Latest news with #ApprehendedViolenceOrder
Daily Mail
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Former Big Brother star David Graham breaks his silence and blames the victim after assaulting a man at his home
A former Big Brother contestant has been convicted of assaulting a younger man who was staying on his farm. David 'Farmer Dave' Graham, 45, broke his silence to Daily Mail Australia on Monday night after pleading guilty to common assault last week. Graham escaped jail time last Friday when he was sentenced to a nine month conditional release order in Windsor Local Court over the January 27 altercation. The order requires him to not commit any offences while subject to the order and to attend court if called upon at any time during its term. A two-year Apprehended Violence Order was also lodged against Graham, who famously came out as gay to his housemates on national television during the sixth season of Big Brother in 2006. While Graham admitted that he did the 'wrong thing', he plans to appeal the severity of the conviction. Graham said he allowed the victim, whom Daily Mail Australia has chosen not to name, to stay at his farm on Sydney north-west outskirts as the man 'had nowhere else to stay'. The reality television star first met the man through his work assisting troubled young people to learn trades and train dogs. Graham claimed the victim 'hosted drinking parties and consumed drugs' at his farm while he was away in Queensland visiting his terminally ill mother. 'I counselled him that he must find alternative accommodation,' he told Daily Mail Australia. He also claimed the young man had not fed his animals while he was away and alleged he found 'drugs and alcohol' in his home. After returning from Queensland, Graham asked the man to leave his home, which the victim complied. Graham claimed he woke later that night to find the man had returned to the property with a mate. He claimed the men refused to leave and insisted on collecting the victim's belongings. 'I was shocked and as I'm in recovery from PTSD after five years working in a high stress work environment,' Graham recalled. 'I pushed with two open palms (the victim) from my house out past the truck to get them away from my door. 'At the time I had no way of knowing how many men were in the dark ... both men were well over six foot, I was alone on my rural property and needed to assert myself and I did so.' Graham admitted he did the wrong thing. 'I accept that pushing a human is assault, I plead guilty to doing that,' Graham said. Three other charges including intentionally choke person without consent, stalk/intimidate intending fear physical harm, and destroy or damage property worth less than or equal to $2000 were withdrawn. Graham claimed the withdrawn charges were 'false allegations' and 'did not occur'. The AVO prevents Graham from assaulting or threatening the victim, stalking or harassing him, and intentionally destroying or damaging property or animals belonging to him. It expires on May 2027. Graham plans to appeal the severity of his conviction and says he's learned an important lesson. 'As a man recovering from severe depression and PTSD, I acted on impulses with the threat as presented to me in the night by men with a truck backed up to my house on a rural property,' he said. 'I know now 'no good deed goes unpunished' and will no longer give assistance to the homeless. 'I made a mistake by giving (the victim) another chance while I was away from my farm and not in a well mindset due to my personal issues and my mother's diagnosis. 'This is the universe telling me I must learn to set clear boundaries and not take on other people's problems and focus on my own recovery.' An animal behavourist and farmer, Graham first found fame when he appeared on the sixth season of Big Brother in 2006. Graham won nationwide support for coming out as gay to his housemates on the show, where he finished third. In 2022, he returned for 14th season of Big Brother, where he finished 13th out of 22 contestants. He has since become a presenter and speaker and worked with troubled youth through the RUFFtrack program he founded alongside his other roles. The program invited participants to train a dog, while training them in fields including landscaping, welding, and animal husbandry among other trades.
Daily Mail
23-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Married At First Sight courtroom drama takes another turn as bride claims her groom lied in his application for a restraining order against her
Married At First Sight bride Jacqui Burfoot has accused her former TV husband Ryan Donnelly of lying in his application for protection against her, which she claimed he lodged out of retaliation. Donnelly, 36, applied for an Apprehended Violence Order (AVO) against Burfoot, 29, at Campbelltown Local Court on Wednesday, claiming she has attempted to 'destroy his life'. Burfoot, who is living in Tasmania with another MAFS groom Clint Rice, did not appear in court on Wednesday but sent an email opposing the restraining order. She told AAP she is fighting the unnecessary and vexatious application because it is 'founded on false statements and is in retaliation to my win in court'. The alleged lies include accusations she harassed him through direct messages and that their relationship continued for nine months when she claims they only dated for three. Domestic relationships are not defined by duration in the NSW Crimes (Personal and Domestic Violence) Act. '[Donnelly] is using court proceedings in a way to mislead the public through the media,' Burfoot said, adding on social media it was a 'waste of court resources'. The former reality TV groom appeared at Campbelltown Local Court on Wednesday with his legal representative Shirin Razi from Azadi Lawyers to make the application for the restraining order. Donnelly and Burfoot were paired together in the most recent season of the hit Australian reality TV series but chose to separate during an insult-laden Final Vows ceremony. Their bickering went from the small screen to the courtroom when Burfoot was granted an interim restraining order in Tasmania, preventing Donnelly from talking about her on social media. Donnelly retaliated by applying for an apprehended domestic violence order against Burfoot in Sydney. The ex-reality TV star told reporters, along with his representative Ms Razi, that he suffered 'a lot of harm' and received menacing messages as a result of 'malicious' claims Burfoot made about him online. 'An individual has tried to destroy my life, my potential for career options, collaborations... with false allegations, so men can be victims as well,' he said outside the courthouse, adding that he 'was very afraid' at one point. 'I've had a lot of suffering, a lot of harm, as a result of these claims online,' he continued. 'There is no foundation for it. It's vicious, malicious... justice should be served.' He added: 'It doesn't matter if it's man or woman, people shouldn't be able to get away with lies... I take this matter very seriously.' Donnelly applied for a restraining order which would stop his TV wife publishing anything about him or his friends on social media for two years. It would also bar Burfoot from assaulting, threatening, stalking, or intimidating Donnelly or damaging anything he owns—including harming his dog Freya. If the AVO was granted, she would be prohibited from approaching him or trying to contact Donnelly, except through her lawyer. Burfoot, who is living in Tasmania with fellow MAFS groom and new fiancé Clint Rice, was required to appear in court on Wednesday but instead sent an email opposing the restraining order. Magistrate Shane McAnulty told the court he was unwilling to grant the order in her absence and asked the parties to prepare submissions before the matter returns to court on June 24. Outside the courthouse, Donnelly said he wanted to move on with his life but he wanted 'to make sure I'm protected'. He said he thought the proceedings were a valuable use of the court's time and believed he would 'have an extremely strong case' for defamation action against his on-screen wife. The TV groom refused to comment on whether he would stop posting about Burfoot or withdraw from social media completely, noting MAFS is a 'program that can do wonderful things for people'. In court documents seen by The Daily Telegraph, Donnelly claimed he had received 'horrible messages' from followers as a result of claims Burfoot has made about him online. '[Donnelly] states the defendant has publicly accused him of domestic violence, sexual harassment, that he is a danger to women and that she is doing a 'public service to Australia',' the documents read. 'Due to [Burfoot's] followers online, which (exceeds) 100,000 people… Donnelly is truly scared of what may happen next, as he has received numerous horrible messages directly from people who have viewed her content.' 'Donnelly is taking this seriously, he's engaged a lawyer to represent him in these proceedings,' legal representative Ms Razi told the publication. 'All he wants is for her to leave him alone and stop the online slander.' Donnelly went on to tell reporters outside the courthouse it is 'dangerous' to be associated with some of the things Burfoot has said about him online. 'I'm here to make sure that doesn't happen in the future. At one point, I was very afraid,' he said. It comes just a few weeks after Burfoot was granted an interim restraining order in a Tasmanian court against Donnelly. The order prevents Donnelly from commenting on social media about Burfoot, after the pair exchanged barbs on Instagram and in the press for months. While the battles between exes are par for the course on MAFS, Burfoot argued to Launceston magistrate Sharon Cure that Donnelly's conduct had escalated. In addition to citing Donnelly's social media posts, she read aloud an interview Daily Mail Australia had conducted with Donnelly last month. She described the article to the magistrate as Donnelly 'accus[ing] me of accusing him of a lack of consent'. Ms Cure, who acknowledged she did not watch MAFS or reality TV in general, was satisfied Burfoot had been harmed by Donnelly's public posts—but also warned her that misleading a court was a very serious matter. Burfoot told the magistrate she wanted an order to prevent Donnelly, who lives in NSW, from publishing material about her. Burfoot, who is living in Tasmania with fellow MAFS groom and new fiancé Clint Rice, was required to appear in court on Wednesday but instead sent an email opposing the restraining order But she was advised that if he were ordered 'not to say or do anything', the final episodes of MAFS would not be allowed to air. 'I'm happy for the show to go ahead,' Burfoot responded, per the Canberra Times. Instead Ms Cure granted an interim order that Donnelly not directly or indirectly threaten, harass, abuse or publish denigrating material on social media. Burfoot, who was accompanied by her partner and MAFS co-star Rice at court, was advised against using social media herself, but was not the subject of an order. The Final Vows segment with Burfoot and Donnelly featured some of the most bizarre scenes the Nine series has ever seen, with Burfoot accusing Donnelly of organising 'a gang attack' on her. She then tore the groom down with several pages of lengthy vows before leaving him cussing her out at the altar while she promised to return with a new man. 'There has been a lack of romance, a lack of effort from you, poor communication, no compromise, and dominance,' Burfoot said in her speech. Burfoot finished her vows with: 'As a man, you're not perfect. It's not the 1920s any more. I don't want to be the wife to a man. I want to be a wife to a husband. 'So, today, I choose peace and walk away from this relationship. Ryan, in a world of red flags, you are the red carpet.' As Burfoot left Donnelly at the altar, he called out to her: 'Thanks for all the criticism. You really haven't grown. Not one bit. Be gone with you, you horrible woman.' But as producers pulled Donnelly aside to listen to him trash talk his former TV wife, Burfoot was telling producers she had a feeling a new partner would come her way. In a shocking 'couple swap' moment, Burfoot then shacked up with co-star Rice, who was originally paired up with bride Lauren Hall.
Daily Mail
23-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Married At First Sight groom Ryan Donnelly applies for AVO against onscreen bride Jacqui Burfoot
Married At First Sight groom Ryan Donnelly applied for an Apprehended Violence Order (AVO) against former TV bride Jacqui Burfoot at Campbelltown Local Court on Wednesday, claiming she has attempted to 'destroy his life'. Donnelly, 36, and Burfoot, 29, were paired together in the most recent season of the hit Australian reality TV series but chose to separate during an insult-laden Final Vows ceremony. Their bickering went from the small screen to the courtroom when Burfoot was granted an interim restraining order in Tasmania, preventing Donnelly from talking about her on social media. Donnelly retaliated by applying for an apprehended domestic violence order against Burfoot, which came before Sydney 's Campbelltown Local Court on Wednesday. The ex-reality TV star told reporters he suffered 'a lot of harm' and received menacing messages as a result of 'vicious' and 'malicious' claims Burfoot made about him online. 'An individual has tried to destroy my life, my potential for career options, collaborations... with false allegations, so men can be victims as well,' he said outside the courthouse, adding that he 'was very afraid' at one point. Donnelly applied for a restraining order which would stop his TV wife publishing anything about him or his friends on social media for two years. It would also bar Burfoot from assaulting, threatening, stalking, or intimidating Donnelly or damaging anything he owns—including harming his dog Freya. If the AVO was granted, she would be prohibited from approaching him or trying to contact Donnelly, except through her lawyer. Burfoot, who is living in Tasmania with fellow MAFS groom and new fiancé Clint Rice, was required to appear in court on Wednesday but instead sent an email opposing the restraining order. Magistrate Shane McAnulty told the court he was unwilling to grant the order in her absence and asked the parties to prepare submissions before the matter returns to court on June 24. Outside the courthouse, Donnelly said he wanted to move on with his life but he wanted 'to make sure I'm protected'. 'Justice should be served,' he told reporters. He said he thought the proceedings were a valuable use of the court's time and believed he would 'have an extremely strong case' for defamation action against his on-screen wife. The TV groom refused to comment on whether he would stop posting about Burfoot or withdraw from social media completely, noting MAFS is a 'program that can do wonderful things for people'.
The Advertiser
23-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Advertiser
MAFS groom Ryan Donnelly applies for AVO against onscreen bride Jacqui
Married at First Sight groom Ryan Donnelly has appeared in a NSW court seeking an Apprehended Violence Order (AVO) against his TV bride Jacqui Burfoot after she was granted an interim AVO against him.
