Seb Costello has embarked on a very surprising new career with a colourful Married At First Sight star after he was stood down over an alleged on-camera chase.
The TV reporter, 38, was stood down by Channel Nine after he and his A Current Affair film crew were accused of over-zealous filming by Oak Capital’s Mo Ahmed.
Nine is reviewing allegations Costello assaulted the finance executive during an on-camera chase that ended in a women’s lavatory, but he has retained the network’s full support.
Amid the probe, Costello has been busy helping a Married At First Sight star launch an unexpected career in politics.
Timothy Smith, who was a fan favourite on the 11th series of MAFS, is turning away from reality TV and instead plans to run for a federal seat of Melbourne.
The seat is currently held by Greens leader Adam Bandt and Tim plans to run against former AFL star Anthony Koutoufides for the position.
Seb Costello has embarked on a very surprising new career with a colourful Married At First Sight star after he was stood down over an alleged on-camera chase
‘Two recognisable faces will be going head to head with their established media profiles,’ a source told Daily Mail Australia.
‘The official announcement will be dropping on Monday.’
Tim, a convicted drug smuggler who previously served a year-long sentence in a US prison, has been taking advice from Costello ahead of his surprise career change.
The unlikely duo were seen stepping out for dinner together in November, with the real reason behind their meet-up now finally revealed.
Costello has a wealth of knowledge in the politics sector as his father is Peter Costello, who served as the treasurer of Australia under John Howard’s government.
After taking on Costello’s words of wisdom, Tim has now signed up former local council candidate Luke Balasingam as his campaign manager.
Tim has acknowledged that he is not like other politicians but wants voters to understand that he is passionate about local issues.
‘Not having the usual pedigree of a politician is something he also thinks will work in his favour,’ the source added.
Amid Nine’s probe into the allegations, Costello’s new move has been revealed as he has been busy helping MAFS star Timothy Smith (pictured) launch an unexpected career in politics
‘Most professional politicians have never run a private enterprise. They know how to spend money like drunken sailors but have they run a small business?’
Tim said he hopes his campaign with ‘resonate’ with the average Melbourne voter as he shared his desire to win the federal seat.
‘The average politician seems to be waiting for the next golden handshake. I think I will bring something fresh to the conversation,’ he shared.
‘I am from a small town. I was raised by blue collar workers and I think that is something that will resonate with the average Melbournian.’
He believes he has gained a wealth of knowledge from his public profile and talking to his fans regularly that he now wants to take into Australian politics.
Tim was famously coupled up with Lucinda Light on the 2024 series of MAFS, but the couple went their separate ways before Final Vows.
They remained friends after the show but have since fallen out, with Tim saying their feud was because of their different lifestyles and approaches to friendship.
Since rising to fame on MAFS, Tim has also opened up about his drug-smuggling past, in which he spent more than a year behind bars.
Costello has been advising Tim and has a wealth of knowledge in politics as his father is Peter Costello (pictured), who served as the treasurer of Australia under John Howard’s government
Tim was caught using a helicopter to smuggle large amounts of marijuana from Canada into the United States 17 years ago.
During his prison sentence, tragedy struck twice when both his mother and younger brother died.
Speaking about his past on A Current Affair last year, an emotional Tim expressed his regrets after being caught smuggling marijuana.
‘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 trafficking.
‘It’s something I’m not proud of. I’m definitely not proud of it, but it doesn’t define who I am and I’m not the same person I was 17 years ago.’
Costello recently made headlines after he was accused of assaulting an inner-city loan manager, Oak Capital’s Mo Ahmed.
Nine is reviewing allegations Costello assaulted him during an on-camera chase that ended in a women’s bathroom, but he has retained the network’s full support.
Private lending firm Oak Capital launched legal proceedings in the Supreme Court of Victoria and effectively had all vision of the incident suppressed.
Tim believes he has gained a wealth of knowledge from his public profile after rising to fame alongside Lucinda Light (both pictured) on the 2024 series of MAFS
The alleged clash unfolded when Costello took property developer Peter Aquino to Oak Capital’s headquarters in Melbourne’s exclusive Rialto tower back in November.
They were there to confront the executives Mr Aquino blamed for the collapse of his business as part of Costello’s long-running investigation into the firm.
Mr Aquino claims he was forced to shutter his Construct Homes company after he was unable to meet exorbitant 18 per cent interest rates allegedly steeped on his 2022 loan.
He has also accused the finance firm of trying to intimidate him by sending men who looked like bikies to the home he shares with his partner and children after he missed a payment last year.
But when Costello and Mr Aquino spotted Oak Capital case manager Mo Ahmed in the foyer of the opulent office block, the finance boss was not taking questions.
Instead, he ran off along the city’s bustling Collins St and into the nearby Intercontinental Hotel, where he tried to hide from Costello and A Current Affair’s cameras in the women’s lavatory.
Costello and his crew allegedly followed Mr Ahmed into the toilets and continued to pepper him with queries about his company’s lending practices.
Oak Capital has since levelled allegations against both Nine and Costello, accusing the high-profile reporter of assaulting Mr Ahmed after following him into the toilet.
Since rising to fame on MAFS, Tim has also opened up about his drug-smuggling past, in which he spent more than a year behind bars. He is pictured with the Bell 206 JetRanger he used to smuggle hockey bags full of ‘BC Bud’ out of British Columbia
Ronayne Ownes Lawyers confirmed they had been retained to handle the proceedings on Oak Capital’s behalf, but declined to provide any specific details of the alleged assault.
‘The proceedings include allegations by Oak Capital, amongst other matters, of assault by a Nine Network reporter,’ director Luke Owens told Daily Mail Australia.
‘As the matter remains before the Court, Oak will not provide any further comment on these matters.’
A Nine spokesman confirmed Costello and his crew had been stood down but indicated they all retained the full backing of the network.
‘While we are aware of a range of allegations made against Nine by an individual representing a company facing legal proceedings commenced by ASIC, we believe the legal claim has no basis,’ the spokesman said.
Nine insiders said the entire A Current Affair newsroom had rallied around Costello and his team in the wake of the allegations.
‘It probably tells you more about the (alleged) character of the bloke running and hiding in the women’s loos because they’re too afraid to answer simple questions than anything else,’ one told Daily Mail Australia.
‘That’s a very strange thing to do.’
Costello, 38, was stood down by Channel Nine after he and his A Current Affair film crew were accused of over-zealous filming by Oak Capital’s Mo Ahmed, but he retains Nine’s full backing
Costello has also retained the support of Mr Aquino, who witnessed the entire encounter, and has also taken legal action against the company.
Australia’s financial services regulator has launched federal court action against Oak Capital over allegations made against its lending model.
According to reports, the ASIC claimed Oak Capital engaged in ‘unconscionable conduct to avoid the National Credit Code’ when making up to 47 loans totalling more than $37million from March 2019 to October 2023.
The ASIC claims that Oak Capital’s loans to 72 consumers had interest rates ranging from 11.6 to 23.2 per cent, with fees between 2.2 and 50.1 per cent.
Oak Capital has denied any wrongdoing and indicated it would fight the allegations in court.
‘All our loans comply with relevant laws and industry standards, including the 47 illustrative examples relied upon by ASIC,’ the company said in a statement online.
‘In regards to recent media coverage, Oak Capital refutes all allegations of predatory lending practices. We have always complied with the law and best practices.’