I’m A Celebrity Australia: Paulini reveals fallout from 2017 bribery scandal

Paulini Curuenavuli has spoken about the fallout that occurred after her 2017 decision to bribe a government official was made public.

Paulini Curuenavuli has detailed the fallout from her “really silly” decision to bribe a government official.

The 38-year-old in 2017 was given a six-month suspended sentence for unlawfully obtaining a drivers licence.

Curuenavuli pleaded guilty to the office 14 months after she paid a Roads and Maritime Service (RMS) customer service worker $850 for an unrestricted NSW licence.

Paulini Curuenavuli on I'm A Celebrity ... Get Me Out Of Here!

Paulini Curuenavuli outside Mount Druitt court in 2017. Picture: AAP Image/Paul Miller

“I did something really silly,” Curuenavuli said in the ‘jungle’ camp on I’m A Celebrity … Get Me Out Of Here!

“I bribed a government official. I bought a fake licence. Don’t judge me.”

It is the first time Curuenavuli has spoken of the issue. Fellow camp mate Toni Pearen labelled her “a rebel”.

“I was on my Ls because I lost my licence and got on my Ls, and I didn’t want to wait so I bought a licence,” she explained, later adding: “It was soul breaking and spirit breaking because I was thinking about my family and how I made my family look, how I made myself look. I just made a really bad decision and I absolutely regret it.”

Paulini Curuenavuli (centre) on I'm A Celebrity ... Get Me Out Of Here!

Some of the I'm A Celebrity ... Get Me Out Of Here! contestants.

Curuenavuli rose to national fame on the first season of Australian Idol in 2003 and subsequently signed to Sony Music before joining girl group, Young Divas.

She was playing the lead of Rachel Marron in the Australian run of stage musical The Bodyguard at the time.

“I got a criminal record,” she said. “I got a massive fine, lost work that whole year after. It is hard to make a mistake for someone who is in the public eye because people are watching. You’ve got to keep going, you can’t let this break you and that’s pretty much what I did.”

Of Curuenavuli’s revelation, game show host Grant Denyer said: “You know that was an embarrassing story for her to have to retell but I’m sort of glad she did you know, and sometimes I think it’s good to own your mistakes and get it out there.”