‘You’re silenced’: ‘MAFS’ Au wife claims she saw abuse of other wives

‘You’re the victim of an edit to discredit your name, so if you ever try and speak out, no one’s going to believe you.’

MAFS Australia ‘wife’ Jacqui Burfoot, who appeared in 2025’s season, has claimed she witnessed abuse of other wives by their ‘husbands’ during filming.

The allegations come after three MAFS UK women made shocking allegations of rape and sexual misconduct earlier this week.

Burfoot was matched with ‘groom’ Ryan Donnelly, but ultimately began a relationship with Clint Rice, whom she later married in real life.

On Wednesday night, Burfoot made some of her own serious allegations against Endemol Shine, MAFS Australia’s production company.

Jacqui Burfoot. Image: Nine

In an Instagram reel, she said:

“There’s a tendency to cast men in particular with domestic violence backgrounds, even histories of criminal records and things like that.

“It is quite alarming when you’re married to a stranger, when you find out that a lot of these men are actually really dangerous or do have propensity to commit acts of domestic violence.

“Now in my season in particular, this did happen and there were men cast with criminal records and histories of domestic violence. There were women that became victims too. These behaviours, a lot of it never went to air because it’s not suitable for primetime TV.”

Burfoot added: “I also feel for the women over there because it’s really hard to call out behaviour which never went to air because people think they know you, but they don’t know what happened behind the scenes.

“You’re up against people saying ‘stop complaining about your edit, it’s just bad behaviour’. So a lot of the times the victims of these crimes, it’s worse, because not only are you not getting a fair edit, but they give you a crazy edit or they make you look like the villain so that you’re silenced and it’s really, really, really horrible.

“It’s worse than what it sounds like on the surface – you’re not just a victim of sexual assault, you’re then also the victim of a bad edit to discredit your name, so if you ever try and speak out, no one’s going to believe you, no one’s going to listen to you.”

Jacqui Burfoot MAFS Au allegations

In the caption of the post, Burfoot wrote that she felt a strong obligation to speak out about “behaviours, crimes and moral and legal wrongs.”

She added: “This really isn’t easy to post. I hate that I have. I have a business, a brand, and a public profile that depends on staying in good standing – and staying silent.

“But when woman are getting grap*d [sic], participants committing suicide and I’ve first hand experienced and witnessed similar, it’s just way too much to ask for me to stay silent.”

Burfoot’s post comes just days after three women on MAFS UK seasons told the BBC’s Panorama that they suffered sexual abuse by their partners on the show.

Mediaweek reported that the BBC investigation found that two women claim they were raped during filming, and a third has alleged a non-consensual sex act.

Shona Manderson was a ‘wife’ on the 2023 UK season and the only one of the three women who is identified.

She said: “I don’t think that because you’re going on reality TV, you deserve in any way for things like this to happen to you.”

Shona Manderson has alleged she was raped while filming MAFS UK. Image: Instagram

Manderson was matched with Bradley Skelly and the couple began their ‘marriage’ smoothly.

She told the BBC that they had agreed to use the withdrawal method of contraception, but that on one occasion he ejaculated inside her without permission.

“I was shocked, I was confused, we said we weren’t doing that,” Manderson said.

About a week after leaving the show, Manderson discovered she was pregnant. “I made the choice to go through with an abortion. It was really hard,” she said.

CPL, the MAFS UK production company, and Channel 4, the show’s British broadcaster, chose to remove the couple from the show soon after.

In a statement Skelly denied “any allegations of sexual misconduct.”

Read more about the serious allegations made by the three women, and the findings of the BBC’s Panorama investigation, here.

Response to Jacqui Burfoot from Nine Entertainment

Mediaweek reached out to broadcaster Nine for comment on Thursday morning.

A spokesperson for Nine Entertainment responded:

“Nine and Endemol Shine take their obligations in respect to the health, wellbeing and safety of the participants of MAFS Australia extremely seriously.

“All participants have access to the show psychologist and welfare resources during filming, during broadcast and once the program has ended.

“Nine also provides an additional service for participants should they like or need further individual and confidential psychological support. This service gives participants access to clinicians to support those involved in the program in relation to their experiences.

“This service is available to all participants for as long as they need it, with no end date.”