IT’S OFTEN said ‘no one can resist a bad boy’, but for some reality stars the attraction has crossed the line into something far more sinister.
A whole host of celebs, including the likes of Love Island’s Georgia Steel and former TOWIE star Lauren Goodger, have all hooked up with convicts – including fraudsters and drug dealers.
Former Love Island contestant Shaughna Phillips most recently detailed the reality of taking her daughter Lucia to visit her father in prison.
She was 30 weeks pregnant when Billy Webb, 29, was busted for drug offences after a police raid.
He was later sentenced to nine years in jail after admitting conspiracy to supply 4.5kg of cocaine worth at least £360,000.
“It’s the last place on earth I’d hope to take a baby,” she revealed, speaking to OK! magazine.
But according to relationship expert Tina Wilson, there’s a reason why bad boys could be turning their attention to reality stars.
“People often fall for romance fraudsters or bad boys due to a combination of factors, including the prospect of an exciting or unconventional lifestyle,” she explains, speaking exclusively to Fabulous Digital.
“The intense media scrutiny that reality stars face can amplify this susceptibility, as their lives are constantly on display, making them more prone to seeking relationships that appear glamorous or adventurous.
“The curated images and carefully crafted narratives on social media platforms may attract reality stars to partners who embody the glamorous facade.
“The gap between the perceived lifestyle and actual reality can create disillusionment, leading to failed relationships as they are not built on trust.”
The relationship guru goes on to point out the red flags to look out for.
“Anyone living an aspirational lifestyle can become more susceptible to individuals who use tactics such as romance scamming or even a new version of catfishing for only self-interested reasons,” she warns.
“These individuals deploy textbook moves to quickly win over their new love.
“They will move and act fast, employing classic love-bombing techniques to create an illusion of intense connection.
“They want to establish this bond before their target realises the deception, keeping them in the honeymoon phase for as long as possible.”
GEORGIA STEEL
She may be causing a stir in the villa, but Love Island’s Georgia Steel has had her fair share of heartbreak – after finding out her ex was a conman who had stolen £160k of her savings.
The 25-year-old, from Yorkshire, was left “too terrified to sleep and fearing for her life” when The Sun Online revealed her lover was convicted fraudster Medi Abalimba.
People often fall for romance fraudsters or bad boys due to a combination of factors, including the prospect of an exciting or unconventional lifestyle
Tina Wilson
The one-time Derby County player, who met Georgia at a club, was put behind bars in 2014 after pretending to be ex-Chelsea footballer Gael Kakuta.
“Because I’m a good person, if I see a broken person or a person upset, I really like to fix it,” she said previously.
“I thought I could fix him and accept his past and everything. But I didn’t understand how bad his past was.
“I had no idea of how capable he was because I would never be with someone who could hurt people like that. The stories kept coming out and things kept getting worse.”
She continued: “I went on my online banking and I noticed a drastic amount had just gone. I was in my flat and I’ve never been in a situation like that in my life.
“I was physically sick. I sat on my sofa and thought I was going to faint.”
However, in 2021, the fraudster found himself jailed again after scamming footballer Thierry Henry’s ex-wife out of £160,000.
He admitted 15 counts of fraud between 1 January 2021 and 1 March 2021 and was locked up for 50 months.
Abalimba so far has 32 previous convictions to his name – 20 of which are for fraud.
DANI DYER
Dani Dyer was left devastated when Sammy Kimmence, 26, was locked up last year for scamming two vulnerable pensioners out of £34,000 shortly after the birth of their son, Santiago.
Sammy initially denied all charges – but changed his plea at the last minute to guilty.
While Love Islander Dani dumped the fraudster, who served three-and-a-half-years, after learning of his sick fraud, she told how she’s “tied by blood.”
“You are never really friends with your ex-boyfriend. It’s a little bit different in my situation,” she said, speaking on her and dad Danny’s the Sorted with the Dyers podcast.
“I will always have a relationship with Santi’s dad, it’s very different when you have children.
“You’re tied together by blood and you’re always going to have a relationship there. But there’s still a line.”
FERNE MCCANN
The former TOWIE star’s ex Arthur Collins was locked up for 20 years in 2017 after being found guilty of a horrific acid attack in a London nightclub that left 14 people injured.
The convict, who is the father of Ferne’s daughter, Sunday — was found guilty of the April 2017 attack after a trial at the Wood Green Crown Court.
Following the acid attack and Collins’ arrest, Ferne released a statement confirming she was pregnant but had split from Collins.
Breaking down on This Morning, she said: “This isn’t how I imagined my first pregnancy to be, but this isn’t about me… my main concern and priority is the baby.”
LAUREN GOODGER
Lauren Goodger started dating ex-Joey Morrison in 2016 while he was serving a lengthy prison sentence for a string of violent drugs-related charges, including possession of a firearm, kidnapping, blackmail and actual bodily harm.
Joey and an accomplice, Marvin Russell Jacobs, who were both 24 at the time, were handed 16-year prison sentences.
Morrisson and Jacobs were caught after forensic examinations linked objects left at the scene to the pair.
When Morrisson was arrested, in September 2009, he was found in possession of £10,000 in cash and £60,000 worth of cocaine.
Despite talks of marriage and kids, the former TOWIE star announced she had broken up with Joey in July 2017 after the pair had a furious row inside HMP Highpoint South.
He was released from jail on September 19, 2018.
Speaking of Joey to new! magazine, she said: “I regret giving two and a half years of my life to someone who was in jail.”
AMY CHILDS
The former TOWIE star previously told how her daughter Polly calls her grandfather “dad”.
That’s because her baby’s real dad, Bradley Wright, was jailed after being found guilty of arson, handling stolen goods and dangerous driving.
Amy was with Bradley on and off for several years until they split in 2017, shortly after Polly was born.
“I want a stable family unit. I’m not looking for someone to be my kids’ dads because they have dads but yes I’m looking for someone who will take them on as their own,” Amy previously told The Sun.
“It is hard. Polly’s dad is in prison. She doesn’t see him.”
The reality star, who last year welcomed twins Billy and Millie with boyfriend Billy Delbosq, continued: “Polly calls my dad ‘dad’.
“My dad is the only father figure Polly has known. I went to Turkey with my mum and dad and Polly kept calling me mum and my dad, dad.
“It was so strange. Everyone kept thinking me and my dad were together. It was weird. But at the same time, my dad is an amazing dad.”
Amy added: “He would never let Polly down. My parents have been brilliant with both the kids.”
GEORGIA HARRISON
Georgia, 29, who is currently in the Love Island All Stars villa, met disgraced reality star Stephen Bear when they both appeared on The Challenge: War Of The Worlds and The Challenge: War Of The Worlds 2 on MTV.
In March 2023, Stephen was jailed after sharing a sex tape with Georgia to pay-per-view adult site OnlyFans.
He was found guilty of voyeurism and two counts of disclosing private, sexual photographs and films.
Stephen was banged up in HMP Brixton for 21 months after posting the secret video on Only Fans – and served just 11 months of his jail sentence.
The star said she nearly died fighting him for two-and-a-half years and explained: “When it first happened, the physical effects on me were just horrific.
“I had acne come up all over my face. I ended up getting a cyst infection — the cyst eventually burst — and I was in hospital from stress.
“They said my kidneys, my pelvis, and multiple organs were infected, and I was going into septic shock.”
SHAUGHNA PHILLIPS
The former Love Island contestant, who starred in the 2020 winter series, was 30 weeks pregnant when the father of her child Billy Webb, 29, was busted for drug offences after a police raid.
He was charged with one count of possession with intent to supply a Class A drug and one count of being concerned in the supply of controlled drugs on January 21 last year.
Billy was sentenced to nine years in jail last November after admitting conspiracy to supply 4.5kg of cocaine worth at least £360,000.
The 29-year-old recently defended her decision to take her daughter to see her father in prison.
“I don’t tend to say prison,” she said, speaking of the jail visits.
“I think that’s such a dirty word. It’s not the p-word – I say, like, he’s away and I think people think he’s in the army.
“Lucia is not going to know any of this, but had she known, yeah, he probably would have been working at Disneyland. Because he sure as hell ain’t going to be able to go America!”
On the latest episode of her podcast, Oh, Baby with Shaughna and Holly, she continued: “We had quite a few visits leading up to Christmas – and had one visit that was six hours.
“It’s a family day and it’s so much nicer than a normal visit. On normal visits, which are an hour, you can only sit opposite each other.
“He can hold the baby and all of that, but you can’t really get up with her or anything.
“So, the six-hour one was intense, but it was really nice to see him with her and it actually gives me a break. I walk in, I’m like, here’s your kid, no one talked to me.”