MAFS Australia star admits to banking $5000 after pretending to be gay for ‘fake’ paparazzi photos
MAFS Australia star, Nasser Sultan, once pretended to be gay for money. (Don Arnold/WireImage)
Married At First Sight (MAFS) Australia star Nasser Sultan has admitted that he pretended to be gay for paparazzi photos that made him $5,000 (£2,540) richer.
Sultan, who became known for appearing on season five of MAFS Australia in 2018, pretended to be in a relationship with a man 30 years younger than him for staged paparazzi photos.
Radio producer Joshua Fox shared details about the former reality star’s fake romance in his book, What You Into?
In it, he wrote that Sultan staged paparazzi pictures on a date with fashion student Eyob Geist, who is 30 years his junior. The stunt made Sultan $5,000 richer as to the photos stoked tabloid speculation about his sexuality.
Fox divulges in his book that he and Sultan came up with publicity stunts to keep him relevant.
‘Nasser quickly became my social experiment’
As reported by the Daily Mail, he wrote: “Married at First Sight is described by Channel Nine as a social experiment and Nasser quickly became my own social experiment.
“He told me he was willing to do anything to remain relevant, and I explained that, as he was a not particularly-well-liked 51-year-old man, we’d have to get creative.”
Fox wrote that Sultan devised a plan to pretend to be gay to address fans’ speculation, sparked by the fact that he was the only one who hadn’t slept with his wife.
Sultan told Daily Mail Australia that the “fake” photos helped him kick off his career.
‘I got some random person’
He explained: “I got some random person and pretended that me and him were dating and took the shots. Within an hour and a half, it had a million hits.
“That’s what made my name get out there and then there was an interest from the media.” At the time the staged photos were published by former Australian magazine NW.
Sultan later appeared on The Kyle & Jackie O Show and confirmed he is “110 per cent not gay”.
He continued: “ live in the gay community, trust me… If I was gay, I’d be a rock star! If I was gay I’d live the lifestyle of it… I’m 100 million per cent straight.”
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