From the moment they arrived on The Block, Sydney couple Ryan and Rachel have struggled.
Arriving two days after everyone else when influencers Elle Ferguson and Joel Patfull quit because the reality show was “not on brand… and had scratchy toilet paper” according to Scott Cam, the newcomers have not exactly been the judges’ favourites.
Slammed week after week for not being country enough, they have never won a room, with Rachel left in tears as the negative feedback piled up.
Slammed week after week for not being country enough, they have never won a room.
(Image: Nine)But through it all, they’ve said there is a definite plan to what they’ve been doing and sooner or later the judges will see what they mean.
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And with the Living and Dining rooms challenge this week, they’re hoping that moment is now.
“Even when we were doing the previous area, the kitchen and butler’s pantry, we had a vision of what it would all lead to so when the judges said what we had done was bland and boring, we knew we just had to hang on,” Ryan, 36, tells TV WEEK.
“The dining and living areas run off that kitchen and will be the centrepiece of the whole home so we’re hoping when the judges walk in, they’ll finally get it!”
Rachel says this week will be “make or break” for them and their strategy of ignoring the weekly wins.
(Image: Nine)Rachel agrees, saying this week will be “make or break” for them and their strategy of ignoring the weekly wins to go for a much bigger prize.
“In about a week three when we were doing the Open for Inspections and looking at everyone else’s rooms we realized that we could either make each room a statement to try and win money each week or build a home where everything flowed from one space to the next.
“And we decided to focus more on the long game than the short game.”
The culmination of that, she says, is this week with a living and dining area extending out from the kitchen featuring lofty ceilings, a stone wall and a space where the new home owners will want to spend their time.
“This is the absolute culmination of the whole house,” Rachel says.
“It’s the heart of the home and what we’ve been working toward… now we just have to hope the judges feel the same way!”
