It’s been revealed that Married at First Sight Australia 2024‘s Timothy Smith spent time in multiple United States super-maximum prisons for drug trafficking.
As previously reported by So Dramatic!, despite claiming he had no family following the death of his father, brother and mother, Timothy does have an estranged sister. It was also revealed he was married years before appearing on MAFS when he lived in Vancouver, Canada.
However, as reported in episode 374 of the So Dramatic! podcast, these weren’t the only tidbits left out of his MAFS bio.
So Dramatic! can exclusively reveal that the 52-year-old was sentenced for drug trafficking commercial amounts of drugs in the US in 2006.
“Timothy did hard jail time overseas for smuggling large quantities of marijuana,” one source close to the groom told host Megan Pustetto.
“He was living in Vancouver at the time, and he met up with some people who got him into a drug deal. He would fly large amounts of marijuana across the country in a helicopter.”
When his mother fell unwell, Timothy travelled back to Australia to visit and spend time with his family.
However, on his return home, “he was intercepted by the police in Los Angeles”.
“He was already on their radar and under investigation, so he was taken away for questioning and later charged,” the insider explained.
Several sources backed these claims up, with one revealing Timothy “used to have a helicopter”, which is how he was executing “these drug-runs”.
“I don’t have anything bad to say about Timothy as a person, but he has a criminal record, so I was shocked to see he had been cast on MAFS,” they said.
How long was Married at First Sight‘s Timothy Smith in prison for drug trafficking?
One source revealed that Timothy‘s official sentence was one year. However, following his jail stint, he also spent three to five months in immigration prison in 2007 before being deported back to Australia.
“He spent time in super-maximum prisons in Washington State, California, Colorado, Oklahoma and New Mexico,” they revealed.
Adding that Timothy’s “time in prison was terrifying”, the insider said he was in prison alongside “the worst offenders in the country”.
“He once told me the story of how he was chained to a serial killer in the Mojave Desert while he was waiting for his first Con-Air [inmate transport] ride,” they recalled.
“The guy sitting next to him was doing six life sentences.”
Several of Timothy Smith’s family members died while he was imprisoned
CONTENT WARNING: the following mentions suicide and may be distressing for some readers.
On the show, Timothy revealed that his mother and brother died within months of each other.
Now, an insider has told So Dramatic! that this tragically occurred while he was imprisoned in the US.
“While he was imprisoned, his mother passed away from cancer and months later, his younger brother Dave sadly took his own life,” they explained.
“Dave was extremely close to her and didn’t do so well once she died. Then, with Tim going to jail, it all became too much for Dave, so he sadly took his life.”
They added that Timothy’s estrangement from his sister can also party be attributed to his criminal past.
However, “they did have an OK relationship in the time after all of this, so it’s not the only reason”.
Married at First Sight‘s Timothy Smith was homeless upon his return to Australia after prison stint
Another source close to the Melburnian said that “Timothy really paid the price for what he did”.
“When he returned to Australia, he had nothing. He was deported from a country he had built his entire life in and can never go back to,” they said.
“He had to start his entire life over again from scratch. When he got back, he was 41 years old and homeless. He had no money to his name, no car, no licence and no family.”
Upon his return to Australia, he worked in a concrete recycling plant, with the source revealing he lived “in a backpackers [hostel] because he couldn’t afford an apartment”.
“Timothy went through periods of depression during this time because of how difficult it all was, not to mention dealing with the loss of his family,” they explained.
“He really struggled, and it was really hard for him, but he managed to overcome it.”
Adding that Timothy has “worked really hard to start fresh and get his life back on track”, the insider said he has “really turned his life around”.
“It’s been amazing to see. It’s quite an inspirational story.”
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