Jacqui Burfoot and Clint Rice were participants on the 12th season of Married at First Sight Australia. They began dating after splitting with their respective show spouses, and got engaged in April. Photo / Instagram @jacqui.burfoot
Kiwi MAFS bride Jacqui and her fiance Clint tell the Herald they’re happier than ever, are looking forward to getting married and starting a family, and ‘love each other to death’.
They hit our screens as two participants in the 12th season of Married at First Sight Australia, and it wasn’t long before they were all anyone watching the show could talk about.
Jacqui Burfoot (a Kiwi based in Sydney) and Clint Rice (a Tasmania-based former pro-golfer) began dating after the show’s final vow ceremonies, after Burfoot gave a scathing rejection to her groom, Ryan Donnelly. Burfoot went to visit Rice at his Launceston mansion once filming had finished ... and the pair have barely spent a night apart since.
The couple were in and out of headlines this year, from Burfoot’s claims the show’s producers had edited her unfairly, to reports of legal battles and breakups – most of which Burfoot labelled as “fake news”.
They’ve documented their relationship across their social media platforms, and now, talking to the Herald while on holiday in Bali, the couple reflect on their first year together, their wedding and baby plans, and how they feel about their fans and their haters.
As we approach the end of 2025, how are you feeling about the year you’ve had?
Clint Rice: I’m proud of where we are at after the chaos of what gets thrown at you with Married at First Sight, as it’s only made our relationship stronger. We are also closer to marriage and family for next year. I’m very happy.
Jacqui Burfoot: It’s been everything and more. I’ve really enjoyed going with the flow of what life has sent my way. I’ve never felt more at home and at peace with Clint. Business is going great and I am really proud of the fact I haven’t lost myself after the show. I’ve never valued fame and the fact I’m literally walking around Bali today not caring about what people think is both liberating (in itself) and relieving that I’m still the same person, in and out. Clint is incredibly grounding for me. Nothing has changed internally, I’m just enjoying all the new opportunities – particularly travel. I’m very happy.
What have been the best and worst moments of 2025?
CR: The best is the proposal – pulling it together and pulling it off and not having Jacqui find out. There’s nothing bad to discuss.
JB: Getting engaged was the best. I like enjoying life, not dwelling [on the negatives].
Thinking back to where you were this time last year, what advice would you give yourself about what was to come?
CR: No advice needed, because [MAFS] was a side thing and not really the focus.
JB: I wouldn’t give advice, as life is meant to be experienced in the moment, and who really cares? If anything, just continue being yourself.
Now you’ve had some distance from it, how do you feel about your MAFS experience and the way you were portrayed on screen?
Both: Who cares?
What would you have done differently, given hindsight?
Both: Nothing.
When you first announced you were together, and when you got engaged, critics said your relationship wouldn’t last. What would you say to those critics now?
CR: I really don’t care about what anyone else has to say. It’s usually people commenting negatively who are miserable or unhappy in their own heads.
JB: No words needed, and I don’t care. I just hope people out there feel the confidence to say no to bullying at school, at work and online. Let’s all stand up against bullies – even if that is your co-stars or co-workers.
Do you think public perception of you has changed over the past few months?
CR: The people who know us know the people we are. That’s all that matters to me and I have no idea how the public sees us, before or now. All I can go off is that people in person have been nothing but great and kind the entire time. I feel sorry for people online who are negative towards us because life must be really sad to be that concerned about us.
JB: Not really, no. MAFS is a show about marriage and love. Our love story was inspiring for a lot of people who are still loyal fans of us today. We have a huge fan base since the show aired, who celebrate love. Our fans today always say they loved us on the show. My fans often comment on my fashion, career or sense of humour. Clint’s fans are avid golfers. The people who see a different side of me on social media always just apologise for thinking reality TV is real – but personally I believe the public are incredibly gullible when it comes to TV and fake news. It’s sad.
How have you dealt with the negative comments and messages you’ve had?
CR: I usually ignore them, although I did put together all the comments a guy had made and named and shamed him on my Instagram story. He came to me within 30 minutes in a DM apologising, extremely embarrassed and his family were messaging me pleading for me to take it down. I didn’t.
JB: I ignore them and don’t waste any time. We don’t really have any spare time to care. You can’t please everyone. Also, we have never met a troll in person (they live behind a screen in their basement). We have tonnes of fans and customers and they take up our interest.
How are you finding living together? Have you had any clashes/arguments about the everyday, mundane things that come with cohabiting?
CR: It’s been incredible, we get along so well. We do business together, golf, tennis, sauna, run, holiday and talk about big plans, big goals, family plans and how lucky we are to have found each other. My biggest challenge is coaching Jac with golf and that’s not hard because she is killing it!
JB: Great! No clashes. We’re both very chill people who love a clean home, (we vacuum multiple times a week), we love staying clean, sauna, playing tennis together and competing in golf on the Trackman [golf simulator]. We both work from home in business, and travel together, so we spend 24/7 together and we wouldn’t have it any other way. We love each other to death. Our favourite activity is golf in the Trackman SIM, or on the course. We both love the same things too – working out, healthy eating, sports, business and chilling.
How do you resolve arguments?
CR: We aren’t like a lot of couples where we critique, work against each other or try and “win” in a disagreement. We actually look at any discussion or difference of opinion from the other person’s perspective, ask questions and listen.
JB: To be honest we don’t have any because neither of us have fixed mindsets – we are both open-minded, flexible and curious people, so we generally side with each other. Both of us care about the bigger things in life (like the what and why) and neither care too much about the how.
Has any of the advice from the MAFS experts proved useful to you and your relationship?
CR: Haha, no. One thing you need to know is the experts aren’t there to give advice, they are there with earpieces in, being directed by producers for drama. I’ve learnt more from my two Samoyeds [dogs] about relationships than the “experts”.
JB: No, because the experts give no advice. They wear earpieces and repeat lines fed from the producers. MAFS isn’t real – it’s a semi-scripted TV show.
What have been some of your favourite moments from your relationship so far?
CR: The engagement is a standout, then every day waking up next to Jac is a dream come true.
JB: Engagement, travel and golf.
What are three things you love most about each other?
CR: Jacqui’s caring towards me, her laid back personality from day to day, her mind is incredible – always coming up with ideas or looking at something from a different perspective.
JB: I love Clint’s kindness, business sense and family-oriented personality.
How are you planning to celebrate your first Christmas together?
CR: It’s our second Christmas, and we’ll be in Queenstown with Jacqui’s family this year.
JB: This is our second Christmas together. We started dating on November 12, 2024. I came [to visit Clint in Tasmania] and stayed and never left.
Can you share any more details about how your wedding plans are progressing?
CR: We have a fair bit of detail together for our wedding but we aren’t disclosing this as we want it to be private.
JB: We haven’t set a date yet. We are flexible on the wedding but we want it to be a surprise for everyone. We plan to start a family next year though so want to get married before then.
Would you ever do another reality TV show?
JB: Yes, we would do more reality TV. We see TV as a job and are open to being on everyone’s screens. We are both comfortable being open and sharing our lives – both of us are very used to that fact. Clint was previously a pro golfer on tour, constantly on TV, and I grew up as a dancer and a cheerleader who performed often. We both love having fun so it’s totally something we’d do for the right price. Obviously, we both work in business so it would need to make financial or life sense. Both of us signed up to MAFS to find a partner and that worked out well. Together we’d love to build our businesses, renovate a home, start a family and travel the world – whether on TV, or just on social media, we don’t really mind.
What would you say to the next round of MAFS contestants as they get ready for the new season to premiere?
CR: For them watching the show, expect the worst and hope for the best. Know the people who have half a brain and care about you will have your back, no matter what rubbish MAFS serves up.
JB: Listen to your gut, trust your intuition, speak your truth, and don’t worry about anything else. Sleep lots. Stay healthy. Karma is real. Just be a good human, and everything will work out fine.
What’s your message to your fans in New Zealand?
CR: Kiwis have been great, they are much like Tasmanians with their mindset – well, that’s what I always found on tour. I ended up travelling with Kiwis on tour as they are so down to earth. So we love Kiwis and look forward to spending more time in NZ and playing more golf over there.
JB: Love you all! Thanks to the kings and queens for having our backs, always. We’ve been to NZ a few times already (once in hiding when MAFS banned us from being in public). We will continue to come back to NZ throughout our lives since my family live there, so hopefully we will bump into you one day – and when you see us, please don’t be shy – we always say yes to pictures.