Married At First Sight Australia has a history of introducing interesting characters, and with 20 participants signing up for season 11, there are bound to be some drama filled moments.
Among the 2024 MAFS participant list is new self-confessed ‘alpha’ male Jack Dunkley, who has been lined up to be one of the more controversial characters this season.
Meet MAFS groom Jack Dunkley.
(Image: Nine)Other than being one of two-man buns this season, what do we really know about the MAFS groom?
Who is Jack Dunkley?
Outside of the MAFS experiment, the 34-year-old has made a living as a personal trainer from the Gold Coast, Queensland.
In the wedding vows, Jack described himself as a proud, independent, intense and fast-paced man. But what truly pricked viewers interests is when Jack claimed he was an “alpha male who needs a partner respectfully submissive to his dominance.”
As for what he “high expectations” for ‘the one’, he is searching for someone “glamorous, fit, a nice smile, tanned” and preferably brunette.
Jack is a personal trainer.
(Image: Instagram)Why is there controversy surrounding Jack?
When it was discovered that Jack would be a groom on MAFS 2024, it was reported by the Daily Mail that he “abruptly ended” his relationship to take part on the reality dating series.
The Daily Mail and Yahoo Lifestyle have since reported his ex-girlfriend, Courtney Jade, took to social media to claim Jack ended their relationship to relocate overseas for work. But she discovered the alleged lie after finding the paparazzi photos of Jack marrying Tori.
“Breaks up with me right after I met his family and he told me he loves me. Tells me it’s for ‘work opportunity in America’ only to find out he’s on MAFS in Sydney,” Courtney wrote on The Wash’s Instagram pictures.
Courtney added in a separate comment: “When someone tells you they love you, introduces you to their family, lies to you saying they are going America ‘for a work opportunity’ only to find out they broke your heart to be on MAFS. The world we live in disgusts me.”
Scandal rocked the first MAFS dinner party when Jack’s fellow participants read the gossip article and begin to worry about his “red flag” behaviour.
(Image: Nine)
“It’s all been exaggerated,” Jack told TV WEEK. “For me, it was a casual relationship, but she thought it was more serious.”
Familiar with the layout of MAFS, Jack said he was well aware of how this was going to play out in a group setting, which he called a “snake pit”. The groom felt the scandal jeopardised his relationship within the experiment before people gave him a chance.
“There was a pack mentality,” he says. “When people have a little bit of information, even if it’s misleading, they don’t really want to know the other side – it doesn’t take long for everyone else to chime in as well.”
“It definitely paints a picture of me from night one,” he says. “People looked at me through blurry goggles for the rest of it because of that.”
And if the seating chart hints as to who will be at the epicentre of the drama this season, Jack may have just given away who the couple to watch is.
“When I saw I was seated right in the middle of that damn table, I knew the spotlight was going to be on me,” he says. “They might as well have engraved my name on the seat, because I was there nearly every week.”
Who is Jack paired with on MAFS?
Jack is paired with Tori on MAFS.
(Image: Nine)Jack is now ‘married‘ to self-confessed ‘control freak’ Tori Adams, a 27-year-old strong-minded business development manager from Melbourne.
Tori doesn’t need a man but is ready to make room for an “alpha male” who isn’t intimated easily. Her ideal type is “masculine, fit, career-focused, driven, tidy emotionally intelligent and a good communicator.”
Since their wedding day, Jack has admitted there were “no sexual sparks flying” for him while Tori felt all was well.
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