking for a few months – it was nothing crazy, just chatting a little bit. Then we started hanging out at the beach more, and then yeah. Spending January at Coogee Beach and Maroubra…” he continued.
“Yeah! [She’s] my first proper girlfriend. Then we went ahead with the hard launch [on Instagram] last week – it was crazy. I got so much support, heaps of support.”
Al added that sadly there has been some negativity from trolls (read: people who have criticised a grown man dating a child), writing: “You do get a few trolls… the more I post, the angrier they get.”
“As of now, I’m the happiest I’ve ever been. Life was amazing being single, and I said to myself I was going to be single for the next year or two. But it’s when you least expect it… it crept up on me. She’s an amazing person.”
When did Al Perkins start dating Hope Kelesis?
ICYMI: So Dramatic! revealed that the reality star and the 17-year-old were dating after they were spotted getting cosy on a Sydney beach in early January.
The sighting sparked a conversation about whether it is appropriate for a man in his late 20s to be hooking up with someone who is still in high school and very much still a child.
Earlier this month, Al appeared on the Sit With Us podcast hosted by his Married at First Sight co-stars Ella Ding and Domenica Calarco, where they rubbished the “rumours” as “false” and “harmful.” Prior to that, they had DEFENDED Al’s relationship with the school kid.
But the serial reality star had a change of heart and has finally made his new relationship Instagram official.
“My first valentine [sic] and here’s to many more,” he captioned a selfie of himself and the teenager enjoying a romantic Valentine’s Day dinner on February 14.
“Happy Valentine’s Day, Al Perkins,” Hope wrote when she posted the same image. She also shared a bunch of roses and a chocolate hamper she received from Al penning, “There is no way.”
The hard launch of the couple’s relationship comes just eleven days after Hope turned 18.
Al Perkins receives backlash over dating teenager Hope Kelesis
Following Al’s announcement, fans took to the comments to express their disdain over the age-gap coupling with some labelling it “gross.”
Replying to Domenica’s supportive comment of a love heart and crying face emoji, one fan wrote: “Girl ur defending a predator [sic].”
Another asked, “Are you crying because it’s a man who has been with a child? 17 is a child. She turned 18, 11 days ago.”
The legal age of (enthusiastic) consent in New South Wales is 16 years old. However, Hope is still considered a minor in Australia in many other contexts (including being under the legal drinking and voting age).
To put the age gap into another perspective, the minimum applicant age for Love Island Australia 2022 was 19 years old and when Al appeared on Married at First Sight Australia in 2022 they had a minimum age requirement of 25 years old.
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