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EXCLUSIVE: Ricky reveals the truth about falling in love on The Block

"We knew the truth..."
Ricky Recard and girlfriend Erin Lee sit on a couch together smiling.

A cool $750,000 canโ€™t compare to the biggest prize Ricky Recard scored on The Block โ€“ meeting the love of his life.

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โ€œPeople spend their whole lives looking for their soulmate and someone to love, so no matter what happened on that auction day, I was always going to come away a winner,โ€ says the reality star, who says heโ€™s found his forever with The Blockโ€™s makeup artist, Erin Lee.

SPARK FROM THE START

The mother-of-two, 40, says there was an instant attraction between the pair as soon as the plumber sat down in her makeup chair.

โ€œWe spent a few months forming a friendship, but there was definitely a spark,โ€ says Erin.

Ricky, 34, explains, โ€œI was in a relationship but I wasnโ€™t 100 per cent happy in that relationship and I definitely wasnโ€™t in love, thatโ€™s for sure. I needed that time away to realise there are things out there that are more important and I was just lucky to find love at the end of it.โ€

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Rickyโ€™s ex, Lauren Smith, 30, went public in September with claims that the Melbourne-based plumber had โ€œblindsidedโ€ her with his new romance with Erin.

โ€œI was definitely disappointed, but obviously she was a bit disgruntled and I was trying to move on and she was struggling. There are two sides to every story. Me and Erin knew we hadnโ€™t done anything wrong,โ€ says Ricky.

Erin admits, โ€œIt brought a lot of unwanted attention. But it didnโ€™t affect us because we knew the truth.โ€

Ricky Recard and Erin Lee cuddle in front of beach houses.
(Credit: Phillip Castleton)
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MADLY IN LOVE

Ricky says he never expected to find his life partner while starring on The Block.

โ€œAfter the show finished, me and Erin stayed in touch. I went to Mexico for a couple of weeks and we spoke every day โ€“ and after a couple of tequilas on the beach, I got the Dutch courage to FaceTime Erin and we just started speaking every day from that point,โ€ he says.

โ€œThen, by the time I got back, we were destined to meet up and ever since then, weโ€™ve just been madly in love!โ€

Erin adds, โ€œIt got pretty serious, pretty quick.โ€

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The couple havenโ€™t moved in together yet, but she say itโ€™s โ€œdefinitely planned for the future.โ€

Ricky explains itโ€™s been โ€œwildโ€ since finishing the home reno show so the pair havenโ€™t had a chance to make solid plans yet, but heโ€™d like to make the move from Melbourne to Phillip Island, where Erin is based.

โ€œWe want to spend the rest of our lives together,โ€ he assures.

Ricky and Haydn on The Block
Credit: Nine
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ISLAND LIFE

โ€œI was born and raised in the country so I do like that laid-back lifestyle. I love my fishing, Erin loves her surfing, so Iโ€™d love to get a house down on the island,โ€ he says.

In fact, Ricky says Erin โ€œpretty much had me the minute she said she had a dream that she was out on a tinny catching squid. I was like โ€˜Thatโ€™s it. I want to spend the rest of my life with this woman.โ€™โ€

BUILT-IN FAMILY

Ricky says his relationship with the single mum is the first heโ€™s had thatโ€™s made him think about a family of his own.

โ€œIโ€™ve never met someone that I wanted to start a family with, but Erinโ€™s situation is she has two boys of her own, so I donโ€™t know,โ€ he tells Womanโ€™s Day.

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โ€œI think Iโ€™m just going to see how raising two young boys that arenโ€™t my own is and see how that goes. But Erinโ€™s happy and Iโ€™m happy and I reckon it might work just fine.โ€

Ricky and Erin smile in front of a BBQ
(Credit: Phillip Castleton)

Itโ€™s welcome stability for Ricky, whoโ€™s been open about his estrangement from his own parents, Martin and Debbie Blennerhasset.

โ€œThey did try to reach out and the only reason they reached out was because they saw me on television,โ€ says Ricky. โ€œMy feelings havenโ€™t changed at all. Iโ€™ve got all the people that I need around me and even more so now that Iโ€™ve got Erin. Weโ€™ve got our own little family happening.โ€

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Attention from his long-lost relatives isnโ€™t the only kind Ricky is getting used to.

โ€œObviously me and Haydn [Wise] are pretty colourful units, so itโ€™s pretty obvious who we are when weโ€™re out. I think Erin gets a little bit annoyed when weโ€™re out at a bar or at dinner when people come over and ask us for photos but she knows Iโ€™m a people person and people are just excited to see someone from TV so Iโ€™m happy to take the time,โ€ says Ricky, who says heโ€™s been โ€œhumbledโ€ by his Block experience.

โ€œWith the money and opportunity, Iโ€™ve got the chance to set me and Erin up forever. Exciting times ahead.โ€

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