Married At First Sight groom Ryan Donnelly cut a casual figure when he stepped out for a solo shopping trip during filming.
Despite Ryan and Jacqui Burfoot being packing on the PDA towards the end of filming, on more than one occasion, his bride was nowhere to be seen.
The groom with a self-proclaimed ‘warrior mentality’ went casual for his solo hunt-and-gathering mission to Woollies, rugging up in a red Tommy Hilfiger hooded sweatshirt.
Ryan matched his hoodie with a pair of light blue jeans that were faded at the knees.
The pockets of the project manager’s jeans were bulging with what appeared to be his mobile phone and wallet.
He finished his shopping look with a pair of white sneakers, which were presumably removed from the bed per his TV wife’s many requests.
Despite Jacqui not being by his side, Ryan appeared in a chipper mood, smiling as he strolled along to the supermarket.
The reality star accessorised with the fruits of his trip to the supermarket, which he carried in a green Woolworths reusable bag and a smaller paper bag.
In an interview with Daily Mail Australia on Thursday, the 37-year-old fitness fanatic, who has been a polarising figure on this season of MAFS, owned up to his part in the scandal.
‘Haha, watching my edit back was cringeworthy, but you know what? I’m here for it,’ Ryan said.
‘I’m here to be like, it’s a cautionary tale. You’ve got to just take ownership, take accountability, say a couple of funny things, and then, yeah, just demonstrate that you’ve learned from it.’
Ryan infamously stunned his male co-stars and stoked public outrage by joking his bride ‘has got crazy eyes… but she gives good h**d’ during an Intimacy Week session.
When asked if he had indeed learned from the backlash, Ryan confessed he hadn’t been fully aware of the layers of emotional awareness expected in such a setting.
‘There’s just layers of empathy and emotional awareness that I think men in general, definitely myself, just weren’t aware of,’ he admitted.
‘And obviously, there’s a time and a place, a forum, a setting to say certain things, and last night’s episode? Not good.’
His heartless remark came during an intimacy workshop with expert Alessandra Rampolla—and the men were quick to vent their frustration to their own partners.
During the workshop, Ryan joked that Jacqui had ‘crazy eyes’, repeating a put-down that another groom had made about her.
Jacqui, having learnt of his grubby comments, stormed away from the table.
The backlash from fans was swift, with many slamming Ryan’s remarks as ‘disrespectful’ and ‘degrading’.
Ryan expressed regret over his choice of words but stood by his belief that the outrage was somewhat amplified.
‘Of course I regret it. I completely understand why people were upset by it, and I genuinely apologise for my words,’ he confessed.
‘It was inappropriate, and I should have been more considerate in that moment.’
When asked whether Jacqui’s portrayal on the show has been fair, Ryan didn’t hold back.
‘That’s the million-dollar question. What do you think?’ he teased, before hinting that viewers aren’t getting the full story.
‘All I can say is that this marriage has been a wild ride. You can’t strap yourself in and start wailing two minutes in – you knew what you signed up for. Holding a mirror up to yourself isn’t easy, and I won’t say I disagree with what I’m seeing so far.’
He also suggested Jacqui had her own difficult moments, claiming she was ‘pretty horrible at the wedding’ and that her moods take drastic turns throughout the experiment.
‘I got blindsided a few times, and a lot of things happened that I didn’t expect. It definitely makes you question where we stand as a couple,’ Ryan revealed.