Doog Burfoot, far left, believes his daughter Jacqui has been edited unfairly on the current season of Married at First Sight Australia. Photos / Supplied, Herald composite
Doog Burfoot, far left, believes his daughter Jacqui has been edited unfairly on the current season of Married at First Sight Australia. Photos / Supplied, Herald composite
Opinion by Doog Burfoot
Doog Burfoot is the father of Jacqui Burfoot, an NZ-born contestant on season 12 of Married At First Sight Australia
Kiwi contestant Jacqui Burfoot has been one of the most talked about contestants in the show’s history. From her social media videos claiming she’s been unfairly edited, to online criticism from fans who say she isn’t telling the truth, to dramatic stories about her relationship with show husband Ryan Donnelly, to yesterday’s news she has now announced her engagement to fellow contestant Clint Rice, Burfoot has been in and out of headlines over the show’s 40 episodes.
She has so far declined the Herald’s interview requests due to contractual and legal reasons. But her Queenstown-based father, Doog Burfoot, approached the Herald after one of our previous stories and agreed to share his thoughts on the show, his daughter, her husband and new fiance. Here, in his own words, is his side of the story.
Doog Burfoot and daughter Jacqui.
The real Jacqui
The Jacqui you see on Mafs is a highly fictional and twisted avatar of the real person. She is unrecognisable to us and a product of gross editing that uses “frankeinbiting” — splicing different answers to different questions, showing the bad 1% to create, in Jacqui’s case, the ‘crazy’ narrative.
An example of this was the “there’s no one on my level” comment. This was actually made by Jacqui while discussing others’ work ethics at a particular company she had worked for. But the producers twisted it to sound like a general statement, creating a persona of extreme vanity and someone who believed they were queen of the world.
People watch the show and actually believe what they see and hear is what actually happened and was said. The armchair psychologists then come out and make judgments on the on-screen characters. But when you know the size of the void between the truth and the onscreen edit, it is a bit like watching a Terminator movie and coming away thinking that Arnold Schwarzenegger may have anger issues.
Having said that, contestants are encouraged to play up for the camera and practice their facial expressions in the mirror. The three minutes of couch action we see can come from an hour of filming. If the footage is boring, they keep filming until the producers get what they want. They do this by wearing them down, making them ‘Hangry’, or ‘Trumpy’ (tired and grumpy), asking questions to solicit answers that can then be spliced into other footage. Ratings don’t come from boring love stories. It’s really The Hunger Games meets The Truman Show thinly veiled as a ‘Marriage Experiment’.
Mafs bride Jacqui Burfoot, centre, had a quintessential Kiwi upbringing, according to her dad, Doog Burfoot.
Jacqui’s life before the show
Jacqui was brought up in the small town of Stillwater north of Auckland’s North Shore. She and her younger siblings, Megan and Scott, all went to Long Bay College, a good medium-sized public school on the North Shore.
She was focused and not afraid to try anything and everything. Despite a tough exterior, she has always been sensitive and would invariably try to resolve conflict with reasoning and logic. I think that was why she struggled a bit with the Married at First Sight dinner party ‘screamers’ who seemed to constantly vie for the limelight through the ‘he/she who shouts the loudest wins’ theory.
This quintessential Kiwi lifestyle has kept us close as a family, and we never struggle to encourage the kids and partners to come home, sometimes for many weeks at a time. Jacqui loves life in New Zealand, particularly Queenstown, but sees more opportunity in Australia.
Jacqui moved to Australia about two years ago to pursue job opportunities in legal recruitment and law. She had friends who lived in Manly, and she liked the Manly beach vibe, so she moved in with them to settle into the Sydney lifestyle to see if it was right for her. For a 28-year-old, the goal to settle in the high-end suburb of Manly normally means renting for years before owning becomes possible.
Jacqui has never been shy to step up.
The decision to apply for Mafs
Jacqui did talk to her mum and me about going on the show. We weren’t overly happy, but we knew she would die wondering if she didn’t. Her reason, we think, was probably for opportunity… to go through the door to see what’s there: love, fame, fortune, or just the adventure of the unknown and the discovery of new doors to open. Hmm… come to think of it, I recall her saying on the show that Ryan was more of a ‘chair’ than a door.
We were asked by Jacqui to attend the wedding but we said that we would prefer to go to her real wedding. We think this is one of the reasons she chose a blue wedding dress… to save the white one for the real thing.
After her experiences with Mafs, we would not support her going on another reality TV show. The power to destroy will always remain with the producers.
Jacqui holds a law and finance degree and understands that you cannot contract outside the law. For this reason, she rightly believed that despite the Mafs contract effectively gifting your life, soul and first-born child to the producers, they would still need to remain within Australian law in their treatment and duty of care to the contestants. For this reason, we believe she felt safe signing the contract. We never saw the contract — she’s the lawyer, not us.
MAFS bride Jacqui Burfoot loves New Zealand's lifestyle, despite having moved to Australia for her career, says her dad Doog.
That “Miss New Zealand” claim
Jacqui has been criticised online by those who say her claim of being a former Miss New Zealand is false. The real story is that she was involved in the Miss World NZ pageant in 2012. Around the same time, there was an international modelling pageant in southern China that was to include all the Miss World winners from their respective countries. The Miss World NZ franchise owners offered the position to Jacqui to go to China, wear the Miss NZ sash and represent NZ as Miss World NZ, despite not actually having been crowned Miss World NZ. Why they offered it to Jacqui, you would have to ask those franchise owners.
This is exactly what she told the Mafs producers, but they chose to edit in a way that suggested Jacqui claimed to have been ‘crowned’ Miss NZ. This then brings out the fact checkers and Jacqui is labelled a delusional liar… again.
No, we didn’t go to China with Jacqui, but the two-week trip was fully funded, including a chaperone. I believe there were more than 100 countries represented. Jacqui did not place in the top three but had a ball and made some great friends.
Doog Burfoot says the version of his daughter he sees on screen in Mafs is a 'highly fictional and twisted avatar of the real person'.
Why Jacqui went rogue
Jacqui understands the law and has a strong sense of what is fair and what is not. She was never going to sit quietly and allow them to destroy her credibility and reputation. So she went rogue and started spilling the truth behind the edit after each episode without spoiling the next.
As her social media accounts were under the control of the Mafs executives, she launched an online jewellery business and associated Instagram and Tik Tok accounts under the name ‘Jacquelineleejewellery’. From the comments from her Tik Tok followers, (last count more than 90,000), they cannot believe the difference between the real Jacqui they see on TikTok and the highly fictional crazy avatar of Jacqui created by the Mafs producers to achieve their ratings. Fans are clearly hungry for the truth, evident by the 25 million views her videos have received to date.
Jacqui Burfoot and Ryan Donnelly. Photo / Nine AU
Jacqui and Ryan: ‘Clearly tumultuous’
What did we think of the relationship? The edited story was clearly tumultuous for both of them. Jacqui was constantly berated for trying to change Ryan, arguably for the better. The idea of accepting your partner as they are is sound if you actually chose your partner. But Ryan was chosen for Jacqui by the producers and clearly not for the right reasons.
The content of her ‘lists’ was generally normal stuff, a gift to Ryan that he just wasn’t willing to receive. Who can argue with “wash your sheets” or “spoil your dog”? However, knowing the power and deceit of the edit, I’m sure Ryan got a raw deal as well.
As a dad, it’s been hard to watch the production company and Channel Nine’s attempts to destroy our girl in the interest of ratings. I can only surmise that the executive producers don’t have children of their own, as no parent could intentionally do what they do to another parent’s child.
And then there are the trolls who hide in their cave or their mother’s basement while dragging others down, ‘LOL’ing when they fall, or ‘success shaming’ (yes, that’s a thing now). Those who are working hard, long, smart, making sacrifices, and taking risks eventually do succeed. For those who find their own misery in the happiness of others should look in the mirror to find the villain. And I would say from the personal call I got from Jacqui’s fellow Mafs contestant Clint last week, the level of that misery is about to increase.
I deal with that by striving for greater success because I know that hurts them. I think Jacqui does the same.
I’m not sure if the internet has created these creatures or has exposed what has previously been invisible in our society, but to quote Forrest Gump, “it’s probably a bit of both”.
Clint was originally matched with Lauren on Mafs, but since leaving the show has formed a relationship with Jacqui. Photo / Nine AU
Jacqui and Clint: A formidable team
Something the Mafs executives did not see coming was Jacqui forming a relationship with fellow contestant Clint Rice. Jacqui and Clint came to Queenstown to stay with us for a week after filming had finished but before the show aired. We love Clint. He is a rock and dotes on Jacqui. He is intelligent, easygoing and fun to be around. The two are well-suited and form a formidable team that will likely grow together along whatever path they follow.
Since filming finished, they have been taking on the show and calling out its disgraceful conduct and disregard for the wellbeing of its contestants. There is now an New South Wales police investigation into many aspects of the show’s treatment and lack of duty of care towards its cast members who are actually their employees for the duration of filming. That will likely play out in court.
As of Sunday night, things just got real for Jacqui and Clint. Clint proposed to Jacqui at the Mafs reunion party in Sydney. And no surprise to us, she said yes. We are thrilled.
Hawkridge Estate in Queenstown is owned by Doog and Michelle Burfoot, parents of Mafs bride Jacqui.
Life in New Zealand
Once our three kids all headed off to university, my wife Michelle and I started looking for a new challenge plus a change of scenery. Queenstown was the obvious choice as the kids had spent a lot of time there growing up. So with that, plus the pull of ‘Rocky’ our cocker spaniel, we knew we would never struggle to get them to come home for extended periods from wherever in the world they chose to settle. And as I work for Air NZ, I could easily commute to Auckland to work. And still do.
So we planned, designed, and handcrafted our next stage family home — Hawkridge Estate.
Winning a Gold award in the 2019 NZ Master Builders House of the Year awards, Hawkridge Estate is set on an elevated ridge in the Wakatipu Basin close to Lake Hayes and Arrowtown. In its design and function, we wanted to encapsulate the very essence of Central Otago.
Hawkridge also offers accommodation for two additional couples. A separate chalet set at the top of a private gully on the estate, plus a private self-contained suite attached to the main Chateau offers five-star accommodation, coincidentally with a focus on honeymooners. Michelle looks after this.
We have had many couples elope and marry in our grounds, then sign the register on the great stone table before pulling on the rope that rings the old church bell on the gable high above.
The biggest wedding we had was about 30 guests, where they flew in by helicopter, landing on the front lawn.
But the best wedding was our son Scott and wife Rihanna’s around a year ago for just 22 guests.
