Reality TV star Stephen Bear looks unrecognisable as he leaves prison after serving just
Stephen Bear was released from prison today looking unrecognisable and wearing a crucifix – after serving half of his 21-month sentence for sharing a sex tape of his Love Island ex Georgia Harrison.
Bear, who won Celebrity Big Brother in 2016, was jailed in March after filming and uploading footage of himself having sex with Ms Harrison on OnlyFans. She is currently starring in Love Island All Stars.
The shamed TV personality was seen leaving HMP Brixton this morning sporting a scruffy beard and shaggy hair. He had a crucifix hanging from his neck and appeared to be wearing rosary beads, which Catholics use to pray.
Bear, who made no comment as he left prison, provoked outrage with his arrogant and disrespectful behaviour in court – regularly turning up in a Rolls Royce rented for £475 a day.
He was dumped by his girlfriend while behind bars although he appears to still have the support of relatives, one of whom posted a supportive message to mark his birthday. Friends claimed he has vowed to turn his life around.
Bear has been given an ankle tag and will serve the second half of his sentence on licence. A restraining order bans him from contacting Ms Harrison for five years and he must also keep police informed of his whereabouts for a decade.
Stephen Bear leaves HMP Brixton today after being released on licence half way through his term
The disgraced Big Brother contestant was seen sporting shaggy hair, a long beard, and a crucifix dangling from his neck
The convicted sex offender has been given a restraining order and told not to contact Georgia Harrison (who he’s pictured with) for five years
Ms Harrison is appearing on the current series of Love Island. She’s pictured on the show last night with her pairing, Luis Morrison
Bear pictured in December 2022 before he went to prison (left) and today (right)
A source previously claimed Bear – who was dumped by his girlfriend while behind bars – has been telling friends he is ‘not the same man’ that went into jail.
‘There will be no hopping back on to social media or rolling straight back into the nearest nightclub when he gets out, he says he just wants to get back to east London and his family,’ they told The Sun.
The source said ‘time will tell’ if he has ‘changed’.
Bear was jailed in March after being convicted of voyeurism, disclosing private, sexual photographs and films with intent to cause distress, and harassment without violence.
His girlfriend Jessica Smith dumped him in September after vowing to stand by him while he was in jail, according to The Sun.
Bear was said to be heartbroken by the split.
In October, his ex Georgia Harrison demanded abuse cases are given priority in courts as she appeared on stage at Labour’s conference in Liverpool.
The former star of reality shows The Only Way Is Essex and Love Island spoke of her long wait for justice.
She said it took two years from the day she reported the crime for Bear to be convicted and warned about the impact of long legal processes on victims of other crimes, such as rape and domestic abuse.
Bear made no comments to photographers as he left HMP Brixton late this morning
The disgraced social media personality is said to have told friends he wants to get his life ‘back on track’
Bear sports a series of tattoos, including an etching of The Joker on his left arm
The former Big Brother contestant was wearing trainers and white athleisurewear. He carried two black holdalls
Bear was seen wearing a tag. A restraining order prevents him from making contact with Ms Harrison
Bear provoked outrage with his arrogant and disrespectful behaviour in court – regularly turning up in a Rolls Royce rented for £475 a day
Bear with Jessica Smith – who had vowed to stand by him while he was in prison, but later dumped him
A supportive message that was apparently shared on social media to mark Bear’s birthday
The 28-year-old said she now has an ‘onslaught’ of women reaching out to her for help on social media following her high-profile case.
She also called for ‘massive online platforms’ to be required to take down sexually explicit content which had been posted without consent.
Speaking on a panel on the main stage of Labour’s conference, Ms Harrison said it was ‘really important that victims feel they are going to be taken seriously when they’re going to the police’.
‘I speak to a lot of girls who just feel like they weren’t taken seriously or no one really understood when they did go to the police,’ she added.
‘One thing I wanted to highlight from my personal experience is I feel there needs to be more support for victims when they do choose to call the police and go into the court system.
‘For me, from the day I reported the crime, it took me two whole years to get a conviction.’
Ms Harrison spoke of how the two-year legal ordeal she endured was ‘detrimental to my career and my mental health, which was really hard for me’.
She added: ‘But I couldn’t help but think, imagine if you were either a victim of domestic abuse or a sexual assault, if you had been raped.
‘And you get a phone call to say “actually you’re going to have to wait a whole other year to even get inside a court room”.
‘You’ve got to spend the next year of your life walking down the street not knowing if you’re going to get attacked, killed, violated – how would you live with that?
‘It would be so nice if the courts could make sure if it is a victim of sexual assault or domestic abuse – especially as in a domestic abusive relationship, that amount of time leaves the perpetrator so long to manipulate them to drop the charges – I think those sort of cases should be prioritised and 90 per cent of those victims are women.’
Bear was sentenced to 21 months after being convicted of voyeurism, disclosing private, sexual photographs and films with intent to cause distress, and harassment without violence
Ms Harrison has demanded abuse cases are given priority in courts