During filming of the show, the broker hid his marriage from his girlfriend and work colleagues - and would leave his ring on the bedside table so they wouldn't know the truth.
MARRIED At First Sight viewers were left heartbroken when Stephanie discovered new husband Ben Jardine had left his wedding ring on his bedside table during the show– and now we know why.
The Sun Online can exclusively reveal that the millionaire was hiding his marriage from his work colleagues, which included 20-year-old Lucy, who he was secretly dating while he filmed the show.
A source revealed: “He left his ring at home while he was on the show so he could go to work, see Lucy, and she wouldn’t know he had got married.
“He even told her that he was going on holiday with his mum when he was actually heading off on his honeymoon with Steph!”
Our source also revealed that Ben and Lucy were dating since from last May – and all the way through the course of the show being filmed.
“She’s going to meet up with Stephanie,” our source added. “Thankfully, Stephanie is just glad that she told the truth.”
Ben revealed to the nation on Stephen Leng and Lizzie Cundy’s Fubar radio show that he had pulled the plug on his instant marriage last night - and had even had a "kiss and cuddle" with someone else.
He told the pair: "Stephanie and I are still friends but I couldn’t give her what she wanted and what she needed, and time is of the essence.
"And why waste someone’s time if it’s not there?"
He added: "It killed me. After the end of the show we were giving it a go, but as my mum said, you don’t know someone until you've lived with them."
However, things got complicated when Stephanie's friend later revealed the bride only found out about the split from the interview.
Her pal Sara May, who also appeared on Married At First Sight, commented on an Instagram picture of hers that Stephanie found out about the split after reading about Ben's radio interview online.
She commented: "So we all found out via this article just now too. Even Steph. What a tw*t".
Ben said in his interview that he'd already moved on, now 20-year-old Lucy has claimed she was dating Ben the entire time he was filming the show and knew nothing about his TV filming until she saw the ads for it.
She wrote on Instagram: "He was cheating on Steph with me follow my accounts for the photos.
"He broke my heart tbh I’m 20 years old he should of known better I thought an older man would be mature but obviously he’s proven there all the same.
"I never knew till the adverts came out he’s admitted it already." (sic)
After his radio interview, Ben later met former Apprentice star Luisa Zissman on a night out and she couldn't resist quizzing him about their marriage.
She asked him: "Was she a bit psycho?" and Ben replied: "She was a bit suffocating".
Viewers of the show were left heartbroken for Stephanie when she filmed herself finding Ben’s wedding ring on his bedside table after leaving for work.
The emotional police officer was seen telling the camera: “Now that hurts me.”
She later told her friends: “He is still very much in the mindset that he is a single person.”
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