MAFS Australia's Ryan says Jacqui tried to "destroy" his life as he goes to court to seek restraining order against her

23 April 2025, 15:11 | Updated: 23 April 2025, 15:23

MAFS Australia&squot;s Ryan goes to court to request AVO against Jacqui after claiming she tried to "destroy" his life — MAFS Australia's Ryan goes to court to request AVO against Jacqui after claiming she tried to "destroy" his life. Picture: Nine

By Katie Smith

Ryan's court appearance to request a restraining order comes after Jacqui was granted a restraining order against him and also filed a police report.

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MAFS Australia's Ryan Donnelly is taking action against his TV ex-wife Jacqui Burfoot after he accused her of trying to "destroy" his life with "false allegations" following their time on the show.

Ryan, who was matched with Jacqui by the Married At First Sight Australia experts, has reportedly sought a restraining order against her.

On Wednesday (Apr 23), Ryan appeared in Campbelltown Local Court where he claimed Jacqui had attempted to "destroy" his life with allegations shared publicly on social media after they split during Final Vows. (News

This comes shortly after Jacqui said she filed a police report against Ryan alleging he had resorted to "sensitive, private, sexual content revenge". She was also recently granted an interim restraining order against him.

Jacqui has also now fired back on social media.

Read more: MAFS Australia's Ryan's sarcastic reaction to Clint and Jacqui's engagement
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Ryan and Jacqui on MAFS Australia. Picture: Nine

Australian news outlets (including News.com.au) have reported that Ryan has "taken out an AVO" against Jacqui, but Jacqui has since clarified that it is an ADVO, which stands for Apprehended Domestic Violence Order. (She also posted photos of the ADVO application on Instagram).

If granted, Jacqui would not be able to publish anything about him or his friends on social media for two years. It would also protect Ryan from being threatened, harassed, intimidated, assaulted, or being contacted by Jacqui.

"An individual has tried to destroy my life, my potential for career options, collaborations, all that sorts with false allegations, so men can be victims as well," Ryan said to reporters outside court.

"I’ve had a lot of suffering, had a lot of harm as a result of all these claims online and there’s no foundation for it. I think it’s vicious, malicious, and it just won’t stand…It doesn’t matter if it’s men, or woman, at the end of the day people shouldn’t be able to get away with lies and horrific things said about them, so, yeah I’m taking this matter very seriously."

Jacqui previously accused Ryan of "physically threatening" behaviour while on the show and took out a restraining order against him. Picture: @jacquiburfoot via Instagram

Ryan added that he'd been left feeling "very afraid" after Jacqui's claims prompted a wave of negative comments to come his way.

"Afraid? I have received some menacing things sent to me as a result of the things she’s been posting, so with such a massive platform as MAFS, it’s quite dangerous to be associated with these things," he said. "I’m here to make sure that doesn’t happen in future, and yeah, at one point I was very afraid, of course."

Jacqui and Ryan's tumultuous on-screen relationship played out all the way through to Final Vows, where they finally called it quits for good.

During their vows, Jacqui told Ryan: "Ryan, in a world of red flags, you are the red carpet." He responded: "Be gone with you, you horrible woman."

Jacqui and Ryan's relationship finally ended at Final Vows when they two traded one last blow before splitting. Picture: Nine

Since the show ended, Jacqui has taken to social media to share a bunch of allegations not only against the show's producers and production company, but also Ryan. In one claim, she alleged that Ryan was ‘physically threatening’ and ‘intimidating’ towards her when they were on the show.

In response to Ryan's recent legal action, Jacqui told her TikTok followers that after emailing the court registrar and stating she would like to attend via a video link, and that she opposed the claims, she was told "you do not need to attend this one".

Jacqui also claimed that Ryan made "two false statements in his application form".

"So the false statement he made was that we were in a relationship for 9 months," she continued. "You all know this is Married At First Sight where you're married for 3 months and then we broke up. That was it. So he's actually made a false statement in order to be considered for a domestic violence order."

MAFS Australia's Jacqui Burfoot posts response to Ryan's legal claims on Instagram. Picture: @jacquelineleejewellery via Instagram

"And the second false statement that he's made is that I have been directly contacting him and I have not directly contacted this man," she added.

Jacqui says she has also released the court document "that proves my innocence", which were shared on her Instagram story.

"I'm really trying to move on with my life. Like, I literally want to be done with him," she continued. "I do not want to have to deal with this man ever again in my life."

[NOTE: This article has been updated to include Jacqui Burfoot's response to Ryan's claims.]