Married At First Sight groom Sam Ball recently graduated from the Kapooka Army Recruit Training program and is now living in Canberra.
Fans were shocked this month when the reality TV star resurfaced with a clean-cut soldier look after shying from the public eye for the last six months.
A military insider has now claimed to The Wash that Sam, 27, only signed up for the army because he struggled finding jobs since his time on Nine’s controversial show.
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Married At First Sight’s Sam Ball (pictured) will have to serve in the Army for at least FOUR YEARS, according to a military insider who spoke with The Wash on Wednesday
Sam rose to fame on Married At First Sight in 2018 as Elizabeth Sobinoff’s on-screen husband, but sparked controversy within on the show’s debut for fat-shaming Elizabeth on their wedding day, and later beginning an ‘affair’ with bride Ines Basic.
‘We all heard it was because he couldn’t get a job and needed to join the army,’ the source said.
‘It’s not easy being in the military. Let’s hope he sticks with it. He had to do four years to even get in. The usual process is a solider starts at Kapooka, then they send you to RGT. Not sure exactly where they will send Sam next, but he will now have to serve in the army for four years… If he takes this seriously he’ll make an amazing solider. He is focussed and very impressive,’ they added.
Ouch! Sam had infamously fat-shamed his ‘wife’ on their MAFS wedding day last year, telling producers he’d ‘never dated anyone as big’ as her in the past
‘We all heard it was because he couldn’t get a job’: It’s believed Sam, 27, signed up for the army because he struggled finding steady jobs since his time on Nine’s controversial show
Shock career change: Daily Mail Australia exclusively revealed this month that Sam had joined the army and had recently graduated from the Kapooka Army Recruit Training program
The reality TV ‘villain’ retreated from the public eye in May when he suddenly deleted his Instagram account so he could ‘put 110 per cent’ into new opportunities.’
Sam flew under the radar in the months that followed – before eventually returning to Instagram with a photo of himself looking very different with a bald head and clean-shaven chin this month.
In his caption, the former construction worker offered very little information about where he’d been all this time, simply writing: ‘If you see me less, I’m doing more.’
However, Daily Mail Australia later exclusively revealed that Sam had joined the army and had graduated from the Kapooka Army Recruit Training program.
‘If you see me less, I’m doing more’: The former reality TV star unveiled his new clean-shaven look on Instagram this month – leading fans to question where he’d been for past six months
‘Sam ball is back or should we say… Sam bald’: Sam also uploaded an Instagram video of himself showing off his new look in the mirror – while joking that fans should now refer to him as ‘Sam bald’
Top of the class! Sam received the Most Outstanding Soldier award upon graduating the course, according to a post on the Army Recruit Training Centre – Kapooka Facebook page
The news of his army career also explained why Sam had shaved his hair.
Sam even received the Most Outstanding Soldier award upon graduating the course, according to a post on the Army Recruit Training Centre – Kapooka Facebook page.
Sam hinted at his plans to join the army back in May, when he penned an essay to Instagram about his decision to quit the social media platform.
‘I’m going to put 110 per cent of my efforts into these opportunities’: Sam deactivated his Instagram account in May to ‘put 110 per cent’ into the opportunities he wanted to pursue
‘I’ve had some amazing life opportunities fall into the palms of my hands, literally, so I’m going to put 110 per cent of my efforts into these opportunities and delete or deactivate Instagram,’ Sam said in a video uploaded on May 13.
‘I don’t need or want Instagram. I don’t make money from it and I certainly at the moment I do not have a business using Instagram for so there’s no need for it currently.
‘I’ve got some beautiful relationships at hand and want to put all of my energy into these relationships – I don’t want any distractions so I wish you guys all the best.’
Whoops! Sam came to fame on Married At First Sight in 2018 as Elizabeth Sobinoff’s on-screen husband. He memorably went rogue on national TV and had a steamy affair with co-star Ines Basic (pictured)
Big dreams: After the MAFS finale aired in April 2019, it appeared that Sam had high hopes for a career in the spotlight, appointing a manager and setting up a YouTube channel
After the MAFS finale aired in April 2019, it appeared that Sam had high hopes for a career in the spotlight, appointing a manager and setting up a YouTube channel.
However, he promptly abandoned these dreams and began living a simpler life, deleting his Instagram and vanishing from the spotlight.
In January 2020, he briefly resurfaced in headlines after fans spotted him working at a bottle shop in Queensland.
‘I can confirm he is working in a bottle-o in Coolangatta,’ one viewer told fan page MAFSFunny at the time, as they launched a nationwide search for Sam.
Located: ‘I can confirm he is working in a bottle-o in Coolangatta,’ one viewer told fan page MAFSFunny in January, when they launched a nationwide search for Sam
‘I wouldn’t do it again’: In February, Sam returned to Instagram to slam his ex-‘wife’ Elizabeth’s decision to return to Nine’s social experiment this year
During the fan search, others mentioned they had spotted Sam in Coolangatta.
In February, Sam returned to Instagram to slam his ex-‘wife’ Elizabeth’s decision to return to Nine’s social experiment this year.
Sam once again returned to the public eye in April, when he spoke exclusively to Daily Mail Australia about his strict fitness regimen.
‘I’m training two times a day. I have bought lots, so now I have my own gym set up at home, and other days I improvise outdoors,’ he said at the time.
‘I want to be more athletic’: Speaking to Daily Mail Australia in April, Sam revealed he was on a mission to beat the ‘isolation blues’ by getting into the best shape of his life