A body language expert has weighed in on Married At First Sight couple Jacqui Burfoot and Clint Rice’s engagement.
Jacqui, who was initially paired with Ryan Donnelly on the show, and Clint, who was partnered with Lauren Hall, made headlines on Sunday when the Tasmanian businessman got down on one knee and proposed to the controversial bride at a MAFS reunion viewing party in Sydney.
Scott Taylor, a combined communications specialist, has taken to Instagram to give his two cents on Clint’s proposal to Jacqui, 29, alleging that it came across as a ‘publicity stunt’.
‘It’s precisely as I thought things would be,’ he said.
‘Did I think they’d go to this level for a publicity stunt? No.
‘I knew that they would be desperate,’ he added.
He then shed some light on his verdict, saying he believes their body language was ‘unnatural’.
‘There’s a reason things look and feel unnatural when you’re watching their behaviours – even the hug after the proposal is unnatural,’ he explained.
‘It’s because it’s staged,’ he added, adding that he expected to see ‘ten to twelve weeks of social media madness’.
‘Human connection, when it’s natural, show,’ he went on.
‘You’re not seeing the open, non-verbals, you’re not seeing those items.’
He went on to say that Jacqui and Clint ‘deserve happiness’ and to find people that can give them ‘love’ and ‘support’.
‘In this circumstance, I don’t see any of that,’ he concluded.
Taylor isn’t the only one to hypothesis that the engagement is a sham.
Ex-Love Island star Stella Hutcheon, who attended the same viewing party, revealed that one of the 2025 MAFS participants let slip of the proposal plans before it happened.
Talking to Robin, Kip and Corey Oates on Brisbane’s KIIS 97.3, she said that Dave Hand, who was paired with Jamie Marinos on the show, hinted at the big announcement beforehand.
‘Dave came up to me and said that something big was going to happen on that night. And nothing else happened,’ she said.
‘So, I’m like, was that pre-planned?’
In footage shared to TikTok, Clint is seen on one knee popping the question to his ladylove before producing an impressive diamond ring.
It wasn’t long before an elated Jacqui said ‘yes’, scooping up her hunk and planting a joyous kiss on his smiling lips.
Later in the footage, Jacqui proudly flashed her blinding diamond ring to her adoring MAFS fans as she grinned with glee.
It comes after Ryan Donnelly sensationally claimed that his on-screen bride Jacqui was ‘never really on the show to find love’.
In a no-holds-barred interview with Daily Mail Australia, Ryan, 37, revealed how Jacqui formed a secret connection with fellow groom Clint while they were still married, all while maintaining what he now calls ‘an agenda’ to control her narrative and become the show’s breakout star.
Ryan didn’t hold back when asked why he thought his marriage with Jacqui imploded so dramatically.
‘Her motivation was to be the main character (of the show), I think,’ he said bluntly.
He claimed Jacqui was ‘flip-flopping’ between playing the victim and the heroine throughout the experiment.
‘I think she wanted to pick at something, pull at a thread until the whole thing unravelled. That’s why I looked a bit guarded. I had to say to myself, ‘Alright, she’s got more masks than a Halloween ball. Which one is she gonna wake up with today?”