Fallen Idol: Paulini’s song of sorrow laid bare following driver’s licence conviction

SINGER Paulini has revealed how a “failed album” that ”cost me my savings” was behind a “rock bottom” spiral that saw her bribe a government employee for a driver’s licence. Her “bleak” life is revealed in a letter used as part of her legal defence.

• Revealed: Bodyguard singer Paulini’s shocking driving record
• The rise and fall of Paulini

SINGER Paulini broke free from a violent relationship and lost her life savings on a failed album deal in the lead up to making the most “foolish” decision of her life — bribing a government employee.

The tumultuous life of 2003 Australian Idol finalist Paulini Curuenavuli can be revealed as the 35-year-old prepares to appeal against her suspended jail sentence for bribing the corrupt worker to get a fake driver’s licence.

Singer Paulini Curuenavuli has told of the string of incidents that led to her eventual arrest.

In December last year, the Fijian-born singer was sentenced to a six-month suspended jail term, despite having bared her soul in a raw and ­revealing letter to the court about how she had “hit rock bottom”.

“I went through a very traumatic breakup from a tumultuous relationship,” she wrote. “I am embarrassed to say this was not the first relationship I had been in involving domestic violence and low self-esteem.

“In addition to the breakdown of my relationship, my failed album release had cost me my savings and the relationship with the record label.”

FULL STORY: The rise and fall of Paulini

The letter — exclusively obtained by The Daily Telegraph — reveals how the former star of The Bodyguard musical was at one point left virtually homeless and had to move in with her parents at Mt Druitt as well as the shame she felt after having supported them her whole working life.

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Paulini as a 2003 Australian Idol contestant.

The former Australian Idol said her ordeal left her homeless and broke.

Paulini and fellow Australian Idol Ricki Lee Coulter.

While conceding it was no excuse, she says she was “at breaking point” when she decided to pay a corrupt RMS employee $850 for a fake licence — even though she was only a learner driver.

“I was at an all-time low in my career where my confidence and finances were equally bleak … I was at rock bottom and couldn’t see a way through it,” she wrote. “I was completely overwhelmed and did not feel like a role model to my family or fans. The lack of a driver’s ­licence … was yet another layer to my lack of self-worth.”

She said there was “no excuse” for her decision to pay a corrupt RMS employee $850 for a fake licence.

The singer arrives at court late last year.

Curuenavuli said the decision to bribe corrupt RMS employee Faletausala Vaifale in July 2016 was a “quick fix”: “In haste I made the extremely foolish decision.”

Paulini Curuenavuli faces the media outside Mount Druitt Local Court. Picture: AAP

Little did the singer realise police were looking at Vaifale after learning she was distributing dozens of fake ­licences to family, friends and members of the Rebels bikies. Vaifale, who gave out at least 40 fake licences, has only been sentenced to 12 months of home detention. None of the people who obtained fake licences were charged.

“My parents, family and church instilled a moral code in me which is clearly not reflected in my offending behaviour,” Curuenavuli said. “All I have known is to use my voice to support myself and my family and try to make a living out of what I love to do best … I strive to be a good person every day; I am a hard-worker and provide financially for my family.”

She also explained the guilt she felt at letting down her fans: “I hope I gain their forgiveness.”