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MAFS Australia’s Jacqui’s dad reveals why their family turned down her wedding invite

12 May 2025, 17:17

Jacqui's dad has revealed why he didn't attend her MAFS wedding. Picture: Nine

By Jenny Medlicott

Jacqui’s dad has spilled the tea on why their family turned down the invite to her MAFS Australia wedding.

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When Married at First Sight Australia kicks off for another series, a large chunk of the introductory episodes is often dedicated to showing how the participants' families react to the news they're going on the show.

While most family members attend the nuptials to show their support, there's usually at least one participant who has to arrive solo because their family doesn't agree with the show premise.

Sadly for Jacqui Burfoot, her family was among those who weren't too thrilled with the news and therefore failed to make an appearance on her wedding day.

But now, after questions from fans about why Jacqui's family decided not to go, her dad has finally revealed how they really felt about Jacqui's MAFS revelation.

Read more: Ex-flatmate reveals what Jacqui from MAFS Australia is like in real life
Read more: MAFS Australia's Jacqui and Ryan's entire legal battle explained

Jacqui's dad revealed why he didn't attend her MAFS wedding. Picture: Instagram

Speaking the New Zealand Herald, her dad Doog Burfoot admitted: “Jacqui did talk to her mum and me about going on the show. We weren’t overly happy, but we knew she would die wondering if she didn’t.

"Her reason, we think, was probably for opportunity... to go through the door to see what’s there: love, fame, fortune, or just the adventure of the unknown and the discovery of new doors to open.”

The father of the bride revealed that while they were invited to watch Jacqui tie the knot, they decided against it. He explained: “We said that we would prefer to go to her real wedding.

"We think this is one of the reasons she chose a blue wedding dress… to save the white one for the real thing."

Jacqui went on to become one of this series’ most talked about brides and often split viewers’ opinion down the middle, from allegations of 'crocodile tears' to tense arguments with her then-husband Ryan Donnelly.

Jacqui and Ryan at Final Vows. . Picture: Nine

She and Ryan managed to stick out their relationship until the end of the show, but things ended on a pretty sour note when they dealt some harsh truths about each other at Final Vows.

After leaving the show, Jacqui set up an alternate Instagram account (participants lose control of their regular profiles while the show is airing) to share her version of the truth about the show after claiming she was given a 'bad edit'.

Her dad weighed in on the challenges Jacqui faced after production, as he called out MAFS for creating a “fictionalised” version of Jacqui.

He said: “After her experiences with MAFS, we would not support her going on another reality TV show. The power to destroy will always remain with the producers. The Jacqui you see on MAFS is a highly fictional and twisted avatar of the real person.

Jacqui is now engaged to fellow MAFS star Clint Rice. Picture: Instagram

"She is unrecognisable to us and a product of gross editing that uses 'frankenbiting' — splicing different answers to different questions, showing the bad 1% to create, in Jacqui’s case, the ‘crazy’ narrative."

Fortunately, since then Jacqui has found love with fellow MAFS star Clint Rice and seems much more stable in her relationship - and her fiancé even has Doog’s seal of approval.

“We love Clint,” he confessed. “The two are well-suited and form a formidable team that will likely grow together along whatever path they follow.”