Rumours have been flying about an MKR on-set romance between Victor and Piper.
According to one media report, the Melbourne barman and the Sydney beauty queen became a couple during shooting. Another report, however, claimed Victor subsequently broke Piper’s heart.
Now, Victor, 29, has revealed to TV WEEK what really happened between him and the mum-of-two.
Victor says several teams – including Piper and Veronica − asked him and his MKR teammate G for help with critiquing their food.
“They came to us a lot asking for help, so we got quite close,” he explains. “When they made it out of elimination, we had a celebration, and yeah − she and I did get quite close.”
READ MORE: All the couples who have hooked up on the My Kitchen Rules set.
Victor (left) says he got “quite close” with Piper.
Piper, 35, separated from her husband Jordan just before MKR began shooting. They have a son and a daughter together – Elsie, five, and Taylor, four.
Meanwhile, Victor went into the show single, describing himself as “always open to dating, if only she challenges me”.
However Victor says a lot of the media accounts of his relationship with Piper have blown things out of proportion or are “outright lies”.
“I signed up for this, so I just have to suck it up,” he adds. “But it’s not nice for her [Piper], because I’m a single man, she was in the middle of a separation and has two kids at home. There are other people to take into account here.”
Piper (right) has been linked to her fellow MKR contestant Victor.
Victor says people will believe what they want to believe.
“At the end of the day, Piper and I know what happened and that’s what’s important,” he says. “If she wants to speak about it, she’s more than welcome to. The ball’s in her court.”
As for one media report suggesting that he and Piper are no longer on speaking terms, Victor says that isn’t true. He explains that he’s regularly in touch with Piper to see how she’s going.
“She’s been ill recently and I hope that she gets better,” he says. “Things are good − and amicable between us.”
My Kitchen Rules airs Monday to Wednesday, 7.30pm, and Sunday, 7pm, Channel Seven.
