A Married At First Sight Australia bride, Jacqui Burfoot, claims she has filed a police complaint against her husband on the show, Ryan Donnelly, alleging that he shared "sensitive, private, sexual content" without her consent. She didn't specify what exactly the content in question was, but Ryan recently posted screenshots that he attributed to Jacqui, in which she talks about their previous intimate moments.
It's not known which police force Jacqui could have made her complaint with, and it's important to note that making a complaint to the police does not necessarily result in the force investigating.
Sharing on Instagram Stories, Jacqui wrote: "FYI, I filed a police report against Ryan yesterday after the sensitive, private, sexual content revenge he has resorted to.
"I encourage anyone to disengage with this content as nobody deserves to go through this. Thank you to all the lovely humans reporting him. He is deleting all comments of people concerned of this nature but it's a police matter now."
She later added, "No, I am not playing victim. I am a victim. There is no shame on me, there is shame on you (Ryan, ESA, Channel 9 and his enablers who are continuing to enable his abuse and give him a platform to do so – like on The Today Show). I don't know how any decent human being cannot see how wrong his behaviour his."
Previously, Ryan addressed apparent claims made by Jacqui that he was emotionally abusive towards her during their time on the show and shared screenshots of text messages he alleges are from Jacqui, in which she appears to thank him for making her feel loved and valued, as well as apologising for being 'mean' to him after an argument and suggesting they remain friends with benefits if their relationship were to end.
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Amongst the alleged messages, Ryan's screenshots appear to show Jacqui telling him he has the 'best d***', offered her the 'best sex', and that he had the 'hottest body'.
"From the moment [our wedding] episode concluded, Jacqui began her rogue crusade," Ryan said via a statement given to the Australian media. "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 [by] Jacqui claiming she was 'trapped' in a literal abusive relationship during filming between August and November last year."
He continued on to say, "She has aggressively pushed this scenario onto every viewer of her content. All of which in its entirety, are horrific lies, slander and in breach of Australian defamation laws. Jacqui has both disrespected genuine victims of abuse, and trivialised their trauma. It's sickening."
Ryan also added, "A person can only handle so much. Not to cite gender, but being a man falsely accused is an uphill battle from the onset."
Jacqui has also spoken out to question why Ryan has been given further media opportunities, including appearances on podcasts officially affiliated with MAFSA.
Cosmopolitan UK reached out to the team behind Married At First Sight Australia to ask for comments from them, Jacqui and Ryan, and will update this article with any responses.
Jennifer Savin is Cosmopolitan UK's multiple award-winning Features Editor, who was crowned Digital Journalist of the Year for her work tackling the issues most important to young women. She regularly covers breaking news, cultural trends, health, the royals and more, using her esteemed connections to access the best experts along the way. She's grilled everyone from high-profile politicians to A-list celebrities, and has sensitively interviewed hundreds of people about their real life stories. In addition to this, Jennifer is widely known for her own undercover investigations and campaign work, which includes successfully petitioning the government for change around topics like abortion rights and image-based sexual abuse. Jennifer is also a published author, documentary consultant (helping to create BBC’s Deepfake Porn: Could You Be Next?) and a patron for Y.E.S. (a youth services charity). Alongside Cosmopolitan, Jennifer has written for The Times, Women’s Health, ELLE and numerous other publications, appeared on podcasts, and spoken on (and hosted) panels for the Women of the World Festival, the University of Manchester and more. In her spare time, Jennifer is a big fan of lipstick, leopard print and over-ordering at dinner. Follow Jennifer on Instagram, X or LinkedIn.
