Married At First Sight’s Jacqui Burfoot has spoken out against her onscreen husband Ryan Donnelly’s claim he is “very afraid” of her as the exes’ messy relationship goes to court.

Married At First Sight’s Jacqui Burfoot has spoken out after her on-screen husband Ryan Donnelly claimed he was “very afraid” of her outside court on Wednesday.

Jacqui, 30, and 36-year-old Ryan’s tumultuous nine-week relationship on the 2025 season of the Australian reality TV show ended when they traded barbs in their speeches at Final Vows last October.

As the season aired in March, Jacqui took to Instagram to post the full version of a confessions letter she wrote to him during filming.

The letter detailed her concerns about Ryan, including allegations he had “put her down” and was “hyper-defensive when challenged.”

Hours later, Ryan posted several screenshots of alleged message exchanges between the former couple, which were of a sexual nature.

Jacqui took out an interim restraining order against Ryan in Tasmania in March, which stops him from commenting on social media about her.

Ryan subsequently applied for an Apprehended Domestic Violence Order (ADVO) against his on-screen wife, which was heard for the first time at Sydney’s Campbelltown Court House on Wednesday morning.

Jacqui was physically absent in court but opposed Ryan’s application through an email to the court registrar, which served as her appearance.

Magistrate Shane McAnulty told the court he was unwilling to grant the order in Jacqui’s absence and asked the parties to prepare submissions for the matter to return to court on Tuesday, June 24.

Speaking with his representative Shirin Razi from Azadi Lawyers after the hearing, Ryan told reporters he applied for the ADVO against Jacqui because “no one should have to suffer false allegations”.

“An individual has tried to destroy my life, my potential for career options, collaborations, and all that sort of stuff with false allegations,” the project manager from New South Wales said.

“I’ve had a lot of suffering [and] a lot of harm as a result of these claims online.

“I’m taking this matter very seriously, Jacqui hasn’t shown up to court, neither has her legal counsel.”

Ryan said he was “at one point very afraid” of “menacing things,” said online about him “as a result of the things she’s (Jacqui’s) been posting”.

Ryan Donnelly has claimed he was “very afraid”. Picture: MAFS/Nine Network

Jacqui Burfoot has spoken out. Picture: MAFS/Nine Network
The 36-year-old did not explicitly state if he’s considering defamation proceeds but that he would have an “extremely strong case.”

Speaking in a TikTok video addressing his comments, Jacqui claimed Ryan had made false statements in his ADVO application.

“The false statement that he’s made…was that we were in a relationship for nine months… to be considered for a domestic violence order,” the former lawyer from New Zealand said.

“The second false statement that he’s made is that I’ve been directly contacting him, and I have not directly contacted this man.

“We blocked each other after the Final Vows and never spoke again, except for the reunion, when we were forced to come back into the same room.

“We never spoke again after the reunion.”

“If he wants to sue me for defamation, he’s more than welcome to, but truth is a defence to defamation,” she said.

In court documents seen by The Daily Telegraph, Ryan claimed Jacqui “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.”

“Due to (Jacqui’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 documents read.

If Ryan is granted the ADVO, Jacqui would be prohibited from publishing anything about him or his friends on social media for two years.

Jacqui and Ryan had a tumultuous nine-week relationship on MAFS. Picture: Nine Network/MAFS
She would also be barred from assaulting, threatening, stalking, intimidating or damaging his property, including harming his dog Freya.

Jacqui would be further prohibited from approaching or contacting Ryan except through her lawyer.