Married at First Sight groom Timothy Smith’s criminal past: He came across as your average reality star looking for love…but harbored a dark secret

Married at first sight Australian groom Timothy Smith was revealed as a convicted drug trafficker who was in a US prison on Tuesday night.

The Season 11 star’s sordid history was revealed by A Current Affair, with viewers shocked to learn the property mogul, 52, spent more than a year behind bars.

Timothy, who was living in Vancouver at the time, said he used a helicopter to illegally smuggle large amounts of marijuana from Canada into the United States.

“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 trading.

‘It’s something I’m not proud of. I’m certainly 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 small 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 Season 11 star’s sordid history was revealed by A Current Affair, where viewers were shocked to learn the property mogul spent over a year behind bars

The groom was convicted of ‘trafficking marijuana across an international border’ in 2006, but they ‘hit 4 or 6 months of immigration.’

Despite spending his days locked up alongside hardened criminals, the real punishment came when his mother and younger brother Dave died while he was in prison.

An emotional Timothy said Dave called him at 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 midway through Timothy’s sentence when his mother died of cancer and his brother committed suicide just months after her death.

Timothy was living in Vancouver at the time and said he used a helicopter to illegally smuggle large amounts of marijuana from Canada into the United States

Timothy said he did not tell the producers at MAFS that he was a convicted drug trafficker when he applied for the show.

The groom was paired with fan favorite Lucinda Light during his stint at MAFS this year, but they broke up after a disastrous visit to Melbourne.

The couple called time on their marriage at the following commitment ceremony, where Timothy acknowledged his lackluster performance to the experts.

“I didn’t go into the 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.

Timothy, who was paired with Lucinda Light (right), said he did not tell producers at MAFS that he was a convicted drug trafficker when he applied for the show

The former on-screen couple have been spotted on nights out together, with Lucinda recently gushing about how ‘delighted’ she is to have Timothy as a ‘dear friend’.

During the explosive reunion this week, Timothy and Lucinda thrilled viewers when they revealed they had continued to bond after leaving the show.

They told their co-stars and the show’s relationship experts that they have stayed in touch and grown closer after a rocky start to the experiment.

“I’m mostly not as tough as I was,” Timothy said of how much he had changed thanks to Lucinda’s support.

‘There are a lot of emotional things that I’ve dealt with and that I’ve dealt with. It’s okay not to be okay, and Lou showed me that,” he added.

‘She showed me how to just let a few people in. The experiment has been a fantastic experience. I have loved every part of it.’