Stephen Bear, who appeared on several reality shows, including MTV’s The Challenge, appeared in court to answer charges related to him secretly filming his ex-girlfriend and sharing the footage online.
The 31-year-old reality TV star entered a plea and also received a court date. Based on sources, Bear was joking around about the court case ahead of his appearance.
Following his court appearance, he took off on a flight for a vacation with his presumed girlfriend.
The Challenge’s Stephen Bear enters plea, trial set
According to a BBC report, Stephen Bear appeared in Chelmsford Crown Court on Friday regarding the sexual images charges he faces involving his ex-girlfriend.
Bear was accused of recording footage of himself having sex with his ex and then sharing it online on several platforms. It’s alleged these offenses took place between August and December of last year. He was arrested this past January after returning to London’s Heathrow Airport from Dubai and received charges in May.
At his Friday court appearance, he pleaded not guilty to his charges, including two counts of disclosing private sexual photographs or films and one count of voyeurism.
He was granted conditional ball with his not guilty plea and received a trial date of February 7, 2022.
Per The Sun’s report, Bear gave a thumbs up and thanked the judge, as well as the court.
“Thank you for that. It’s nice to finally set a date when I can hopefully get my life back,” he told the court, per The Sun.
Bear leaves for vacation with girlfriend, tweets about court situation
Not long after his court appearance, Bear boarded a flight with a woman he has referred to as his girlfriend, 22-year-old Jessica Smith, as the two took off on a trip for Turkey.
He shared a photo on his Instagram Story of them seated together wearing shades. The IG Story slide included added crowns and BIA’s the Whole Lotta Money remix playing as Nicki Minaj’s lyrics appeared over the slide.
Ahead of them leaving on the plane, Bear shared several posts on his official Twitter account, which seemed to be mocking his court case and charges.
One Twitter post included Bear listing off what he was wearing for his court appearance on Friday, claiming people had asked about his attire.
“For everyone asking what suit I wore today it was from Prada…sunglasses from Dita and watch Richard Mille. Jetting off to Turkey in a few hours…life’s a movie,” he tweeted with a photo of himself outside of the court.
In another of his posts (below), Bear joked about recording his current girlfriend while they were at the airport and hoping that she knew he was.
“At the airport with my sexy girlfriend having bants… I love being in love …I hope she knows she’s being filmed… #barelylegal,” Bear tweeted along with a TikTok video clip he shared of him and his girlfriend.
Stephen Bear appeared on three seasons of MTV’s The Challenge beginning with War of the Worlds in 2019. He returned for the sequel season War of the Worlds 2 and then again on Total Madness in 2020.
In addition, he has been featured on Shipwrecked: The Island, Celebrity Big Brother, and two seasons of MTV’s Ex on the Beach.
The Challenge: Spies, Lies & Allies premieres Wednesday, August 11 at 8/7c on MTV.