Reality TV ‘villain’ Davina Rankin says MAFS ‘made her a better person’

Once the most hated woman on television, heavily pregnant Davina Rankin is now the happiest she’s ever been. She owes it to Married At First Sight.

A year and a half ago, Davina Rankin was one of the most hated women on Australian television.

Painted as the “villain” on Channel 9 social experiment MAFS, the backlash the reality star received from her edit threw her into “the lowest of lows”, she once revealed.

Now — weeks away from giving birth to her first child — the star is almost unrecognisable, and the happiest she’s ever been, she told A Current Affair on Tuesday night.

Davina says she’s “so content right now”. Picture: Channel 9.

And she said it was her tumultuous time on MAFS that brought her to this point, adding that she’s grateful for her time on the show for the valuable life lessons it provided.

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Speaking on the program — loved-up and giddy with her partner Jaxon Manuel by her side — a glowing Davina, 27, said she was “so content right now”, having bought her first home with Jaxon in preparation for the birth of their daughter.

The former MAFS "villain" says the show brought her to where she is today. Picture: Channel 9.

Previously, the star had been outspoken about how “traumatic” the MAFS experience was, particularly after the online hate she received following the “cheating scandal” that played out on her season.

During the show, Davina had pursued fellow contestant Dean Wells behind her assigned husband Ryan Gallagher’s back, resulting in a kiss that became the most talked-about moment of the season.

She later told Kyle and Jackie O she was coerced by producers to stay in the program, despite voting to leave before the “affair” with Dean even started.

“I can’t even watch reality TV the same anymore after I know what happens behind the scenes compared to what the public see’s (sic),” she later posted on social media.

Now, having settled down with long-time crush Jaxon, who she says had “always been on her radar”, she says she’s grateful for what she learnt from the entire experience.

“You know what, I don’t regret anything. It’s these experiences that make you a better person, and it brought me to where I am today . so if I had to do it all over again to be where I am today, I would.”

As for what her partner thought of her portrayal on the reality show, Jaxon admits he never saw it “which is fantastic,” Davina joked.