My Kitchen Rules 2026 has reached the end of Round Two, but not without its fair share of drama and tears!
After Zoe and Zac’s chaotic Instant Restaurant, and some particularly harsh criticism from Angus and Simon, the final scores pushed the Gatecrashers through to Kitchen HQ, leaving ‘Classy Bogans’ Alisha and Deanne to say goodbye.
Reflecting on their experience, the contestants told WHO that the result brought up “mixed emotions”, and that no matter what they did or how they acted, they were “doomed” from the start because of one unfair detail.
Alisha and Deanne were tired of always proving themselves
The Adelaide besties described the show as “quite overwhelming at times” and “a bit heated”, but “overall an amazing experience”. Whether it was laughing with Manu and Colin or showing Australia what home cooking is to them, the contestants wouldn’t change a thing about how they acted.
However, they did admit that everyone targeting their personalities became “emotionally draining” after a while.
“After the second cook, we personally felt like it wasn’t that terrible, but then watching it and being on the bottom again, it does get to you,” Alisha and Deanne told WHO. “We did say we wanted to make our kids proud. It just felt like it was a little bit embarrassing, feeling like we couldn’t cook.”
They also spoke about how tiring it was to constantly defend their personalities.
“We had to fight the hardest to kind of show that we wanted to be there,” the contestants added. “Our personalities are loud and we do say things.
“It felt like we weren’t just proving we could cook. It was trying to prove nearly to have people even like us, which is one of those things where not everyone does enjoy our personality.”
Throughout both Instant Restaurant rounds, the ‘Classy Bogans’ faced comments, criticisms, and predictions that they would come last or be eliminated first.
“[It was] emotionally draining towards the end,” Deanne said. “It was terrible, and even the scoring and stuff on the first round, it wasn’t a low score, but then second round in, it just felt like everything was always a damper on who we were.
“So I think it does get emotionally draining trying to be there and put on a smile and stuff for everyone.”
Why did Alisha and Deanne say they were ‘doomed’?
While Alisha and Deanne, of course, didn’t love being judged, they were also fed up with the fact that it always happened behind their backs.
Near the end of Round Two, they also revealed that people started to score “strategically” so that they could stay in the competition. However, no matter how Alisha and Deanne scored, they caught heat for being “strategic” or unfair.
“When we came back to the table after cooking, [the feedback] wasn’t said quite as badly, and then you’re watching and you’re like, ‘You liars! Why didn’t you say it to our face?'” Alisha told WHO about how critical the contestants were being.
“You could tell other people were strategically scoring a little bit here and there as well, but they don’t get as much hate,” they added. “But for our scoring, it seems like there was more than that.”
“You couldn’t win,” Deanne explained. “It didn’t matter what we scored. Even when we loved [Oliver and Harrison’s] food, we were apparently strategic, even giving them a high score. I’m like, ‘We said it was our favourite meal! Our favourite menu!’
“You’re doomed if you do, you’re doomed if you don’t.”
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