Georgia Harrison has broken her silence after her ex-boyfriend Stephen Bear was convicted of breaching a restraining order put in place to protect her. The Celebrity Big Brother winner, 36, pleaded guilty to breaching the order after he launched an online campaign against Georgia, 31.
Bear's Online Campaign and Guilty Plea
Bear had already served time in prison for illegally sharing a sex tape of the former couple on OnlyFans. After his release in early 2024, he began a social media campaign accusing Georgia of being part of a conspiracy against him, with his guilty verdict being the result of a hidden plot. Some of the posts were viewed millions of times and included images of Georgia along with defamatory statements, according to the Mirror.
Georgia's Decision to Stay Away
Georgia, who was pregnant at the time, chose not to attend court this week to see Bear convicted. She told The Sun: "I didn't go to court this week. I didn't stay away because it's too hard. I stayed away because being there would give him the one thing he has always wanted, and the one thing the manosphere machine runs on: attention. A reaction and a spectacle." She added that "attention was worth more" to Bear "than the consequences" of his crimes and that the 'manosphere system' was rewarding him. She wants to focus on changing "the culture".
Activism and Legal Reforms
The Love Island star, who gave birth to her first child, Sahara Jean, in October, has long campaigned for better legal protection for women and girls from violence. She first rose to fame on Love Island in 2017, but by 2021 she had become an activist. Her work earned her an MBE, making her the first Love Islander to receive that honour.
In January 2021, Bear was arrested after uploading a secretly recorded sex tape of himself and Harrison to his OnlyFans account. The following year, he was found guilty of voyeurism and disclosing private, sexual photographs and films. He was sentenced to 21 months in prison and given a five-year restraining order forbidding contact with Harrison. He served just half of his sentence before release.
During the criminal and civil cases, Georgia waived her right to anonymity to raise awareness about the impact of 'revenge porn' on victims. The mother-of-one has also campaigned to increase support for women and girls who have faced sexual crimes. Her campaigning led to the government's crackdown on image-based abuse through reforms to the Online Safety Act, which passed in October 2023.
Upcoming Sentencing
Bear is due to be sentenced next month at Chelmsford Crown Court.
