Jacqui Burfoot and Ryan Donnelly are easily one of Married at First Sight Australia 2025 (MAFS)’s most chaotic couples.
The MAFS drama is the gift that keeps on giving, with talks about who’s still together and who’s called it quits are flooding the rumour mill.
And now, things have gotten even juicier, with Ryan officially confirming his split from Jacqui with a brutal dig.
Here’s what we know about MAFS Jacqui and Ryan.
Did Ryan and Jacqui say yes at Final Vows?
Jacqui and Ryan finally broke up at Final Vows, and while they’ve made for entertaining TV, their relationship really should have ended weeks ago.
Ryan started his vows by talking positively about his relationship with Jacqui, praising their “heart-shaped shrine” of photographs in their apartment. However, he quickly started sharing some not-so-kind thoughts, describing her as a “high maintenance nightmare”.
“The way you tried to push your agenda across, badger my stances on major life decisions such as children and being a stay-at-home dad was judgemental, hurtful and aimed at chipping away at your husband, not accepting me for who I am,” he told Jacqui.
“I will never allow any person on this planet to criticise all the self-work I’ve done, my career, finances, or my masculinity. A healthy relationship is not a performance review.”
He criticised Jacqui’s decision to meet Rory during the Grass is Greener challenge, saying it didn’t reflect what she said during the previous Commitment Ceremony.
“My heart is heavy with this decision. I will be walking away from this relationship. For that, and saying you had ‘crazy eyes’, I’m sorry.”
Jacqui launched into her well-rehearsed speech, where she compared Ryan to a “red carpet” due to the amount of red flags he had.
“Please don’t mistake my meekness for weakness, my tolerance for approval, my forgiveness for satisfaction. Relationships shouldn’t feel this heavy, anxious and painful,” she said.
“If this experiment taught me anything, it’s that you shouldn’t try and fix your husband. He needs to do the work on his own. I’m not a rehabilitation centre for a man,” Jacqui continued. “I was always open and willing to listen and fix, it’s not me, your pride is the problem.”
“Today, I choose peace, and to walk away from this relationship. Ryan, in a world of red flags, you are the red carpet.”
It looks like a reconciliation between these two is totally off the cards!
Ryan confirms split with Jacqui
While Jacqui and Ryan somehow made it to Final Vows, a new spicy Instagram Story from Ryan (yep, for once it’s not Jacqui doing the spoiling) suggests things do not end well.
In his words: “Jacqui was a bitch at Final Vows. I laughed, then I left. Yayy.” Yikes.
So yeah, it’s safe to say they’re officially dunzo. And Ryan seems very over it.
Why do Jacqui and Ryan fight during Final Test Week?
While Jacqui and Ryan constantly change between being lovey-dovey and hating each other, they manage to make it all the way to the end. However, during Final Test Week, they both opted to meet alternative partners during the ‘grass is greener’ challenge.
Ryan accused Jacqui of cheating on him, even though he also met with another woman. Make it make sense?!
Clint reveals what Jacqui really thinks of Ryan
In an interview with Chattr, intruder groom Clint Rice spilled that Jacqui and Ryan “hate each other”.
“I can see why [there are couples who don’t speak],” Clint said. “They are on this show, and they throw their partner under the bus.”
“You see all the other couples when they’re at a dinner party or in a group environment, they drag out and air their dirty laundry of their partner. I find that embarrassing, I really do.”
In a wild twist, Clint is rumoured to be in a relationship with Jacqui now, and they are living together in Tasmania.
MAFS’ Jacqui hits back at Ryan for outing her homestay as an Airbnb
During Homestays week, Ryan took to his burner Instagram account and accused Jacqui of using an Airbnb in Manly instead of showing him her real home.
“This wasn’t Jacqui’s home,” he posted on his Instagram Story. “It was an Airbnb booked for the one night we filmed in Manly.
“Her actual place was a rental apartment with two other housemates. They couldn’t fit the camera crew in there, her bedroom was tiny, the housemates’ stuff was everywhere, and production would’ve had to ask them to leave and stay elsewhere for filming.”
The Daily Mail reported that Jacqui had been caught out in an ’embarrassing lie’ with the Airbnb rental, something Jacqui then said she wasn’t ashamed of.
“This is Ryan’s continuous attempts to humiliate and embarrass me publicly. It’s petty and pathetic,” she wrote on her own Instagram story.
“[I’m] not embarrassed at all,” Jacqui said. “Production hire these for participants who have housemates to protect their privacy, it’s been happening for years.
Jacqui and Ryan’s claims against each other
After Jacqui’s made numerous allegations against Ryan, Ryan has now leaked a bunch of text messages between the pair (which can be read here), with Jacqui calling it a “violation of her rights” and stating that she’s filed a police report against Ryan for leaking the texts that she has labelled “revenge porn”.
Speaking with Daily Mail, Ryan said: “From the moment [our wedding] episode concluded, Jacqui began her rogue crusade. Through constant public posting on an alternate Instagram account, she has made serious defamatory content against myself, my close friends, other MAFS participants and production company Endemol Shine.
“I’ve been accused of being an abuser. Jacqui claiming she was ‘trapped’ in a literal abusive relationship during filming between August and November last year.”
Meanwhile Jacqui said to Sky News that she is in the process of filing an Apprehended Personal Violence Order (APVO) against him.
She also spoke to Daily Mail, slamming Channel Nine and Endemol Shine.
“Where is the duty of care? Why are Channel Nine and ESA [Endemol Shine Australia] not helping me protect myself from this man?” she said. “I understand he said he’s going on a MAFS Official podcast this week and I’m just shocked that someone could be behaving like this in public and not be cut-off from media.
“So that’s the question I really have is why has he not been cut off from media? Why are they still enabling him to go on national TV and shame me and humiliate me and call me a mental patient?”
Jacqui revealed a bit of a spoiler on Instagram
The MAFS 2025 cast has been going rogue on social media this year, and Jacqui might top the list. She recently shared an Instagram Story revealing that, despite the “misleading and deceptive stories” shown on the series, she is currently in a relationship.
“I am currently in a relationship with a person who was exactly what I asked for,” she spills. “Someone kind, considerate, a great man, and intelligent.”
Jacqui described this relationship as loving and long-term, and it’s likely she was talking about Clint.
Samir Banga, one of Ryan’s groomsmen also reshared Jacqui’s post, adding his own text on top.
“So people asked me if Jacqui and Ryan are still together,” Samir began. “Well, I wasn’t going to answer, but she’s come to say she’s in a relationship. Which obviously means it didn’t work out.”
Jacqui and Ryan’s pairing
Ryan is one of a few actor/model/influencer types in the MAFS 2025 cast, although his Nine bio lists him as a “project manager.”
As Daily Mail reports, Ryan’s now-deactivated Star Now profile reveals his acting background, complete with shots of him in a police uniform for a TV series.
According to the publication, his friends describe him as a “super nice guy” who’s grown tired of swiping on dating apps and is “ready for something real.”
Meanwhile, Jacqui is one smart cookie. She’s a dual degree-holder, with a Bachelor of Laws and a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Auckland. She also claims to have won the title of Miss New Zealand in 2012 (although the jury is still out on that one).
She’s also studied at the College of Law Australia and Harvard Business School Online.
Per her Linkedin, Jacqui has been building a career as a lawyer and investment analyst between 2019 and 2024, earning glowing endorsements from colleagues like “most hardworking, dedicated, and intelligent lawyer-turned-entrepreneur.”
Friends of Jacqui have described her to Daily Mail as “an absolute delight to be around” with “a heart of gold.” Another insider told the news outlet, “Women everywhere will feel empowered watching her stand up for what’s right.” But how well is she pairing with Ryan?
Are they still together?
Jacqui and Ryan’s wedding day got off to a rocky start, with Jacqui unimpressed the moment she laid eyes on her TV groom. He wasn’t blonde or clean-shaven, and she wasn’t thrilled about it.
Things didn’t improve during their wedding photoshoot when Ryan failed to notice his bride shivering. Hoping he’d offer his jacket like a gentleman, Jacqui was forced to ask for it herself — a move that didn’t sit well with her.
“I don’t want to explain to anyone that that’s what they should do,” she told the MAFS producers.
“I want them to want it themselves. I can’t make someone want to be a man. You know, either he is a man or he’s not,” she continued before breaking into tears.
But just when things were looking dire, Ryan’s wedding vows managed to turn the tide. When he shared his experience with school bullying (something Jacqui had also gone through), her feelings began to shift.
“The more I get to know him, the more I’m starting to like him,” she later confessed (talk about whiplash).
Of course, just as things were looking up, disaster struck when Ryan dropped Jacqui while attempting a dip during their first dance. It was pretty brutal to watch, and he knew it, immediately begging producers to cut the footage.
“I don’t wanna be that guy,” he said. Oof.
Since then, the couple has had plenty of ups and downs. During the Photo Ranking task, Ryan placed Jacqui in equal third, which she took offence to. The placement (and Ryan’s subsequent push-back about honesty) has continued to be a contention between the couple, even popping up during Intimacy Week.
What else do we know about Jacqui and Ryan?
According to Daily Mail’s sources, Jacqui and Ryan’s MAFS relationship is an absolute rollercoaster of “fireworks, backstabbing, and chaos that makes past seasons look like Disney fairytales.”
A production insider spilled that the pair’s antics both on and off-screen are “absolute bananas.”
According to the outlet’s source, Ryan is all about “pro-masculinity” and “embracing individuality,” while Jacqui is “unapologetically fierce,” often clashing with Ryan in ways that keep their fellow cast members perpetually on edge.
“Their toxic chemistry divides the group,” another insider shared. “It’s exhausting for everyone involved.”
Even the MAFS experts, who are used to handling some pretty volatile matches, were reportedly “blindsided” by the intensity of this duo.
Are Jacqui and Ryan paid actors?
Another controversy surrounding the couple is about whether their relationship is a producer plant.
It seems that Ryan’s deactivated Star Now account doesn’t spell the end of his acting career, with the MAFS groom spotted on a Sydney film set by Daily Mail. “Absolutely believe they are both actors, trying to get recognised by Home and Away,” one fan commented under a recent Instagram post on the show’s official account.
Jacqui has also been saying some pretty revealing stuff on Instagram. Recently, she shared some revealing information via her Stories, alleging that her storyline has been “highly edited” and that she is “playing it up for the camera” at times.
Whelp, either way, Jacqui and Ryan were always super messy. So we can’t say we’re too surprised with how their story turned out!
