MAFS Australia's Jacqui pulled off another bizarre moment during Married At First Sight's iconic Homestays week after it was revealed she'd used an Airbnb in place of her actual home.
In scenes airing in the UK this week, Jacqui brings husband Ryan to her 'home' in Sydney's Manly area for the all-important home stay which sees the couples figure out if their relationship will work on the outside before the final commitment ceremony.
Of course, viewers in Australia have already seen this unfold as the series has now ended. But at the time, people became immediately suspicious over the fact that Jacqui had no personal items around the apartment at all. Was she using a fake house?
Now, Jacqui has responded after it was discovered that she'd used an Airbnb for the scenes. Confirming that the apartment did not belong to her, Jacqui claimed she didn't want to go to her real house for "security" reasons.
Responding on Instagram, Jacqui shared a video of herself from her actual home and wrote: "For anyone curious, this was taken at my actual Manly apartment."
"As a single lady, security and privacy is important to me and my friends," she continued. "I didn't feel comfortable opening my home up to all of Australia. Just so you know the 'apartments' the couples live in are actually also decorated hotel rooms."
"Homestays is about getting to know someone in their usual neighbourhood doing usual activities. If you care about the actual homes you should watch a show like The Block, not MAFS lol," she wrote.
She also shared a couple of other photos that were taken at her actual home.
However, despite Jacqui's explanation, a source spoke to the Daily Mail Australia and claimed that the reason why an Airbnb was rented for the scenes was because her own home was deemed "too small" for filming.
In the episode, the voiceover describes the place as 'Jacqui's home' but it was actually just a $200-a-night two-story house in the Manly area that was arranged by producers.
A production insider told the publication: "Jacqui's actual living situation was deemed 'too small' and impractical for filming. She had roommates living at her house and it was in a messy state, and she didn't feel comfortable with it."
They added: "Ryan and Jacqui were instructed not to make any mention that it was a fake house and just to pretend that it was actually Jacqui's."
In a comment to PEDESTRIAN.TV, Jacqui said she was "not embarrassed at all" by the situation.
"Production hires these for participants who have housemates to protect their privacy, she added. "It’s been happening for years. Like with Eden Harper last year. Production are in control of filming locations and sets — the content is the focus and they try to create things as accurately as possible."
