Married At First Sight couple Jacqui Burfoot and Ryan Donnelly reached breaking point in Sunday night’s episode as the couple took to the couch for the final Commitment Ceremony.
At last week’s Dinner Party, Ryan called out his wife’s harsh criticism of him during Homestays Week, which saw his fellow participants hold the bride accountable.
Now, following the fiery dinner, the couple have sat down with the experts to discuss their relationship and whether they choose to progress to the Final Vows together.
Ryan opened up the conversation, saying: ‘I’ve wanted more than anything to have a team and to have a best friend and ultimately an organic love that can grow from that and that’s why I came into this experiment.’
He went on: ‘However, I don’t believe that that should come at the ultimate cost of who you are as a person,’ adding that the last week was ‘a prime example’ of that.
The groom then sensationally revealed: ‘At times I’ve felt I haven’t had a partner, I’ve had a critic.’
When love expert John Aiken asked how Ryan felt when he said he didn’t feel accepted as a man, Ryan corrected him and said ‘as a person’ – which saw Jacqui erupt in laughter.
‘Why is she laughing,’ Jamie Marinos could be heard whispering from the sidelines.
The experts were quick to shut down the bride’s inappropriate behaviour, with John saying: ‘Jacqui, Jacqui, hold on, explain yourself.
‘Why are laughing about something that is so so important to him?’ he asked.
‘That’s horrible,’ groom Teejay Halkias muttered in responds.
Jacqui attempted to argue her case, saying that Ryan always asks her to support him as a man and that it’s ‘man and wife’, which she has told him in the past she doesn’t agree in line with gender stereotypes.
‘We’re in a relationship so it’s a thing of respect,’ she said defensively.
John proceeded to put Jacqui in her place and return his attention to Ryan as he revealed why he had come to the end of his wits with his wife.
‘Going into each other’s worlds was absolutely critical and even before the Homestays, I was so committed to show up and immerse myself fully in everything Manly had to offer and that’s exactly what I did,’ he said of his time in Jacqui’s hometown.
‘I don’t think that was reciprocated when Jacqui went to my place,’ he revealed.
‘You shouldn’t make lists about things you want to improve in your partner because that just make them feel belittled, it makes them feel not good enough,’ Ryan told his wife.
As things began to spiral, John asked: ‘Jacqui, do you see Ryan as a project that needs to be worked on?’
‘Absolutely not, no,’ Jacqui said.
Ryan, at the same time, said: ‘It feels that way.’
‘So why do you think Ryan says that?’ John asked.
Jacqui shared: ‘I look for compromise always and so when I approach relationships, I’m like trying to understand what the other person wants and needs and I feel like I’ve compromised on basically everything.’
When asked if she could list some the things she had compromised on, Jacqui noted sleeping times and watching TV late at night, which Ryan revealed he ‘couldn’t recall’.
John began: ‘I do understand when you say you feel like there hasn’t been compromise but these situations, they are very niche.
‘When we talk about the TV, when we talk about…’ he trailed off as Jacqui began to sob hysterically into a tissue, met with a number of confused faces around the room.
After calming down, she admitted: ‘I do understand that I’m idealistic at times and maybe I’m unrealistic.
‘But I think the things I stand hold on are things that are pretty important like respect and healthy communication, um not being yelled at.’
‘It’s those things that I really hold him to account for and those are the things that trigger him.’
Ryan revealed how he really felt about his wife’s behaviour.
‘Who I am and my identity and how I interact with the world, it doesn’t meet your approval and I just feel drained, Jacqui’ he said.
‘I’ve taken accountability, I’ve apologised and still when it came to Homestays, it didn’t feel like enough to meet your standards.’
As Jacqui questioned his statement and why he felt that way, Adrian piped up from the couch.
‘He’s explained himself on the couch the whole time,’ adding: ‘You clearly didn’t listen,’ to which Teejay chimed in in support.
‘Because I complain about things that are normal,’ an emotional Jacqui said.
As the other participants shared their confusion, Jacqui began to list off her qualms.
‘Scolding and yelling at me and not standing up for your wife, like that’s normal behaviour.
As John asked the bride what she had to say in response to Ryan’s clear upset, she said: ‘I think for me like there’s certain behaviour I don’t tolerate.’
Expert Alessandra Rampolla then joined in on the conversation, holding Jacqui accountable for the things she had said.
‘So you don’t see how when you point out specific things to Ryan, that can make him feel like he’s not accepted by you as a person?’ the expert asked, listing off times she had criticised his intellectual capacity and questioned his greatness.
It implies that you’re ‘not embracing him’, the judge said, to which Jacqui responded: ‘I’ll embrace you now’ as she lent into Ryan who sat awkwardly, unmoving.
As the couple continued to disagree and the conversation went in circles, Alessandra asked: ‘Do you think, Ryan, that you’re good enough for Jacqui?
‘It doesn’t matter to me now,’ he revealed, adding: ‘I’m good enough for me.’
‘I’ve got a beautiful life and I’m honestly happy with myself.’
Finally it was time for the couple to vote on whether they remain together for the end of the experiment or part ways.
It was no surprise that Ryan wrote leave, saying that Homestays was a ‘make or break’ for him.
However it was Jacqui’s decision that had the other participants confused and Ryan, ultimately, frustrated.
‘Well I wanted to talk it out and, like, have some healthy communication because this is the first time I’ve kinda heard Ryan be upset,’ she said.
‘So that’s why I wrote “stay”,’ she said, as she flipped over her card, ‘so we can talk about it and resolve things.’
Ryan let out a sigh before asking, ‘Why did you write “stay” when you’ve expressed unhappiness at multiple intervals?’
‘I’ve expressed happiness as well, Ryan,’ she retorted, adding: ‘This is a rollercoaster.’
After telling the judges that Ryan is worth fighting for, Jacqui promised to do the ‘heavy lifting’ from now on.
The pair agreed to talk things over as they left the couch to spend another week working on their relationship.