“Yes, we’re in love,” Jonathan, 39, confirms to WHO during a chat with the couple. “We feel really lucky to have found each other.”
With Dix originally matched with ‘husband’ Ben Walters, while Jono ‘wed’ Lauren Dunn, the couple insist romance only blossomed between them “after we left the experiment”.
But when Cupid did strike, they fell hard and fast. The pair have been living together on the Gold Coast since mid-December.
“I came to visit Jono for a few days and just never left,” Ellie, 32, confesses with a laugh.
Having to keep their love under wraps has been “really difficult”, but the airing of the final dinner party offers the pair a chance to do what they’ve been longing for most – act like a normal couple.
“We haven’t really been able to go out for dinner and things like that so I’m looking forward to being able to take Ellie out on a date,” says Jono. “We have a few overseas holidays planned too and just really want to take a year to enjoy ourselves before getting more serious."
The couple let more details slip during an interview with Gina & Matty for Breakfast on Star104.5 the morning after the dramatic reunion episode aired, admitting that "it was rough watching."
"It was really rough watching it last night. It's definitely not how we remember it going," Jonathan explained, before detailing how their relationship began.
"So after the experiment, I messaged Ellie about a week after the final vows and said 'Hey, I need your number, I need to give you a call, we're in big trouble' so she sent me a number. I gave her a call and I told her that Lauren had made it look like our messages were cheating...I was packing my dacks and Ellie just laughed, she thought it was the funniest thing...so we chatted for about an hour on the phone, and next time I was down on the Gold Coast, we caught up and that was where it went."
When Gina pointed out that she would be unimpressed if her husband was texting another woman as much as Jonathan was texting Ellie, the MAFS groom remained unapologetic.
"I would never message a woman at all if I was with someone but Lauren and I were never in a relationship."
After adding that audiences didn't get to see "any of the bad stuff" Lauren did, he also revealed the episode wasn't as "real" as some fans may expect.
"They pick the people they want to make look good and they pick the people they want to not make look good and they run with it," he continued. "It was really tough for me to watch because it's just not how it happened at all."
During the interview, Jonothan also revealed what the couple's relationship looked like today, months after the season wrapped filming.
"We've lived together for about four months now. So we just really thought we're going to find someone on the show...and we did, it just didn't happen the way either of us thought and it was more of a rough road."
News of their relationship emerged just two weeks into the 2024 season, when Woman's Day released photos of Jonathan and Ellie enjoying a romantic trip to the beach together.
Following further investigation, fans found photos of the couple attending Ellie's work Christmas party in December and proof-via-Instagram of the pair spending time together in Melbourne and the Gold Coast.
The interesting part? At the time, fans around Australia were watching Ellie participate in the MAFS experiment with her on-screen husband Ben, whilst Jonathan explores married life with Lauren.
Just a week prior to the news breaking, Ellie was asked by Yahoo Lifestyle if she ever had eyes for anyone else in the experiment.
“No, to be honest, my eyes were just on Ben,” she said. “And I'm just like, so grateful to have such a great match. We got along like a house on fire, so my eyes were not straying.”
The new pairing didn't come as a complete surprise to audiences, with both Ellie and Jonathan experiencing marital issues with their respective partners during the early episodes of the season.
Jono's on-screen wife Lauren spoke with The Kyle and Jackie O Show early on in the season, hinting towards the fact the couple were no longer together.
Speaking with the hosts, she revealed her new husband was "too nice" during the Honeymoon and they were missing "something" in their relationship.
"On paper, the experts got it right, he's everything I want, however, there's something on paper that you can't put into words."
The first week of the experiment saw Ellie and Ben discover their differing priorities for marriage, with the couple disagreeing on children and family plans.
By the time the second dinner party arrived, the couple had hit a rough patch in their relationship, with Ellie sharing with the group he had mimicked her and told her they weren't a match.
While Ben told the group he was only "feeling the pressure" of the experiment, many of the contestants and experts did not believe his vague answer.
“We don’t trust him and we have a feeling,” Sara warned. “There’s just a lot of things that don’t add up."
“I don’t buy Ben’s story at all,” said Jonathan, who stuck up for his now-partner.
"He keeps skipping around the point and it bugs me, he explained. "Ellie is lovely and I think he is batting way above his average. She seems to be willing to stick by him but I don’t think it will last.”
“She’s a lovely beautiful girl and I just don’t know why you would say that.”
Fast forward a few more weeks into the experiment and Ben and Ellie's marriage had gone from bad to worse, with the couple deciding to leave the experiment.
During the last week of the experiment, the 'scandal' was out in the open after Tori shared with the group that Jonathan and Ellie had been texting.
Despite arguing that the texts were innocent and he was in contact with a number of ex-contestants, not just Ellie, Lauren was blindsided by the accusations.
After learning Ellie reached out on average every three to four days, Lauren admitted her gut feeling was that there was more to the situation.
“I find it strange” she explained during the commitment ceremony. "What the actual f***k…I feel like I’ve been lied to. I feel so stupid," she added, as she broke down in tears and revealed the triggered memories of past relationships.
The following night saw the texting scandal go from bad to worse, as Lauren discovered volumes of flirtatious messages between Jonathan and Ellie. "It hurts me," Lauren admitted.
"I think Ellie is a good-looking chick, of course, but there is nothing going on there," Jonathan confirmed to the group, before admitting he had previously told Jack he wished he had been paired with Ellie when he was going through a rough patch with Lauren.
"I've done nothing wrong. It was completely innocent...it has been blown out of proportion."
But the group sided with Lauren, telling Jonathan he was deflecting and not taking ownership.
With the experts and group all agreeing the behaviour was wrong, the final vows between Lauren and Jonathan were pretty brutal - and four weeks later Jonathan and Ellie debuted their relationship to the rest of the contestants during the reunion, blindsiding Lauren.
Want a love story of you own? Start your love journey for FREE today, with eHarmony.