MAFS' Jacqui called out for 'elitist' attitude at homestays

The controversial Manly local took to Sydney's south west last night to get a taste of Ryan's life in Campbelltown. But, she wasn't a fan of what she saw.

Jacqui and Ryan are one couple on MAFS who I thoroughly believe should have called it quits on episode one.

Regardless of who is wrong and who is right in any of their arguments, together, they just don’t work. And that’s okay!

But, if they’d left, we wouldn’t have been gifted with the absolute TV gold that was Ryan’s home visit last night.

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Image: Nine.

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Jacqui’s house - or not

On Monday night’s episode of MAFS, Jacqui and Ryan headed to Jacqui’s home town in Manly to get a taste of how she lives her everyday life.

Her home was tasteful, clean, and almost suspiciously bare - which makes sense, given she’s now confessed to it being an Airbnb.

Any reality TV fan knows that this isn’t out of the ordinary. Plenty of people, as instructed and paid for by the show’s production teams, use an Airbnb instead of their real home for filming, either when the house isn’t integral to the plot, or when there’s a specific reason why they can’t use it.

In Jacqui’s case, it was the latter, posting to her social media saying that it was to do with the fact that her roommates couldn’t be shown on the show.

But, viewers are questioning whether the decision was, in part, made to further the dichotomy between Jacqui’s Manly lifestyle, and Ryan’s - two hours away, in Campbelltown.

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From Manly to Campbelltown

When we first see Ryan’s house, it looks like a pretty normal buy in south west Sydney, referred to fondly by the show’s narrator as ‘the suburbs’, or just, ‘Sydney’.

The two have spent the almost two-hour drive battling with directions between the two locations, which couldn’t be more polar opposite from one another.

But, it’s inside where the fireworks really start.

As part of the grand tour of Casa del Ryan, we see some pretty scary things, including a katana, a host of bizarre sculptures and trinkets, and, most of all, an empty to-do list.

Strangely enough, Jacqui doesn’t necessarily express disgust at the sight of it (well, at least not immediately), but rather sorrow.

“It was eye-opening to see his home,” she says.

“I just think, he’s been alone here for 7 years, and maybe he isn’t even aware of how lonely he is.

“It really reminds me of the elderly, because a lot of the elderly live in homes where they’re alone for 7, 10, 15 years.

“It was so sweet of him to be so confident, and so happy to bring me in. I just feel bad for Ryan.”

If that’s not backhanded, I don’t know what is.

Image: Nine.

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Yes, Ryan’s house is that bad, but Campbelltown isn’t

Now, I am not a Ryan sympathiser. Absolutely not. He’s one of the show’s biggest villains for a reason - particularly since Jacqui has come out and exposed some of his doings on social media.

But, I do think the comparison of how Jacqui and Ryan’s homes are portrayed on the show is very interesting - particularly following claims that Jacqui was uncomfortable with Ryan’s home due to her ‘elitist attitude’.

“At this point, I don’t feel like Jacqui is 100% accepting of me, my lifestyle, and the home I’ve decided to build in my own way,” Ryan said.

“If she’s going to keep trying to change who I am, it’s really hard to see that future.”

Along with offhand comments that the location didn’t fit her Manly lifestyle, wasn’t close enough to the beach, and reminded her of New Zealand (which she says she was trying to get away from), I honestly believe it.

Sure, Ryan needs to clean up his house (and I cannot emphasise this enough), but both of them need to clean up their attitudes - perhaps over one of those weird fluoro green Midori drinks that Ryan’s friend had.

Thankfully, though, we did get one good thing out of this - more of Ryan’s dog, please!

Originally published as MAFS' Jacqui called out for 'elitist' attitude at homestays