Married at First Sight’s fifth season was a big one for the franchise, and arguably the one that cemented its place as one of the most outrageously dramatic shows on television. Airing at the beginning of 2018, it introduced us to characters like Dean Wells, Tracey Jewel, Ryan Gallagher, and Davina Rankin.
Despite Davina being a well-known name, it’s been four years since Davina Rankin has been anywhere near the spotlight, given the way her reputation was tarnished after she went on the show.
However, this could all be about to change. Davina has just joined the I’m a Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here! cast for 2022, walking into the jungle on the third night of the new series.
Referring to herself as ‘the most trolled person in Australia’, Davina spoke of the resilience it took for her to get through such a strange and trying time, especially given her cheating narrative on MAFS was one of the first the series had to offer.
While previous seasons of MAFS had mostly stayed focused on the drama between the couples, season five saw the trend of cheating throughout filming begin with Davina and her co-star, Dean Wells.
Davina, who was married to Ryan from the second episode, became infamous for “cheating” with Dean, when the pair noticed a romantic spark.
While they agreed to leave their respective partners and request to do the experiment together, it all fell apart when Dean back-pedalled, announcing “the affair” at a commitment ceremony, and promising renewed commitment to his bride, Tracey.
While they were both involved, public sentiment immediately turned against Davina. So, what has she been up to since those days?
Immediately after MAFS finished airing, Davina seemed to switch off from her online presence, which was quite significant even before she appeared on the show.
In March of 2018, she created a short-lived YouTube channel, using her first video to address the online hate she’d been receiving.
“Copping a really large amount of hate is something I’m not used to,” she told the camera.
“To be honest, it really shook me,” she admitted, going on to thank her friends, family and followers for their support.
“It’s been a really hard and traumatic experience for me.”
While she shared a few photos on Instagram with some of the other MAFS girls from her season, Davina mostly seemed keen to put the experience behind her.
By May 2018, just a few months after the show aired, she posted her first photo to Instagram with her now-fiancé, Jaxon Manuel, whom she first met in a Brisbane nightclub seven years prior to the beginning of their relationship.
“It was probably three o’clock in the morning on a dance floor, probably a bit of a kiss, a pash and dash, and that was it,” Jaxon admitted to A Current Affair in 2019.
“And then I don’t know, through mutual friends we rekindled on and off and then we well and truly hit it off pretty much after MAFS aired,” he confirmed.
The segment on their relationship also saw the couple confirm they’d bought a house together in their native Queensland, and were expecting a baby together.
WATCH: MAFS’ Davina says Jax is the love of her life. Story continues below.
Davina and Jaxon welcomed their baby daughter, Mila-Mae Manuel, on November 11, 2019.
“Welcome to the world little Mss Mila-Mae Manuel,” Davina wrote on Instagram alongside a picture of herself holding her daughter in hospital.
“I never knew a love like this existed, @jaxonmanuel and I are just absolutely smitten with you. Words can’t even describe it!”
Ever the Instagram savant, Davina began to share many a loved-up picture with her little family and seemed to take motherhood in her stride.
Jaxon proposed to Davina on her 30th birthday, in March 2021.
She posted a photo of them embracing, with her ring shown to the camera.
“I guess 30 isn’t looking too bad after all,” she wrote.
It was a busy time for Davina already, who was also getting ready to release and launch her first children’s book, Empowered Moo, named for her daughter’s nickname. It is described as holding “special words for little people”, essentially affirmations for kids.
Since then, she has released another book, Mindful Moo, which came out in October of last year.
“Mindfulness is something I truly wish I had implemented into my life a lot earlier,” Davina wrote on Instagram.
“It’s taken me the good part of 30 years to really understand how important it is to be present, and I am so excited to be able to pass this onto my daughter to help her grow into a conscious, self-aware and empowered young woman.”
While Davina seems primarily focused on her family, her writing, and her life post-MAFS, it has followed her, to some extent.
Her on-screen groom, Ryan Gallagher, appeared on I’m a Celebrity in 2020, and made some choice comments from his time on MAFS.
“We were on the honeymoon, and we were intimate and stuff like that. You sort of get lost in the moment,” he said.
“And as we were flying back, as we were landing, [Davina] goes, ‘you know, when we get back we meet other people and you can hook up with anyone’,” he added.
“And I was like, ‘I don’t think that…!’”
WATCH: Ryan Gallagher spills on ‘ex wife’ Davina Rankin’s affair. Story continues below.
Davina shut down any speculation that the words might have been hurtful.
“I haven’t heard or watched anything, so I don’t actually know what you’re talking about,” she told The Daily Mail.
“I don’t need to make any comment, it’s pretty irrelevant to me.”
But with Davina landing herself in the jungle this year, we’re curious to see what other truths might come to light.
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