As disgraced NRL star Jarryd Hayne begins his new life in prison, his wife Amellia Bonnici’s tumultuous time during her husband’s rape trial can be revealed.
Whether it was jeering at the media, joking with his family, reserving seats in the court room for her husband’s supporters, demanding reporters not type so loudly or sobbing inconsolably, Ms Bonnici had a rollercoaster ride.
Hayne’s return to jail, where he is likely to spend several years, tops off a hectic few years for the mother-of-three.
As the disgraced star’s bail was revoked in the Supreme Court on Friday, Ms Bonnici sobbed and hugged her husband for several minutes, telling the 35-year-old retired footballer she loved him.
Hayne and Ms Bonnici met on Instagram in early 2016 and just a few weeks later she was pregnant with their first child, daughter Beliviah Ivy.
As disgraced NRL star Jarryd Hayne begins his new life in prison, his wife Amellia Bonnici’s tumultuous time during her husband’s rape trial can be revealed. Ms Bonnici is pictured outside the NSW Supreme Court on Friday after he was taken into custody
Hayne and Ms Bonnici met on Instagram in early 2016 and just a few weeks later she was pregnant with their first child, daughter Beliviah Ivy. They married in January 2020
Then in late 2020 they became engaged and just a month later married in a secret ceremony on Australia Day in January 2021 , in front of 50 family and friends, including NRL players.
Hayne announced their union in an Instagram post with a verse from the bible.
‘He who finds a wife finds a good thing, And obtains favour from the LORD. Proverbs 18:22 NKJV,’ he wrote.
‘It’s been a rollercoaster. But I’m thankful for God and what the Holy Spirit has done through us. It’s only by the grace of God we are here and were excited moving forward as Husband n Wife.’
Hayne and Bonnici have since had two more children together, but trouble has been stirring in the background since they met.
In 2016, Hayne had returned from a stint playing for the San Francisco 49ers in the NFL, but was later accused of a sexual assault of a young woman in San Jose.
He vehemently denied the claim, but eventually reached a settlement of just under $100,000 with his accuser in 2019.
Hayne announced he was marrying in an Instagram post with a verse from the bible: ‘He who finds a wife finds a good thing, And obtains favour from the LORD. Proverbs 18:22 NKJV’
Then he was accused of sexually assaulting a woman in Newcastle on the night of the 2018 NRL grand final, and faced a NSW District Court trial in 2020 during which Bonnici stuck by his side each day.
The jury was unable to reach a verdict, and he faced a retrial in 2021 when Hayne was convicted and sent to jail.
If I were writing about it, at least I’d write the truth
What Amellia Bonnici said about reporters during the latest trial
Ms Bonnici continued to stand by her husband as he spent nine months in prison, before he was released when the conviction was overturned on appeal.
Hayne’s third trial began in March and a jury found him guilt of two counts of sexual assault last week.
Ms Bonnici supported her husband throughout the week of pre-trial argument, but after the jury was empanelled and the court was closed as the victim gave evidence, she did not attend for four days.
Outside court, a friend told Daily Mail Australia it was ‘too hard’ for her to come to court every day while caring for the couple’s three young children.
In the first days of the trial’s open court evidence, Ms Bonnici turned at one point and asked media to ‘be quiet’, as she found their typing in court too loud.
As a result, Judge Graham Turnbull requested reporters covering the trial sit only in the back row of the public gallery.
During her husband’s trial Ms Bonnici claimed seats in the court room for Hayne’s supporters and demanded reporters not type so loudly. She is pictured with Hayne on Friday morning
During the second week of the trial, Ms Bonnici again turned up for Hayne, and again asked the media to type more quietly while his evidence was played to the court.
She told his barrister, Margaret Cunneen, SC, she could not hear the audio recording over the typing, prompting Ms Cunneen to complain to the judge.
This resulted in media being pushed to the other side of the public gallery for the duration of Hayne’s evidence.
Throughout the trial, Ms Bonnici was accompanied by Hayne’s mother Jodie and his sisters, regularly going to a cafe across the road from the court called The Associate for lunch or morning tea.
Ms Bonnici would often arrive at court after Hayne, bringing him a coffee or breakfast, and then chat with Hayne family members, and laugh outside the court during breaks.
She sometimes glared at reporters and was overheard joking with Jodie Hayne about the accuracy of media reporting during the trial.
‘If I were writing about it, at least I’d write the truth,’ she said one morning before the day’s evidence was heard.
On one occasion towards the end of the trial, Judge Turnbull addressed the public gallery after someone had been using their phone during the proceedings.
Ms Bonnici would often arrive at court after Hayne, bringing him a coffee or breakfast, and then chat with Hayne family members, and laugh outside the court during breaks
After the court was adjourned Hayne’s mother turned to an NCA NewsWire journalist and jokingly asked for that incident to be included in an article.
Ms Bonnici welcomed the presence of Hayne backers in the court, thanking one man who approached her and her husband as they ate a snack during a court break.
The man told the couple: ‘I’m just here to support you mate, I had a spare few hours so I thought I’d come down, you’ll be fine, the truth will come out.’
On March 26, the day before the jury retired to consider its verdict, the number of Hayne believers had swelled to 15 and they filled two rows of the public gallery.
Ms Bonnici repeatedly laid her coat down or put her belongings across multiple seats to save them for supporters, and shooed away a couple of reporters looking for positions.
On the afternoon of April 4, Ms Bonnici was waiting outside the court with the defence team when word came that the jury had reached its verdicts.
Ms Cunneen looked directly at Ms Bonnici and Hayne, made the sign of the cross, and walked back into the court.
Ms Bonnici then sat in the gallery and watched as her husband – who is estimated to have spent millions of dollars on legal fees – stood waiting to hear his fate.
After being found guilty of rape Hayne and Ms Bonnici left the court complex with a security cordon of seven burly sheriffs who stood around the pair as a human shield
When the jury returned to find Hayne guilty of two counts of rape Ms Bonnici stared at the floor and began to cry, sobbing loudly holding her head in her hands.
After the jury was dismissed, Hayne came over and hugged his wife as she wept into his chest.
Outside the court that day, Ms Bonnici clutched her husband’s hand and looked straight ahead with her sunglasses on while media asked the couple questions.
Two days after his conviction, on April 6, Ms Bonnici broke down and wept again while she addressed the court as Hayne’s barrister argued against him being immediately imprisoned.
Ms Bonnici said she had been bombarded with offensive messages on her personal Facebook page and hundreds of threatening posts about Hayne had been made on Twitter.
She became emotional when asked if she and Hayne had three children. ‘Yes we do,’ Ms Bonnici said, sobbing.
Ms Bonnici told the court she had a strong relationship with Jodie Hayne but her husband’s family had not been around to help with the practicalities of looking after the children.
When asked for the reasons why Hayne should not be jailed, Ms Bonnici said: ‘I can’t even put that into words.’
Ms Cunneen said Hayne ‘would be a target in the general prison population’ and Hayne ‘would be regarded as a sex offender’ in prison.
Judge Turnbull asked Ms Bonnici if her children – aged six, three and one – had been photographed by media without her consent and she said they had.
Asked if they were aware of being photographed, Ms Bonnici said her oldest child was ‘beside herself this morning’.
Ms Bonnici said she might move to a country location if Hayne was sentenced to full-time custody.
Ms Bonnici was previously forced to confront life without husband while he served nine months behind bars over his initial conviction. Now she will be forced to adapt again
Ms Cunneen told the court: ‘There is also intense media interest in this family even without Mr Hayne’s presence.’
When Crown Prosecutor John Sfinas asked Ms Bonnici what family assistance she would have with Hayne in jail she looked blank-faced and said she had no support in Sydney.
Judge Turnbull, who noted there were particular ‘health conditions’ Ms Bonnici was facing, eventually allowed Hayne to remain on bail but warned ‘it’s not in debate’ he would be going to prison.
Hayne and Ms Bonnici left the court complex with a security cordon of seven burly sheriffs who stood around the pair as a human shield.
Ms Bonnici was previously forced to confront life without her husband while he served nine months in jail over his initial conviction.
Now with three children to care for alone she will be forced to adapt again.
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