Having competed in surfing contests across the world, Mikaela and Eliza are used to hard work. But with any extreme sport comes risk.
Mikaela, 24, tells TV WEEK she once had to have 12 stitches on her eye after sustaining a gruesome surfing injury.
“I got the nose of the surfboard in my eye and had to have 12 stitches across my eyelid,” she tells TV WEEK. “My eyelid was hanging off and they had to reattach it!”
“It was hideous!” Eliza, 21, adds.
Surfing injuries aside, this week the girls will take a step back from renovating as the other teams go to work on their mum’s house in WA.
Wanting to give her a fresh start after her divorce, the siblings say this will serve as the “silver lining” during a particularly tough time.
“Any family breakdown is difficult to go through,” Eliza says. “I just know this is something all three of us will treasure for our entire lives.”
“Mum has worked tirelessly our entire lives to give us everything we could possibly want and more,” adds Mikaela. “She’s sacrificed so much for our surfing and anytime we needed support or guidance she has been there.”
While their own home is under the hammer, the renovation rookies will have a much-needed week off from the construction site.
They received A LOT of criticism from the judges for their work on Lisa and Andy’s home, with Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen in particular sharing some harsh words. Mikaela and Eliza are determined to return to work after their break and do better in future challenges.
“We can deal with a bit of tough love,” Eliza says of the criticism.
“I think the judges expect a lot from everybody, so if you make one little mistake they’ll pick it apart in the room and it will be detrimental to your score,” says Mikaela.
“But it’s beneficial for us to get a lot of feedback right now, we need it,” adds Eliza.
Here’s hoping the girls can pull off a winner next time!
House Rules airs Monday to Wednesday, 7.30pm, and Sunday, 7pm, on Channel Seven.