Married At First Sight star Stacey Hampton was arrested and is now facing three charges of ignoring coronavirus restrictions on interstate trips.
Police arrested Hampton, 26, at Adelaide Airport on May 6 on her way back from Melbourne – after Instagram photos showed she was wasn’t self-isolating.
The law graduate at the time played down the incident as ‘a little hiccup’ with her essential worker paperwork.
However, Daily Mail Australia can reveal Hampton was actually locked up for several hours and charged with two counts of failing to comply with a direction.
Flying in: Stacey Hampton looked stressed as she waited for a taxi outside Adelaide Airport on Wednesday following an interstate trip to Melbourne
Police are believed to have told Hampton to go straight home and self-isolate – before they followed her after she left the police station.
They allegedly watched her pick up her her two sons Kruz, two, and Kosta, four, who were separately staying at her mother and friend’s homes.
Officers then arrived at her house to give her a summons to appear on a third failure to comply with a direction charge.
‘Currently waiting for the cops to come to my house and abuse me. Probably give me another fine,’ she wrote in a text to a friend at the time.
She will face Adelaide Magistrates Court on October 30, facing fines of up to $20,000 and two years jail for each count.
At the time, essential travellers were allowed to enter SA and continue as normal. Non-essential travellers needed to self-isolate for 14 days.
In text messages between Hampton and a friend she outlined how she convinced her then-partner to provide her with a form claiming she was an essential worker with his security firm.
Hampton lands in Melbourne on April 27 – seven days after she police told her to self-isolate at her home in Adelaide after returning from her first trip on April 20
Hampton was on April 20 told she had to self-isolate upon returning to Adelaide, but displayed her contempt for the rules as she declared her intention to flout them regardless
She travelled to Melbourne on April 13 – her third trip there this year – using the form, but it did not satisfy South Australian police.
‘Fkn form didn’t work. I’m meant to be self quarantine (sic) for 14 days. I’ll be ringing tomorrow to fight it,’ she complained upon her return on April 20.
‘They tried to say security isn’t an essential service, but I’m going to argue it, because it is.’
Hampton displayed her contempt for the rules as she declared her intention to flout them regardless.
‘I’m not isolating, lol. I got s**t to do. I’m coming back next week, iso ain’t stopping me. We have business to do,’ she said.
So she travelled to Melbourne again on April 27 anyway, and was not shy about flaunting her shopping trips and luxury accommodation online.
After the three charges were laid on May 6, Hampton complained at length to a friend but was determined to continue her jet-setting lifestyle.
‘I’m calling my lawyer tomorrow, asking to get bail fixed. I’ve been at prison the last few hours,’ she said.
One of many photos of Hampton with her friend Anthony Hess
After the three charges were laid on May 6, Hampton complained at length to a friend but was determined to continue her jet-setting lifestyle
‘I’m so upset, I’m on bail, no interstate travel until court [in] October, after my birthday.
‘I’m calling lawyer to get it lifted for my charity work, or I’ll travel in disguise.
‘Thank god no one knows so they won’t leak it.’
‘I’m mortified [by] how I’m being treated, I can’t even come to your bday.’
Police used as apparent evidence dozens of photos posted to Hampton’s Instagram and those of her friends and places she visited during the trips.
‘They have photos of us shopping at Culture Kings and Dior. This is why I got fined,’ Hampton revealed to the friend.
‘I’ve been through hell [the] last 24 hours.’
Police used as apparent evidence dozens of photos posted to Hampton’s Instagram and those of her friends and places she visited during the trips
Thirsty work! The duo were also treated to complimentary bubbles while in the upscale boutique
Hampton asked her ‘expensive’ lawyer to try to alter her bail conditions so she would be able to keep travelling.
‘He will speak to prosecution and get it resolved before court so there is no media coverage etc and he’s applying for lifting of travel restrictions on the basis of my charity and having a lease in Melbourne,’ she said.
‘He said [that] should suffice as long as I self iso when I return [if] laws are still in play.’
Daily Mail Australia contacted Hampton on Friday to ask about the pending charges, but has not received a comment.
When asked on May 6 about reports she was stopped at Adelaide Airport by police, Hampton claimed it was all a misunderstanding.
She told Daily Mail Australia there was ‘a little hiccup’ at the airport due to state border closures, but insisted everything was ‘fine’ in the end.
‘I had an essential workers clearance form, which they didn’t realise I had, so I was fine. They had to look into my clearance, which was fine,’ she said.
‘It was just over my form [and] whether or not it was essential. Then I proceeded to collect my son from school.’
Hampton asked her ‘expensive’ lawyer to try to alter her bail conditions so she would be able to keep travelling
Other photos showed her and Hess relaxing in their hotel room at Crown, swigging on champagne and soaking in the bath
Driving in style! Before heading to the hotel, Stacey posed for this photo inside the Range Rover she was driving while in Melbourne
Stacey was seen having a tense phone conversation as she emerged from the domestic terminal with her luggage.
During her trips to Melbourne, Hampton visited a hair salon, and went car, shoes, and clothes shopping with her friend Anthony Hess.
She was also spotted strolling around Port Melbourne with a security minder in tow, hanging out with friends at Brighton Beach, and driving a rented Range Rover.
Other photos showed her and Hess relaxing in their hotel room at Crown, swigging on champagne and soaking in the bath.
Hampton even got herself a coronavirus test during the second trip when she was supposed to be in self-isolation.
In every photo, Hampton was clad in designer clothes and accessories worth thousands of dollars.
Hampton insisted these activities were all business related.
She claimed to do ‘essential’ legal and accounting work for a travel company in Melbourne, and is also setting up a postnatal depression charity there.
‘Anthony is involved in the employment for charity. He is who I spend all my time with as isolation rules suggest that employees are fine.
‘I pay for us to stay at Crown Towers Melbourne. However, I have an apartment that I’m in the middle signing for to base my charity there.’
Multiple sources have told Daily Mail Australia the Crown rooms were paid for by a third party in exchange for exposure in Hampton’s Instagram and paparazzi shots.
Numerous messages showed Hampton discussing her former casual partner’s hunt for an apartment she could live in as a convenience, which never eventuated.
When asked about her visit to a salon, Stacey explained: ‘I went to the salon to fix my hair and discuss business ventures with companies at the salon. Until I get [my own] premises, it’s hard.’
The mother-of-two claimed her shopping trips with Hess for sports cars were also ‘essential’ because she required a vehicle to be able to work in Melbourne.
Stacey was at the time flying to Melbourne every other week to work for the unspecified travel company and to establish her charity.
‘I’m only travelling to and from business locations. Otherwise I’m isolating in my hotel until I return. I do the legal and accounts for the transport company,’ she said.
Over it: She said the ‘negativity’ on Instagram was not coming from ‘online bullying’ but from from ‘other contestants’ whom she did not name. Pictured with ex-‘husband’ Michael Goonan