Joel Dommett's Unusual Catfish Experience Takes a Romantic Turn
Comedian Joel Dommett, aged 40, has opened up about a bizarre and personal incident from 2016 that involved a catfishing scam and an unexpected romantic connection. The story, which resurfaced during a recent podcast appearance, details how Dommett was targeted online, leading to a chain of events that ultimately resulted in him dating the woman whose identity was stolen for the scam.
The Initial Catfishing Incident and Extortion Attempt
In 2016, Joel Dommett was contacted on social media by someone he believed to be an attractive woman. Within minutes, the interaction escalated to virtual sex on Skype. However, it was later revealed that the person behind the profile was a catfish—an individual using a fake identity—who had recorded the encounter. The catfish then attempted to extort money from Dommett, threatening to release explicit photos and videos of him masturbating, which included identifiable details like a poster of himself in the background.
At the time, Dommett's fame was rising due to his appearance on I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here, making the scandal particularly damaging. He reported the incident to the police, but authorities were unable to track down the perpetrator. Despite this setback, Dommett took matters into his own hands by searching online for the photo used in the scam.
Finding the Real Victim and an Unexpected Connection
Through his search, Dommett discovered the real woman whose photo had been used without her consent. He reached out to alert her about the misuse of her image, and she revealed that this had happened to her multiple times before. In a surprising twist, Dommett suggested meeting up, partly out of curiosity and partly to gather material for a show. It turned out they lived nearby—she in Greenwich and he in Brockley, just a mile apart.
Their meeting quickly turned into a date, and they hit it off so well that they ended up dating for approximately six months. Dommett humorously noted the irony of the situation: he was dating the person whose face he thought he was interacting with during the original virtual sex encounter. Adding to the strangeness, the woman was half-Russian and later moved back to Russia, where they continued their relationship with more Skype sessions.
Moving Past the Controversy to Personal Happiness
Despite the awkward and stressful nature of the catfishing scandal, Joel Dommett was able to move forward with his life. He married Hannah Cooper in 2019 after three years of dating, with a beautiful wedding in Mykonos. The couple welcomed their son, Wilde Cooper-Dommett, in 2023, marking a new chapter of happiness and stability for the comedian.
Dommett shared this entire story through laughs on Davina McCall's podcast, Begin Again, reflecting on the absurdity of the events. His openness highlights the unpredictable and often surreal aspects of modern online interactions, especially for public figures navigating fame and privacy in the digital age.
