Reality TV star Stephen Bear won Celebrity Big Brother back in 2016 but today he is behind bars his showbiz career in tatters. He was sentenced to 21 months in prison, after he was found guilty in his revenge porn trial.
Before Bear's rise to fame, he worked as a roofer. He made his first TV appearance Shipwrecked: The Island in 2011, before becoming a reoccurring cast member in MTV's hit show Ex On The Beach.
Other than being known for winning season 18 of Celebrity Big Brother where he resided with famous faces such as Frankie Grande, Christopher Biggins, and Marnie Simpson, Bear is known for having his fair share of relationships.
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Among Bear's famous exes are Geordie Shore star and I'm A Celeb... winner Vicky Pattinson, Big Brother housemate Chloe Khan who he had an affair with, and another Geordie Shore member, Charlotte Crosby, who he presented Just Tattoo of Us with.
Most recently, he has appeared in three seasons of The Challenge but has not made any TV appearances since 2020.
In December 2022, Bear, 33, was found guilty of voyeurism and two counts of disclosing private sexual photographs and films of his then girlfriend and Love Island star Georgia Harrison of them having sex in the back garden of his Loughton, Essex home in 2020.
He was due to be sentenced in January of this year, however a judge granted time for a psychiatric report to be prepared on the TV star. On Friday, March 3, he appeared in Chelmsford Crown Court at 11.30 am to be sentenced.
The definition of revenge porn is to share “revealing or sexually explicit images or videos of a person posted on the internet, typically by a former sexual partner, without the consent of the subject and in order to cause them distress or embarrassment.”
Harrison, 28, was unaware Bear had CCTV cameras filming the garden.
Georgia, who starred on The Only Way is Essex, said that she saw Bear send the footage to someone on WhatsApp, and later that year she was made aware that it was circulating online.
The model, who waived her anonymity in order to help and support victims of similar offences, contacted Essex police after the footage appeared on numerous websites such as OnlyFans - a content subscription site where people post videos and images, which subscribers pay to view.
Essex Police's Domestic Abuse Investigation Team carried out an investigation which ultimately led to Bear’s arrest.
He was arrested at Heathrow airport as he returned from a birthday trip to Dubai.
During the December trial, he turned up to Chelmsford Crown Court each day with his now fiancé, online model Jessica Smith, 23.
He would show up in a rented Rolls Royce and often over the top outfits such as fur coats, a full pink suit and tiger print coat.
Bear pleaded not guilty to the charges however following a trial a jury found him guilty of two counts of disclosing private sexual photographs and films with intent to cause distress.
He was also found guilty of voyeurism, by a majority verdict of 10 jurors to two.
After the verdict, Georgia said in a statement released through police, that the “last two years have been absolute hell and this verdict will allow me to start to put the pain I have suffered in the past and start embracing the future”.
“I hope me taking a stand gives other men and women who have fallen victim to revenge porn the courage to seek justice and most importantly show them that they have absolutely nothing to be ashamed of,” she said.
“I have felt ashamed, hurt, violated, even broken at times but today I stand here feeling empowered, grateful and a huge sense of unity with all of those who have reached out to support me throughout this ordeal.”
Stephen Bear also had promotional offers posted a picture to his Twitter account during the trial, offering a “50pc off” deal for his adult content.
The photo showed Bear, who has been on bail since his conviction, walking from a hired chauffeur-driven white Rolls Royce to the court building, and the accompanying text said, in block capitals: “50pc off my adult site for the next 24 hours. Come see why I’m trending.”
Voyeurism carries a two-year maximum prison sentence and disclosing sexual private images also carries a max two-year sentence in prison.
On Thursday night, ahead of his sentencing, Bear posted a collage of him and his fiancé on TikTok caption "Brb crying". Smith replied, "I love you so much xxxx."
Georgia Harrison was active on Instagram this morning before the sentencing, posting a mirror selfie to her story captioned "suited and booted" as she wears a grey waist coat and white shirt.
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