Things turned sour at the MKR table tonight when Matt made an ill-advised comment towards Josh and Amy, saying that Amy was “Batting Merrins”.
The phrase relates to NRL Dragons forward Trent Merrin and was coined when he began dating glamourous surfing star Sally Fitzgibbons. The insinuation is that Merrin is “punching above his weight” by landing Fitzgibbons as a girlfriend.
So when Matt said that “Amy’s batting Merrins” at the dinner table about her relationship with Josh, understandably he ruffled a few feathers.
Della, Tully, Court, Amanda and Kelsey all took offence at the comment which insinuated that Josh was the better looking – and therefore better catch – of the pair.
But Matt insists that his comments were taken out of context and, if anything, were meant as a dig at her husband Josh who was busily big-noting his modelling past.
“Josh portrayed to us all that he was a supermodel and in light of the conversation, it was all quite jesting I was like, ‘Oh well maybe Amy’s batting Merrins’, because of that,” Matt tells TV WEEK.
“I thought everybody around the table would know what I meant but obviously it fell on deaf ears because they were all from AFL background I guess and didn’t really have any idea about it.
“Amy’s not unattractive, it was just a funny conversation where Josh was trying to portray he was a supermodel. You know? Talking himself up in front of Amy and putting Amy down.”
MKR rival Court was one of those who arced up at the comment however in hindsight she tells TV WEEK that she believes Matt harboured no ill-intent.
“My first concern was for Amy and I was trying to make a point at the table that she was gorgeous,” she says of her reaction.
“But I think it was a slip of the tongue and became uncomfortable because none of us really knew what it meant. The fact he had to unpack it and explain it made it so much worse.
“And then Josh not backing up his wife, it was like a double-hander. Josh being, ‘Yeah, I am the hot one,’ we were like; ‘You’re gross!’
“When Duncan and I talked about it later, he said that if someone had said that about me, he would straight away be on my team.
I think it was an awkward slip of the tongue by Matt, made worse by the fact Josh didn’t have Amy’s back. Matt’s actually a really lovely guy.”
