Married At First Sight (MAFS) 2025 groom Ryan Donnelly is officially attending court after seeking legal protection for his on-screen wife, Jacqui Burfoot.
ICYMI, both Jacqui and Ryan sought out legal action against each other post Final Vows.
It all started when Jacqui engaged in legal action at a Tasmanian court against Ryan, where she was granted an interim restraining order against her ex-groom.
Days later, Ryan applied for an Apprehended Domestic Violence Order (ADVO) against Jacqui at Campbelltown Courthouse.
On Wednesday, April 23, Ryan fronted court for the first time alongside Shririn Razi from Azadi Lawyers, who will be representing him.
In court documents seen by The Daily Telegraph, Ryan claimed he received “horrible messages” from MAFS viewers as a result of Jacqui’s social media posts.
“[Donnelly] states the defendant has publicly accused him of domestic violence, sexual harassment, that he is a danger to women and that she is doing a ‘public service to Australia’,” the documents read, per the publication.
“Due to [Burfoot’s] followers online, which [exceeds] 100,000 people … Donnelly is truly scared of what may happen next, as he has received numerous horrible messages directly from people who have viewed her content.”
The publication adds that Jacqui — who now lives in Tasmania with her fiancé and MAFS co-star Clint Rice — sent an email to the magistrate explaining her absence.
Speaking to reporters outside of Campbelltown Local Court, Ryan emphasised the impact Jacqui’s alleged social media posts had on his wellbeing and that he had suffered “a lot of harm”.
“An individual has tried to destroy my life, my potential for career options, collaborations … with false allegations, so men can be victims as well,” he said, per 9News.
“At one point, I was very afraid.”
In Ryan’s ADVO, the former MAFS groom is seeking to halt Jacqui from publishing anything about him or his friends for two years, as well as communicating with him.
Following Ryan’s court appearance, Jacqui took to social media to accuse her former flame of making “false statements to get an application” into court.
“We had a relationship for three months, not nine, therefore, it’s not even a domestic relationship,” she wrote alongside a photo of the ADVO.
“This is not just a waste of court resources, it’s an ACTUAL CRIME.”
In a second Instagram Story, alongside another statement, the 2025 bride denied messaging Ryan.
“False statement #2 — Ryan accusing me of directly messaging him. But even in his comment outside the courtroom room he admitted I have not contacted him. It’s been other people defending me against him,” she wrote.
The messy MAFS matter will return to court on June 24, as Magistrate Shane McAnulty was unwilling to grant Ryan’s order in Jacqui’s absence.
