Despite notching up 15 home renovations in their 14 years together, Sydney couple Mitch Edwards and Mark McKie were still taken aback about the workload thrown at them as contestants on Season 15 of The Block.
“I used to be one of those people that would watch on TV and go, ‘That’s not possible, you can’t 
do that in the time,’” Mark tells WHO. “Now, I swear it is absolutely true and we do it all.” Adds Mitch, “There are no smoke and mirrors. I’d appreciate some smoke and mirrors, actually!”
WATCH: The Block’s Matt accuses Mitch and Mark of cheating
Tell us about your life before The Block?
MITCH: I do marketing for Australian Pork – get some pork on your fork, people! And Mark is a strategist in workers’ compensation. Our employers were really good and allowed us a leave of absence, so they’re really supportive.
Tell me about your family?
MITCH: We have three grown-up children, a 32-year-old, 31-year-old and 28-year-old, and five grandchildren.
Did you raise your children together?
MITCH: I was married for about 15 years and we split. My kids do benefit because they’ve got a great mum and two dads that are so involved in their lives. I’m the fun dad and Mark is the serious dad.
MARK: We’re very close to the kids; Mitch had been divorced for a few years before we met. The kids have three parents.
How did you guys meet?
MARK: A bar on Oxford Street [Sydney]. This was before the technology of swipe right and left.
MITCH: Back in the old days people used to meet in a bar.
What do you like about each other?
MITCH: Mark is absolutely solid and he’s genuine. We don’t fight at all. We are different but we understand each other and we love each other’s company. At worst, we get annoyed. On The Block, we’ve gotten annoyed because you wake up after two hours’ sleep and you’re not in a great mood.
MARK: Mitch is an amazingly loving and stable person, and I love his humour. He has this joy for life and he unconditionally loves me. Never in 14 years have we ever yelled at each other.
Do you want to get married?
MITCH: We haven’t wanted to, but we love the idea of LGBT marriage equality. It’s very important, but it’s not for us. I think now about
a young boy or girl at school who can actually have a crush on somebody and think eventually they can get married.
MARK: The same-sex marriage outcome is enormously important. When I came out –well, I knew when I was 8 but I came out at 21 – it wasn’t in an era where that was possible.
MITCH: I grew up repressing any thought of homosexuality, thinking all boys must feel this … When I got to 30, I thought, “Hang on, maybe something is going on here.” When I split from my wife, we did a financial separation and I didn’t have much left, but I felt the richest I’d ever felt in my life because I was honest.
How do you see The Block changing your life?
MITCH: We have good jobs to go back to, but we’re open to whatever happens. I don feel like I’m doing a show; I feel like I’m having an amazing experience. We’re getting older and we keep seizing all these amazing opportunities and The Block was one of them. Just don’t say no, and grab by the balls and run with it.
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