The wind and water that came with Cyclone Debbie wreaked havoc on the Gold Coast worksite for House Rules. The extreme weather conditions also took a toll on Tasmanian team member Sean.
His fiancé Ella – who, like Sean, is a paramedic – says he suffered from dehydration while working on Aaron and Daniella’s backyard.
“It was really muggy and Sean got quite dehydrated a couple of times,” she tells TV WEEK.
Ella says Sean did try to keep his fluids up. But the teams were working outside in very difficult conditions.
“You have to be smart in a competition and look after yourself, because no one else is going to,” she says. “You’ve got to make sure you’re drinking and you’ve got to make sure you’re eating. I think he knew that. It was just that he was working so hard and it was so hot that he didn’t stay on top of it.”
Ella says the other reno where people really suffered from the weather conditions was Troy’s house in NSW.
“Western Sydney was horrible. It was so stuffy and muggy. The lowest it got was, like, 30 degrees about 3am on paint night. Everyone was dehydrated.”
She admits that she and Sean aren’t used to doing that much physical labour.
“You’re pushing yourself to the limits, physically and mentally, and doing work that you’ve never done before.”
Last month, viewers saw Ella put her paramedic skills to use when Andrew’s wrist was cut by a flying piece of glass. Fortunately, she says, there weren’t any other medical emergencies as serious as that one.
“Everyone liked to play the joke,” she remembers. “The boys would come up with their little cuts and scratches and say, ‘Ella, I need you to fix me.’ I’d say, ‘Here’s a bandaid,’ or, ‘Oh, have a cup of concrete!’”
