Outback Wrangler Matt Wright opens up about his time in jail and reveals what he found hardest

By KYLIE STEVENS, SENIOR BREAKING NEWS REPORTER, AUSTRALIA Published: 02:04, 16 July 2026 | Updated: 02:12, 16 July 2026 Outback Wrangler Matt Wright has hit back at claims he received special treatment behind bars, revealing the hardest part of his time in jail was watching his young daughter grow up through a visitor's glass. The television star spent five months in jail after being found guilty of perverting the course of justice following the 2022 helicopter crash that killed his best mate, Chris 'Willow' Wilson. Wright missed the birth of his third child by just days after a previous bid to serve the final two months of his sentence in home detention was revoked the day before his early release. He walked free from Darwin Correctional Centre about 6am on May 11, where he shared an emotional reunion with his wife, Kaia, and met his newborn son, Sterling, for the first time. Wright opened up about being locked up in a documentary aired by Sky News on Wednesday night, where he set the record straight on media reports claiming he received VIP treatment after being transferred to a wing for inmates with mental health and disability needs. Because prison officials 'didn't know where to put him' due to his high profile, Wright ended up in a protected, high-security wing with 20 other inmates, including sex offenders, former police officers, a Hells Angels bikie and 'funny, odd guys'. 'There's one fella serving … he's been in there 42 years. He's like the Hannibal Lecter, he did horrible, horrible stuff,' Wright recalled. 'The thing is that we're all in the same place, doing the same thing. No one really wants to step out of line because then they get moved out of there to worse places.' Matt Wright is pictured being reunited with his young family following hisj ail stint The Outback Wrangler star (with wife Kaia during his trial) spent five months inside Darwin Correctional Centre Plagued by severe sleep deprivation, Wright described his time behind bars as 'Groundhog Day'. He described the Northern Territory corrective services system as a revolving door that turns low-level offenders into hardened criminals. 'I look at it, and the system in there needs to be brought to light - how bad the system is in there, and how overcrowded it is,' Wright said. One of the most confronting aspects of his imprisonment was the impact it had on Wright's two older children. During one visit, seven-year-old Banjo bluntly told his father that his orange jumpsuit made him look like a clown. Wright also missed key milestones as he watched his four-year-old daughter, Dusty, grow up from behind a visitor's glass. When Wright was released, Banjo was disappointed they could not enjoy outdoor adventures together because his father was wearing an ankle bracelet. Not a day goes by that Wright doesn't think about his late mate, 'Willow'. Wright missed the birth of his third child Sterling by just days Wright described his stint inside Darwin Correctional Centre as 'Groundhog Day' Chris 'Willow' Wilson died while suspended beneath one of Matt Wright's helicopters in a crocodile egg collecting mission which crashed in February 2022 Wright was found guilty of perverting the course of justice following the 2022 helicopter crash that killed his mate and injured pilot Sebastian Robinson. The pair were on a crocodile egg-collecting trip in Arnhem Land. Mr Wilson was suspended on a line beneath a helicopter and was being lowered onto nests in remote swampland. Wright was accused of lying to crash investigators about the amount of fuel in the aircraft, asking Mr Robinson to falsify flying hours, and asking a friend to 'torch' the helicopter's maintenance release. A jury found Wright guilty on the first two counts but could not reach a verdict on the third allegation, relating to the maintenance release being torched. Wright was not charged over the cause of the crash but was found to have acted with 'no remorse' and pressured a 'catastrophically injured' witness in hospital. The father-of-three vowed to clear his name when he was released from jail in May. 'I've done my time, I'm continuing with my appeal and will keep fighting to bring to light the injustice that's occurred,' Wright posted online at the time. 'Finally home with my family after one hell of a fight. Didn’t quite make the birth of our beautiful boy Sterling but Kaia did an incredible job.' However, two months later, Wright was forced to abandon his appeal against his criminal convictions after spending almost $2 million on lawyers fighting the allegations. Wright will now represent himself in the upcoming five-week civil lawsuit launched by Danielle Wilson, the widow of his late mate.