Thanks everyone for sharing the mutual support (of picking business class on QF even with a transfer, over a direct JQ flight in economy).
She's not budging and still 100% wants a direct flight.
For context, the trip is for our honeymoon and it will be the return flight back home - she thinks we'll be dead tired after 3 weeks in Europe so being on QF or JQ won't matter, even though she acknowledges it's business vs the lowest of all economy flights.
Also not just that but one of her friends got affected by a transfer in Sydney to the US lately (they had a QF flight from Melbourne which arrived late, and then missed their connecting international flight (AA) to LAX and had to wait 12hrs for the next available flight they could be put on (which was QF to DFW)) and I think she's emphasising that delay too much - thinking it might happen to us should we get a direct flight. She then points out the JQ issues at the same time! Just can't win.
All I can do is sigh.. If only there was a QF flight when we made the booking, I would have definitely booked that! Pity that there was only a JQ one at the time. In hindsight, I should have just left that sector out and book separately (of course, not knowing that Qantas would release more reward seats only weeks later!).