Two months after the MAFS reunion episodes aired, Awhina Rutene and Billy Belcher hard-launched their relationship.
Or did they?
The pair, who were originally matched with Adrian Araouzou and Sierah Swepstone respectively, seemingly hard-launched their relationship in a joint Instagram post back in June.
"I'll keep this one," Awhina captioned the post, showing her taking a mirror selfie of the two of them.
Then, in a spread for Woman's Day, Billy and Awhina were spotted holding hands on a date of sorts, with the mum-of-one holding a bouquet of roses. Subtle, huh?
"They looked really happy and comfortable," a witness told Woman's Day.
"Their chemistry was insane."
In the following weeks, the two MAFS stars have frequented each other's Instagram pages, as they ventured off together on a trip to Bali.
But this week, something new is happening. The Daily Mail shared footage of Billy kissing a woman — a woman who is not Awhina (although she really does look like her lol).
Cue: outrage. But did these two ever actually say the words "we are dating"? Apparently not, because they are not dating, okay?!
"I know everyone wants to see a romance between us but we're grateful to have built such a beautiful friendship from this experience," they shared in a joint Instagram post.
Are y'all keeping up? The swings and roundabouts of this relationship led us to feel the need to set the record straight. No more confusion! Enough!
"We have always said we are just friends and we get on extremely well and are very close, we also have lots of fun together," Billy exclusively told Mamamia.
"People have to understand that we watched each other go through a bad time with our partners and we just want to be there for each other."
Awhina agreed with Billy's sentiments, going as far as to say that the two were never actually a romantic pair.
"Billy and I have never had a romantic relationship. There's been a lot of speculation, especially with some of the photos that were published," she told Mamamia.
"Those photos came at a time when there was so much interest in our relationship. Billy and I do hold hands all the time, but it's more about comfort and support than anything romantic.
"There was also interest around his bond with my son, which is very real and special. They've had a connection since before the show even aired, and that friendship means a lot to both of us. So why not get photos published together?"
As far as their relationship status, they are just friends — period.
"The truth is we're just incredibly close friends. That doesn't make the connection any less real, it's just not romantic," she said.
"We do get VERY close but we haven't crossed any lines, I don't think either one of us want to jeopardise our friendship."
Awhina has other priorities in need of her attention — away from speculation around her dating life.
"I'm currently single. Right now, I'm focusing on myself, my son, and the people in my life who bring me peace and support — including Billy."
Awhina credits Billy's friendship for his support since MAFS aired.
"Billy has been such a huge support for me over the past few months. We check in with each other constantly, we've spent a lot of time together, and he's really been a grounding presence for me," she said.
"The friendship we share is genuine, it just doesn't fall into a romantic category, and that's okay.
This development follows both MAFS participants having endured challenging relationships on the show.
Awhina famously delivered the line of the season at the reunion when she told Adrian: "I can be the bad guy in his story because he's the devil in mine."
Meanwhile, Billy faced criticism for his "wife swap" comment during the experiment, which led to his and Sierah's eventual departure.
Fans have been speculating that the former contestants have been dating for some time, as they have regularly featured on each other's Instagram and TikTok accounts.
Speaking to Mamamia back in April, Awhina shared the one thing she would have changed about her MAFS experience.
"My husband," she replied with a laugh.
Well, it looks like Awhina didn't find her a new husband, but she did find a new bestie.
This article was originally published on June 5, 2025 and has since been updated with new information.
Image: Instagram/@_awhinarutene
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