Influencer Tricks Woman Into Getting Married In ‘Prank’ Video

In what sounds like a rejected Black Mirror script, a woman in Australia has had her marriage annulled after realising that what she thought was a fake wedding for Instagram clout was, in fact, legally binding.

The Melbourne-based woman had been dating a social media influencer who convinced her to go through with a staged wedding as part of a so-called “prank” for his Instagram page. But months later, she discovered it wasn’t just for content—it was real. And her new husband was using it to try and secure permanent residency in Australia.

 

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How It All Started

The couple first met online in September 2023 and soon began dating. Fast forward to December, and he popped the question. The proposal itself seemed innocent enough, but what followed was anything but.

Just two days later, the woman was invited to what she believed was a “white party” in Sydney—one of those influencer-style events where everyone wears white. She packed a white dress as instructed, only to arrive and find no guests, just a photographer, a celebrant, and her fiancé looking suspiciously well-prepared.

“When I got there, and I didn’t see anybody in white, I asked him, ‘What’s happening?’” she later told the court, as explained by the BBC. “And he pulled me aside and told me that he was organising a prank wedding for his social media… because he wants to boost his content and start monetising his Instagram page.”

 

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At the time, she had no reason to question it. After all, her partner had 17,000 Instagram followers—hardly Kardashian levels of fame, but enough for her to believe he was serious about growing his platform. Plus, she assumed a legal marriage would require an official court ceremony.

Even a concerned phone call to a friend did little to raise red flags. The friend reassured her that a real wedding would have required a formal notice of intended marriage, which they hadn’t signed. Or so she thought.

The Plot Thickens

The couple went through with the ceremony, exchanging vows and even sharing a staged kiss for the camera. The woman, assuming it was just an elaborate piece of influencer theatre, played along.

But two months later, her so-called husband asked to be added as a dependant on her Australian residency application. When she explained that wasn’t possible because they weren’t actually married, he casually dropped the bombshell—yes, they were.

The woman later found their marriage certificate and, even more disturbingly, the notice of intended marriage—which had been filed before they got engaged. She swore she never signed it, and according to court documents, the signature looked nothing like hers.

 

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A Social Media Scheme Gone Wrong

“I’m furious with the fact that I didn’t know that that was a real marriage,” she told the court, adding that she felt completely deceived by his actions.

The influencer, on the other hand, claimed they had both agreed to an “intimate ceremony” and that she knew what she was signing up for. The judge, however, didn’t buy it.

“She believed she was acting,” the ruling stated. “She called the event ‘a prank’. It made perfect sense for her to adopt the persona of a bride… to enhance the credibility of the video depicting a legally valid marriage.”

In other words, she was tricked.

By October 2024, the marriage had been officially annulled. But let this be a cautionary tale: if an influencer asks you to “fake” something for content, read the fine print first.