My big fake wedding: uncovering an outlandish deception
An extravagant love affair turned into a trail of deception when Benita Alexander discovered her fiancΓ© was not who she thought he was.
A fake wedding, a double life and forged documents. In 2013 investigative journalist Benita Alexander was making a documentary about 'super surgeon' Paolo Macchiarini and his pioneering synthetic organ transplants. The pair quickly fell in love and Benita was swept into a whirlwind romance. Paolo proposed, but the fairytale soon began to unravel when she discovered that the extravagant star-studded wedding he told her he was planning was all a lie. But the fake wedding was just the beginning...
Get in touch: outlook@bbc.com
Presenter: Andrea Kennedy
Producer: Mariana Des Forges
Picture: Paolo Macchiarini and Benita Alexander
Credit: Courtesy Benita Alexander, InstagramΒ @loveconned
Last on
Broadcasts
- Sat 29 May 2021 08:32GMTΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ World Service East and Southern Africa & West and Central Africa only
- Sat 29 May 2021 17:32GMTΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ World Service East and Southern Africa & West and Central Africa only
- Sun 30 May 2021 08:32GMTΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ World Service except East and Southern Africa & West and Central Africa
- Sun 30 May 2021 22:32GMTΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ World Service except East and Southern Africa & West and Central Africa
Contact Outlook
Info on how we might use your contribution on air
Podcast: Lives Less Ordinary
Step into someone elseβs life and expect the unexpected