NEED TO KNOW
- Courtney and Sev won the bathroom challenge and a $250,000 kitchen upgrade after spending $53,000 on their room last week.
- Adam and Jolene questioned the result, while viewers claimed they were “ripped off” and criticised the girls for exceeding the budget.
- Courtney and Sev believe the backlash comes down to jealousy, admitting they would probably feel the same after losing such a huge prize.
Winning a room reveal on The Block should come with plenty of celebrating, perhaps a glass of champagne, and, if you’re lucky, a rare early night.
For Courtney and Sev, however, their bathroom victory has delivered almost as much drama as it has prize money.
The pair won the challenge after spending an eye-watering $53,000 on their bathroom, securing a mammoth $250,000 kitchen upgrade package in the process.
But not everybody was ready to celebrate with them.
Fellow contestants Adam and Jolene made their frustration about the result clear, joining a growing number of viewers who believe the House 1 couple should have claimed the win instead.
Courtney and Sev, however, have a fairly simple explanation for the frosty reception.
Jealousy.
“It’s just part of the competition and you’ve just got to have thick skin,” the pair told WHO.
“I think they’re jealous, and I would be jealous too because we won a huge prize. It all just comes down to jealousy, and I don’t blame them.”
Honestly, when there’s a quarter of a million dollars’ worth of kitchen upgrades on the line, a little envy is probably understandable.
Why are contestants upset about Courtney and Sev’s win?
The controversy centres on the amount Courtney and Sev spent creating their winning bathroom.
While the judges were impressed by their (almost) finished room, the pair had pushed well beyond the allocated budget, leaving some contestants questioning whether the result rewarded design at the expense of financial discipline.
The girls’ win also handed them a significant advantage beyond a single week’s victory.
Their $250,000 kitchen package will allow them to create a major selling point without having to fund the entire space themselves, something that could ultimately prove invaluable when the houses head to auction.
For Adam and Jolene, who received plenty of praise for their own bathroom, watching the enormous prize land in someone else’s lap was always going to sting.
And they weren’t alone in feeling hard done by.
Fans say Adam and Jolene were ‘ripped off’
Following the result, viewers flooded social media with complaints that Adam and Jolene should have won.
“Adam and Jolene were absolutely ripped off, in my opinion,” one fan declared on Facebook.
Another agreed, arguing that the House 1 couple deserved greater recognition for completing their room properly.
“They had that curved seat that stood out and they were the only ones that finished off properly,” the viewer wrote.
The size of the prize also raised eyebrows, with the same fan suggesting that handing one team a $250,000 kitchen package created too great an advantage over their competitors.
Others were more concerned about Courtney and Sev exceeding their budget.
“I think if you overspend, you should not be able to win,” one viewer wrote. “And if your finishes are that disgusting, you should not win. Feels rigged!”
Another claimed Adam and Jolene had been overlooked despite Courtney and Sev having received considerable assistance with their room, adding: “It’s typical of this show.”
Not everyone agreed with the backlash, however.
Some viewers argued that every team had the option to spend big and that Courtney and Sev had simply taken a gamble that ultimately paid off.
“Nobody is stopping any of them from spending that money on any of the rooms,” one fan reasoned. “A risk the girls took which paid off for them.”
Should The Block judges consider a room’s budget?
The result has reignited a familiar debate among The Block viewers: should the judges assess only the finished room, or should spending also influence their scores?
After all, creating a show-stopping bathroom is one thing. Creating one while sticking to a budget is quite another.
For Courtney and Sev, the strategy delivered the best possible result. They won the week, landed an enormous advantage and produced the kind of room that caught the judges’ attention.
For Adam and Jolene, however, staying closer to budget and completing their room to a high standard wasn’t enough to secure the prize.
Whether their frustration is simply jealousy, as Courtney and Sev suggest, or a legitimate gripe about their competition’s playing field will no doubt divide viewers.
Either way, with $250,000 at stake, this was never going to be a case of grinning, clapping and moving quietly into the next room.
The Block airs Monday to Wednesday at 7.30pm and Sundays at 7pm on Channel Nine and 9Now.
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