Jacqui Burfoot made quite the impression upon her Married At First Sight (MAFS) 2025 debut during Sunday night’s episode, with the high achiever marrying ‘warrior’ Ryan Donnelly in a wedding that was nothing short of shambolic.
Upon introducing herself, MAFS fans learned Jacqui is a busy lady and is after a masculine man that can let her indulge in her feminine side. The 29-year-old has quite the list of accomplishments: she’s a double degree holder (law and finance), a model, a certified yoga teacher, and won the title of Miss New Zealand in 2012.
Or did she?
Was MAFS’ Jacqui Burfoot really Miss New Zealand?
Not much gets past the shrew eye of a MAFS fan, so of course when we were introduced to Jacqui people were Googling the new bride’s name and learning all about her. But in many Facebook groups, people started to question whether Jacqui was indeed Miss New Zealand, with search results coming up short.
In fact, if you type in Miss New Zealand 2012, a whole different person comes up and Jacqui’s name is nowhere to be seen.
What did Jacqui Burfoot win?
As it turns out Jacqui did bear a Miss New Zealand sash, but for a competition called Miss Yacht International, which she appeared to compete in in 2013. While she represented New Zealand, Jacqui didn’t place in the competition, with Miss Kyrgyzstan placing first, Miss China placing second, and Miss Macedonia placing third.
Jacqui’s early Instagram activity shows her enjoying her time in Sanya, China, where the competition took place, where she’s seen posing alongside Miss Mexico, Miss Finland, Miss Belgium, Miss Netherlands, and Miss Tatarstan.
Look, it’s not quite the Miss Universe-style pageant we were expecting, but if there’s anything we know and love about MAFS, it’s that we don’t want facts to get in the way of a good story.
Married At First Sight 2025 airs Sundays at 7pm and Monday – Wednesday at 7:30pm on Channel 9 and 9Now.
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