He regrets stooping to Ryan’s level.

Married At First Sight (MAFS) 2025’s Clint Rice has apologised for his snarky comments about Western Sydney.

After calling Ryan Donnelly’s home a “shithouse” in Western Sydney, there has been a harsh backlash, particularly due to the existing stigma surrounding the area. People have been offended by the postcode prejudice shown on the show, and rightly so.

The groom spoke on the MAFS Funny podcast about how he regretted his choice of words.

“They were not good comments and I’m not proud of talking down to where anyone lives. And I know this myself, I come from Tassie, and I have copped it for my entire life about being from Tassie,” Clint said.

He explained that his Western Sydney jibe was actually in retaliation to Ryan calling Tassie a “hole”, which “didn’t sit well”.  Although he admitted he “shouldn’t have stooped to Ryan’s level”, we all saw what happened next.

“He’d been coming at us for quite some time, and I responded with where he’s from. And I don’t think it’s a good move to, for anyone to go back and forth about where they’re from. I think we’re all proud of where we’re from, I’m so proud of being from Tassie and I’ll defend where I’m from till I’m blue in the face,” Clint explained. “I’m sure he loves Campbeltown and Western Suburbs, and [he] should do too; there’s nothing wrong with the Western Suburbs.”.
Jacqui in Ryan’s Campbelltown unit during Homestays. Image: Nine
The groom added that he meant the insult to be directed at Ryan personally, rather than the entire Western Sydney community.

“I’ve got friends in the Western Suburbs and they’re great people, and there’s a lot of success that comes out of that part of the country and they should be proud of where they’re from,” he declared.

“And if it’s offended anyone — and no doubt it has — because I’ve received some backlash and some messages about where they’re from and I apologise sincerely, ‘cause no one should be ashamed of where they’re from.”

Clint reveals how intense filming MAFS can be

Clint admitted he “said things [he wasn’t] proud of” during his stint on MAFS, and told the podcast host the environment is taxing.
Ryan clashed with Jacqui and Clint at the final Dinner Party. Image: Nine
“You’re often trying to find words, often trying to find your voice in the conversation and defend where you’re at. It comes at you pretty hard and fast at times and often you look back and go, wow, I shouldn’t have said it in that way,” he said.

“It can get pretty intense when you’ve got all this table firing questions… [we were] in the firing line [and] we were copping it… we spoke back and clapped back at a comment and [it] didn’t land well.”

This adds a bit more context to his Western Sydney comments, but hopefully he’s learned to leave entire communities out of his next cat fight!