Married At First Sight bride Jacqui Burfoot has broken her silence on how she’s been portrayed on the show.
In an explosive tell-all interview with Daily Mail , the 29-year-old New Zealand lawyer dished on the real story behind her turbulent marriage to ‘warrior’ Ryan Donnelly.
Her wedding to Ryan was painted as awkward, with the show focusing on her seemingly cold reaction at the altar.
But according to Jacqui, this is far from the full story, with the reality TV star insisting the pair had a ‘special bond’ from the start.
‘Ryan and I actually really did have really great eye contact at the end of the aisle,’ she revealed.
‘We did lock eyes, we were looking into each other’s eyes very intimately.
Married At First Sight bride Jacqui Burfoot (pictured) has broken her silence on how she’s been portrayed on the show
In an explosive tell-all interview with Daily Mail , the 29-year-old New Zealand lawyer dished on the real story behind her turbulent marriage to ‘warrior’ Ryan Donnelly (pictured right)
‘It’s a shame they’ve shown me looking away from Ryan when we did share that very special bond.’
Viewers have also seen Jacqui seemingly nitpick at Ryan and struggle to connect with him emotionally, but she says the context is missing.
‘Everyone’s seeing one percent of what’s going on. I was dealing with a lot of things that are not necessarily on camera,’ she explained.
‘I was very specific with the experts about what I wanted in a husband—someone mature, emotionally intelligent, kind, and considerate.
‘And I felt like Ryan wasn’t quite the anchor at the end of the aisle that I was hoping for.’
Jacqui also insisted she came into the experiment with the positive intention to find true love.
‘I believe love is a verb, and that you can show your love through forgiveness, patience, and understanding,’ she said.
‘That was my mindset from the start, and I really tried to embody that throughout my journey.’
Her wedding to Ryan was painted as awkward, with the show focusing on her seemingly cold reaction at the altar. But according to Jacqui, this is far from the full story
Jacqui said her family also shared her fears that Ryan was not ready for marriage.
‘They were concerned that Ryan wasn’t marriage material.
‘It looked like his friends party a lot, and I was worried I’d been matched with a party boy instead of someone who was ready to settle down.’
One of the most confronting revelations from Jacqui’s interview was about Ryan’s off-camera behaviour, particularly his attitude toward women.
‘I was really battling,’ she admitted.
‘Right from the day I met him, he started criticizing my appearance and didn’t have nice things to say.
‘And it wasn’t just me – he was doing it to the women around me.
‘I had to keep stepping in and saying, “Hey, don’t speak about Katie like that,” or, “Please stop making jokes about sex and intimacy, it’s not funny.”‘
One of the most confronting revelations from Jacqui’s interview was about Ryan’s off-camera behaviour, particularly his attitude toward women. ‘I was really battling,’ she admitted
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One of the biggest bombshells came when Ryan made a crude sexual comment about Jacqui at a sex workshop with the other grooms.
‘I actually found out when he got home that he had made the sexual comments about me, but I didn’t know the context,’ she confessed.
‘Last night was the first time I’d actually seen for myself what happened – I had no idea until now.
‘I’m shocked, actually.
‘It’s ten times worse than what he said to me privately.’
What hurt Jacqui the most was that Ryan never properly apologised.
‘To this day, he doesn’t understand what the issue was.
‘The issue is that he was bagging me off to the boys and using it as an insult.
‘I feel really hurt that he can’t acknowledge that.’
Beyond the relationship struggles, Jacqui says she doesn’t feel shamed or humiliated by how she has been edited but rather by Ryan’s comments and the fact that everyone stayed silent
Beyond the relationship struggles, Jacqui says she doesn’t feel shamed or humiliated by how she has been edited but rather by Ryan’s comments and the fact that everyone stayed silent.
‘I’m a human being – I’m someone’s daughter, someone’s sister, and one day, I’ll be someone’s mum,’ she said, her voice breaking.
‘I feel really exposed and vulnerable.
‘But it’s not the edit that makes me feel that way—it’s the way Ryan spoke about me and how nobody called him out.’
Jacqui also believes that the way the show has handled her relationship has been unfair.
‘It’s tough to sit by when people are being sold a false storyline of what really happened,’ she said.
Many fans have questioned why Jacqui stayed in the experiment despite clear signs her relationship with Ryan was not working.
‘I saw a lot of potential in Ryan,’ she admitted.
Many fans have questioned why Jacqui stayed in the experiment despite clear signs her relationship with Ryan was not working
‘We had great times together, and there was a reason why we were working.
‘But if I’m being honest, there was an incident on the honeymoon where I probably should have left.’
Despite the heartbreak, Jacqui says she no regrets, claiming, ‘I signed up for a marriage, and I did the best I could.’
As for those who have criticised her, Jacqui remains open-hearted.
‘I love everyone. I understand why you’d want to hate me.
‘Honestly, I don’t even like the person I’m seeing on TV,’ she admitted.
‘But I just wish everyone the best, and I hope that you can find peace in yourselves.’
Married At First Sight continues on Wednesday at 7.30pm on Channel Nine