Most of the time, viewers’ attention is solely focused on the chaotic Married At First Sight Australia participants. But in 2025, one family member stole the spotlight- Cleo Rutene.
Cleo is the twin sister to Awhina, who is matched with Adrian in the MAFS 2025 experiment.
Viewers first met Cleo during Awhina and Adrian’s wedding where she hilariously attempted – and failed – to dodge a question about whether or not Awhina had children.
“I don’t know,” Cleo responded to Adrian’s twin brother before admitting to the camera crew she “panicked.”
At the time, Awhina still hadn’t told her new husband about being a single mum to a six year old. Naturally, Cleo didn’t want to be the one to expose Awhina’s secret – but their mother did!
There is nothing quite like the bond of a sister, and viewers saw the love the twin sisters have for each other during Family and Friends Week on MAFS.
For the MAFS challenge, Adrian invited his twin sisters and best friend while Awhina invited Cleo. The intense questioning began minutes before Cleo even arrived, claiming Awhina was only recognising the negatives in her relationship.
Seeing Awhina’s “swollen” eyes from crying the night before, Cleo quickly came to her sister’s defence.
“They are not good enough to be in your life, he is definitely not good enough to be in my nephew’s life,” she said.
Since then, Cleo reaffirmed her position that Adrian shouldn’t be in her nephew’s life during an interview with Daily Mail Australia.
“I haven’t seen any skills or any qualities of a father in him. I stand by what I said,” she told the publication. “I support my sister, I won’t let Adrian’s behaviour slide. I don’t want anything to do with him.”
But this wasn’t the last time Cleo would shock MAFS viewers. During Couple Swap Week, Paul – matched with Carina – was rematched with Awhina, where the couple discussed his relationship with Cleo. Awhina revealed the casual relationship with “a couple of years” prior and was “very short lived.” However, Carina remained uncomfortable that Awhina would be residing in her home.
“You’ve already slept with her sister, now you’re gonna sleep in the same bed as her,” she said.
In an interview with the Daily Mail Australia, Cleo confirmed she and Paul dated in 2022.
“I just want to clarify something that’s been brought to light. At no point was this hidden, and when Paul first met Awhina at the dinner party, they addressed it openly, with Paul telling his wife, Carina,” she said.
“I met Paul in 2022, shortly after becoming single following an eight-year relationship. It was an instant spark, and we shared a whirlwind romance for a couple of months.”
The relationship ended after Cleo felt she needed space to focus on herself.
Cleo celebrated her 31st birthday at the end of February with her and Awhina wearing matching red outfits for the occasion. Joining them at the birthday celebration was also fellow MAFS participant, Billy.
Billy was matched with Sierah before exiting the 2025 experiment mid-way. Since then, Billy and Awhina were spotted by paparazzi holding hands in Perth.
Unfortunately, Cleo hasn’t revealed many details regarding her personal life, often taking to social media to talk about her sister’s MAFS experience, sharing videos of her sausage dog, and pictures with her best friend.
However, we can tell the Western Australia resident is extremely close to her twin sister and her nephew given she joked, “since my twin made him technically he’s my son as well” on Instagram.
Fans are begging for Cleo to make one more MAFS appearance.
