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The Block favourites Kirsty Lee Akers and Jesse Anderson have come out swinging against franchise ‘villain’ Tanya Guccione in their most uncensored interview to date.
In what has been called ‘the biggest cheating scandal in the show’s history’, Tanya was accused of secretly taking a photo of the production schedule in order to give herself and husband Vito – as well as the Packham twins – an unfair advantage.
For weeks Tanya has maintained an ‘anonymous tradie’ sent her the photo – but high-school sweethearts Kirsty, 34, and Jesse, 33, insist she’s just trying to cover her tracks.
They are particularly upset by Tanya’s claim the whiteboard with the schedule on it was displayed near a bathroom where all the contestants could see it, with Kirsty saying this is a ‘total lie’.
Jesse is also fired up because Tanya’s story risks incriminating one of her own builders who is totally innocent and had nothing to do with the scandal.
Their side of the story: The Block favourites Kirsty Lee Akers and Jesse Anderson have come out swinging against series ‘villain’ Tanya Guccione in their most uncensored interview to date
‘It actually sounded like it was her original builder that sent [the photo] to her, but those that know that builder and have spoken to him [say] he’s got proof he had nothing to do with it,’ the videographer said.
The couple agreed Tanya should have just owned up to it instead of making excuses.
‘I think it would have been much better if Tanya said, “Look guys, I stuffed up, I made a mistake, I took the photo, I shouldn’t have done it”,’ Kirsty said.
‘Then everyone would have moved on.’
Bad girl: In what has been called ‘the biggest cheating scandal in the show’s history’, Tanya (left, with Luke Packham) was accused of secretly taking a photo of the production schedule in order to give herself and husband Vito – as well as the Packham twins – an unfair advantage
Tanya recently denied breaking into Scott Cam’s office to take the photo of the production schedule, saying anyone could have seen it when it was hanging outside the communal bathrooms.
She told Daily Mail Australia: ‘There was no weird break-in. That’s reality TV. I wasn’t the only one that used the bathroom.’
But country music star Kirsty disputed this, saying: ‘I’ve read articles that Tanya has said the schedule was on a whiteboard out the front of some toilet block that apparently we all saw – which is just total lies.
‘None of us saw a schedule that was at a toilet block. I think she made a mistake [and] you’ve just got to own it.’
When asked if they thought Tanya or Vito had taken the photo, Kirsty said: ‘I think it’s pretty obvious. It’s just a matter of time if they own up to it.
‘I can’t be 100 per cent sure – we don’t have proof, so we can’t say this is definitely what happened. For us that were involved and for those watching at home – it looks like, to us, that that’s been the case.’
Tanya, on the other hand, is adamant she didn’t take the photo, and alleges other contestants were involved in the scandal as well.
She said one of her co-stars and a builder even threatened to sue her for defamation if she mentioned them in connection to the cheating plot.
‘It’s hard to take the full brunt of it when you know there were other willing participants, to be honest,’ the makeup artist told Daily Mail.
The board in question: For weeks Tanya has maintained an ‘anonymous tradie’ sent her the photo of the schedule – but Kirsty, 34, and Jesse, 33, insist she’s just trying to cover her tracks
But Kirsty questioned why Tanya wasn’t naming names.
‘That’s what I don’t understand,’ she said. ‘If you want to clear your name and there’s someone else involved, just get it out in the open.
‘Why should you be covering up other people? Just tell everyone who it was.’
Kirsty said it was ‘disappointing’ that she and Jesse were suspects when the scandal first broke, adding that their builders were forced to show the producers their mobile phones to clear their names.
‘Then of course Tanya and Vito were saying in the beginning that they had no idea about the photo – which we believed,’ she added.
Not guilty? Tanya is adamant she didn’t take the photo, and alleges others were involved in the scandal as well. But Kirsty questioned why she wasn’t naming names if she’s so innocent
Tanya, Vito and the Packham twins had two points deducted from basement week following their involvement in the scandal – which Kirsty and Jesse believe wasn’t enough.
‘I don’t think they should have been kicked off [the show], but I don’t think two points was much of a penalty. I think they got off pretty easily,’ Kirsty said.
‘Whiteboard gate’ wasn’t the only cheating plot to rock The Block this season, with Kirsty and Jesse recently accused of foul play by Josh and Luke Packham.
The twins couldn’t believe how much money the couple were spending on their backyard, and demanded an audit after suspecting the producers were picking favourites – an opinion also shared by Tanya and Vito.
Suspicious: ‘Whiteboard gate’ wasn’t the only cheating scandal to rock The Block this season, with Kirsty and Jesse recently accused of foul play by Josh and Luke Packham (pictured)
At about this time Kirsty and Jesse had to leave the building site for 24 hours after learning her grandmother had died.
‘It was really disappointing for us – especially because at the time we were at my nan’s funeral,’ Kirsty said of the suspicions.
‘To come back from that and be bombarded with cheating accusations… it really just sort of blew us away at the time and we didn’t know where this was coming from.
‘We’ve never, ever given anyone any reason to believe that we would cheat in the past. We were just a little bit dumbfounded, and we were quite angry about it at the time.’
Just like they said on the show, Kirsty and Jesse still insist everything they did was completely above board.
‘We get audited every Sunday and go through all of our receipts and all our orders,’ Kirsty said, with her husband adding: ‘We weren’t against the audit. We just didn’t want to do one for the twins.’
Defending herself: ‘We’ve never, ever given anyone any reason to believe that we would cheat in the past. We were just a little bit dumbfounded, and we were quite angry about it at the time,’ Kirsty said of the recent budget scandal
‘It was great to see two teams [the Packhams and Gucciones] being all concerned about other contestants, making sure it was a level playing field and making sure no one was cheating,’ Kirsty added sarcastically.
‘They didn’t seem too worried about it when there was cheating going on and it actually benefited them. It seems like the only time they worried about someone who was cheating is when it didn’t actually benefit them.’
While Ronnie and Georgia Caceres also had their suspicions, Kirsty says she and Jesse are still close with them after they settled their differences privately.
‘We still love Ronnie and Georgia,’ she said.
‘And some of the people, like Mitch [Edwards] and Mark [McKie], we’ll be friends for life. Obviously, there’s teams that if we don’t happen to cross paths again… I don’t think we’d be worried.’
Hard times: With the scandals and budget dramas, it hasn’t been the easiest ride for the high-school sweethearts – who lost a combined 15kg in weight due to stress
Kirsty and Jesse are aware they are the bookies’ favourites to win the season, and ‘wish they’d put a bet on’ themselves at the start of the show.
But with the scandals and budget dramas, it hasn’t been the easiest ride for the duo, who admit they’ve lost a combined 15kg in weight due to stress.
‘We worked our absolute guts out,’ Jesse said. ‘I know I couldn’t have worked any harder on the show. I lost 10kg.’
‘And I lost five kilos,’ Kirsty added. ‘And we’re not big people!’
‘By the end of it… it was the most amazing thing, but it was just so hard,’ Jesse concluded.
The Block continues Sunday at 7pm on Channel Nine
Confident: Kirsty and Jesse are aware they are the bookies’ favourites to win the season, and ‘wish they’d put a bet on’ themselves at the start of the show
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