The contestants on House Rules are faced with intense challenges each week, as they aim to take out the top spot and win the $355,000 prize-money. But behind the scenes, and away from the cameras, many of our favourite teams from this season are enjoying life as newlyweds and parents.
Scroll through to see the love stories of this year’s House Rules teams…
Katie & Alex
Katie and Alex were always meant to be. The pair, who are parents to one-year-old daughter Hallie, locked eyes in a café in 2014 and then bumped into each other again a few months later.
“We had this Hollywood moment,” Katie, 29, tells TV WEEK.
Adds Alex, 32: “I got called away to a job and had to run out of the door, and we caught eyes as I appeared around the corner.”
Katie and Alex are now parents to one-year-old daughter Hallie.
The pair didn’t see each other for a while after their first encounter.
“But then I started my own food delivery business,” Katie says. “Alex walked in – he was one of my clients!”
Alex describes it as a “sliding doors” moment. The duo didn’t waste any time and married in 2016.
“I know everyone says this, but it was the best wedding,” Katie says. “All our friends talk about it. We hired a beautiful courtyard in a hotel in Newcastle. It was all cocktail. We had sliders and popcorn chicken!”
Alex and Katie describe their wedding as a “Hollywood moment.”
Pete & Courtney
Dance teachers Pete and Courtney fell in love during high school.
“Pete was in the year above me,” Courtney, 31, tells TV WEEK. “We met when we were doing dance productions together. We were really good friends, and then ended up going to a school formal together. We’ve been together ever since!”
The pair – who now have a one-year-old son, Casper – married in 2015, with Pete, 32, describing the big day as “pretty lavish”.
Pete and Courtney reveal their wedding was “pretty lavish.”
“Because we’re in the creative industry, we know lots of people who work in wedding planning and styling,” he explains. “So we were able to produce and direct our own wedding. It was pretty amazing.”
As for their first dance at the wedding, Pete says it wasn’t what you’d expect.
“I think everyone expected us to have a flash-mob-style dance, but it was just the two of us!” he says, laughing.
Pete and Courtney with their one-year-old son, Casper.
Lisa & Andy
Newlyweds Lisa and Andy married last year after meeting online more than a decade ago.
“I’ll never let Lisa forget it,” Andy, 32, tells TV WEEK. “She added me on MySpace!”
Lisa, 30, chimes in with a laugh: “I like to skip the MySpace part [when telling their love story].”
“We ended up meeting out one night at a local bar in Adelaide,” she adds.
“As soon as we met, that was that. He used to sneak into my bedroom at my old house and scare the crap out of me!”
Travelling before settling down was a priority for Lisa and Andy.
The couple dated for 11 years before exchanging wedding vows. Lisa says travelling the world was always a priority for them before saying, “I do.”
Adds Andy: “I also joined the military during the relationship, so that had me travelling around the place.”
Shayn & Carly
House Rules viewers discovered the heartbreaking story behind Shayn and Carly’s relationship in week one. The pair, who has been married for six years, found comfort in each other when Carly’s ex – who was also Shayn’s best friend – died in a tragic car accident.
“It was pretty intense,” Carly, 31, says. “Shayn was my rock when we lost him. Life can be short so you need to take those risks and really enjoy life and get the most out of it.”
“It’s been eight years now and we’ve crammed a lot into that eight-year period,” Shayn, 33, adds.
Shayn and Carly have two daughters.
The pair have two daughters, Harper, five, and Imogen, three.
“If anything has come out of the tragedy, I’ve learned that life is short and family is everything”, Carly says.
House Rules airs Monday to Wednesday, 7.30pm, and Sunday, 7pm, on Channel Seven.
