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House Rules' Katie & Alex: "It was very frantic and stressful"

The married couple open up about their decision to leave their daughter with family while they competed on the reality show - by Holly Richards
  • 16 May 2019

They’re the golden couple who have won over fans on this season of House Rules (continues Sun., May 19 at 7pm, and Mon., May 20 to Wed., May 22 at 7.30pm; Seven). The country NSW pair – a federal police officer and stay-at-home mum to 1-year-old daughter Hallie – are thanking their lucky stars they made it onto the renovation series.

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“It’s like winning the lottery,” Alex, 32, tells WHO. Katie, 29, adds: “We are just so lucky.” The couple open up about their bond with their rival teams and leaving their daughter to compete.

How do you get along with the other contestants?
KATIE
We aren’t very dramatic people, so we were happy to find out everyone was so lovely. We all helped each other finish painting and were always asking each other for advice. There’s no-one saying, “I’m not helping you because I want to get ahead.”
ALEX It’s incredible, we genuinely feel like we’ve made lifelong friends with everyone on the show. 

How old is Hallie now?
KATIE
She’s 14 months. She was 7 months when we left her.

katiealexau View Profile
1,422 likes - View Post on Instagram
Thank you for choosing me to be your Mum Hallie Bear. 🐻💕 I always hoped I'd be the kind of Mum that could love and obsess over their babe like no one else and you make that soooo easy to do. 😍🙌🏻 Although I am scared to have another one because you are actually perfection. ✨ I am in total awe of how gentle, hilarious and observant you are and I love every moment that I get to watch and help you navigate this big crazy world... 🗺 I hope you always need me or I'll just have to annoy the heck out of you. 😘😆 Oh and I really love it when you grab my face and say MWAAAA! 💋 So please keep doing that.☝🏼 #taaaaa . . . . @kayleighmcglynn

Was it a difficult decision to leave her to compete on the show? 
ALEX
It was so tough.
KATIE As soon as we found out we were on, I had this moment where I was like, “Oh, God, can I actually leave her?” And I thought, “We’re never going to get this opportunity again.” So many people were trying to reassure us, saying she’s not going to remember and that it’s for her, so we decided to suck it up and do this for her. 

Who looked after her while you were away? 
KATIE
My mum and little sister. As soon as we found out we were on, I had to wean her, then she wouldn’t take a bottle. It was very frantic and stressful.

How was it being away from her for such a long period of time? 
KATIE
Thankfully we were so busy we didn’t get a lot of time to sit and dwell on it. But we missed her so much, and feeding was one of my favourite things to do with her so that was a big thing to give up.

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Holly Richards
Holly Richards
Holly Richards is a freelance contributor to WHO and New Idea. With more than a decade of experience in the entertainment world she lives and breathes everything from the latest Bachelor gossip to who designed Meghan Markle's most recent outfit. Check out her reality TV podcast Real Talk With Holly & Ali.

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