Jesse Spilled Piping Hot ‘MAFS’ Tea About Janelle, Claire And Adam

Jesse Burford went through one of the biggest redemption arcs on this year’s Married at First Sight. The over-expressive groom was introduced as a reality TV villain, rattling off a list of “icks” he had when it came to his ideal match. The (*cough* misogynistic) dealbreakers included “chicks that pout”, women who can’t stop talking, and “star sign chicks”. 

The tides turned when his bride, Claire Nomarhas, cheated on him with Adam Seed. The once-arrogant and self-obsessed groom suddenly turned into a downtrodden puppy on our screens.

Now that the series has finally finished airing in the UK, Jesse has taken to Instagram to reveal some juicy secrets about the show. He answered fan questions about the cheating scandal, exposed Claire’s problematic behaviour, and revealed the true status of his relationship with Janelle Han.

From his ideal MAFS match to how much the cast were paid, we’ve sifted through the tea to bring you everything you need to know:

On what viewers didn’t get to see during the cheating scandal:

While we knew that Claire locked lips with Adam on a night out, Jesse has claimed that there were a few things that were left out from the show. “Claire was in Adam’s DM’s after the kiss asking to hang out after filming hours. She said she’d rather [have] been matched with him instead of [me],” he wrote. “The scene where she ‘comes clean’ to Sandy was to set up her redemption arc. Sandy already knew.”

Adam seemingly confirmed this turn of events, reposting Jesse’s story and adding: “True words spoken by one of the realest there is.”

On his current relationship status with Janelle:

Rumours have been flying around Jesse’s relationship with Adam’s ex Janelle, but the wedding celebrant has finally revealed the truth. No, the pair aren’t together, but yes, there was a spark earlier in the year. 

Their relationship began as a bit of a joke to rile up MAFS fans, but one thing led to another. “It turned into us actually getting to know each other better, and I guess maybe having a bit of a flirtationship, if you can call it that,” he said. “But it didn’t go past the kiss that you guys already know about.” 

Sadly for all Janelle and Jesse stans, the relationship was over before it could really start. After the beauty influencer moved from Perth to Sydney, long distance wasn’t an option. “[We had] a simple little peck on the lips before she moved over to Sydney,” he explained. “She wishes me the best, I wish her the best, we still catch up every now and again and that’s it.”

On how he really feels about Claire:

The wedding celebrant was inundated with questions about Claire, and he admitted that the couple were headed for splitsville from the very beginning. 

“Claire and I would both agree that there was no sexual chemistry, and the no sexual chemistry stemmed from just not having chemistry altogether in the first place,” he said. “A few days into the honeymoon we both realised that yeah, we’re not each other’s people.”

One of the most excruciating scenes from this year’s season of MAFS was seeing Claire berate Jesse after he accused her of cheating on him with Adam. A fan asked if he knew that she was “gaslighting” him at all, and he had a short but snarky answer: “Nope, she had me fooled. Practice makes perfect I reckon.”

On how much the cast was paid:

According to Jesse, the cast earned a measly $1175 each week, and while they were provided with a lux room at Skye Suites, there was no wardrobe allowance.

“The entire cast has to provide their own wardrobe at their own expense,” Jesse said. “Bought [my suit] online for only $300. Took it to alterations and had it fitted. All up, less than $500! Score!”.

On the pressure from producers:

Once Claire came clean and told Jesse she had kissed Adam, he tried to leave the experiment. It wasn’t just Claire that wanted him to stay, the producers were also invested in their potential love story.

“I definitely felt the pressure from production to stay in the game, to forgive, put it behind you [and] move forward,” he admitted. “They wanted that to happen at a rate of speed that was way quicker than I could possibly compute. But I still tried.”

“It didn’t help me not having much support there. The family visit where me and Claire had lunch with her dad? That was not helpful for me.”

If the producers had sent one of Jesse’s family members or friends, he believes he would have “snapped out” of it and left the relationship sooner.

On the brides that would be a better match:

Jesse also listed a few brides that he would have wanted to be matched with instead. “I think a better match for me could’ve been either: Alyssa, Tayla, Evelyn or Janelle,” he said. “Not [Evelyn] because she’s hot. But because she’s funny AF.”