‘Isn’t the same person’: Wife’s heartbreak after husband sucked into world of conspiracy theories

A devastated woman has revealed a “hidden problem” in Australia that has caused a shocking change in her once “normal” husband.

Alexis Carey

@carey_alexis

A shattered Queensland woman whose husband was rapidly radicalised during the pandemic is sharing her family’s story about the dangers of online conspiracy theories.

The woman, who is aged in her 50s and who spoke to news.com.au on the condition of anonymity, said she was speaking out to describe the “other side” and show what it’s like “being married to a person that has changed since Covid”.

She said she had been happily married to her husband for decades and that they had raised children together before his rapid descent into the dangerous world of conspiracies and disinformation.

She noted that while her husband wasn’t yet a “sovereign citizen” – the term given to the ever-growing far right movement whose members refuse to recognise the authority of the government, laws and police force – he “does share some of their ideals”.

The man was quickly radicalised by social media and certain websites. Picture: iStock