Former Bachelor star Sam Wood charged with domestic violence

Former The Bachelor star and fitness entrepreneur Sam Wood has been charged with alleged domestic violence offences in Queensland after police were called to a Noosa address on Saturday night. The 46-year-old faces charges of assault occasioning bodily harm (domestic violence) and strangulation in a domestic setting, and was refused police bail.

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Arrest and charges against Sam Wood

Queensland police were called to a Hastings Street address in Noosa at around 9pm on Saturday following reports of alleged domestic violence. Officers arrested a 46-year-old Victorian man, later identified in media reports as Melbourne-based fitness entrepreneur Sam Wood.

Police charged the man early on Sunday morning with two offences: assault occasioning bodily harm (domestic violence) and strangulation in a domestic setting. He was refused police bail and spent the weekend in custody.

Court appearance and bail bid

Wood was due to face the Maroochydore Magistrates Court on Monday 5 October. He remains behind bars after being refused bail over the weekend.

His lawyer, Matthew Cuskelly, told reporters his “preliminary instructions are that the charges will be defended”. A bail application is scheduled to be heard on Thursday 8 October, with Cuskelly saying he will put evidence before the court addressing the police assessment of risk behind the bail refusal.

Stood down from fitness business

The parent company behind Wood’s fitness brand announced on Monday that he has been stood down indefinitely. The acting chief executive of 28 Group said the company had been “shocked and saddened” by the allegations and reiterated that it has “zero tolerance for domestic violence”.

The statement added that while the matter is under investigation and before the courts, Wood is on indefinite leave from his duties, and extended the company’s thoughts to the family and everyone in the community affected by domestic violence.

Joint family statement

A joint statement was posted to the Instagram accounts of Sam Wood and his wife, Snezana Wood, on behalf of “the Wood family”. “This is a difficult time for all of us, we are working through this as a family and are thoroughly cooperating with the authorities,” it read.

Background

Wood rose to national fame as the Bachelor on Network Ten’s The Bachelor Australia in 2015, where he met his now-wife, Snezana Markoski. The couple married in November 2018 in Byron Bay. He went on to build the 28 by Sam Wood fitness brand, launched in 2016 and sold in 2022 for a reported $71 million AUD, while remaining a regular presence on Australian television.

The charges remain allegations, and Wood is entitled to the presumption of innocence unless proven guilty in court. More world news on Watan News.