The reality of life on The Block caught up with new contestants Ryan and Rachel during Monday’s episode, with Rachel returning home to Sydney just a week after the pair had arrived on the site.
The professional renovators were called in at short notice to replace influencer couple Joel and Elle when they abruptly left this season of The Block two days in
It was a maddening struggle for Rachel and Ryan, who would be leaving their three young children, aged five, three and one, for several months.
On Sunday night’s episode, the couple were seen FaceTimeing their kids’ bedtime, and it wasn’t an easy call as their kids were confused and upset about the absence of their parents.
“Unlike the other teams, Rachel and Ryan have had less time to prepare themselves and their children for the separation,” Scott Cam reminded viewers.
“We left very quickly and we left in a way that we had to put a lot of things together in a short amount of time,” Rachel explained.
“We have a five-year-old, a three-year-old and a one-year-old, so for them, they’re not sure what we’re doing here. They’re not sure if it’s a good thing or a bad thing, they just know that mommy and daddy aren’t here.”
She revealed that she and Ryan had told the children that “mummy and daddy are building a castle” but were still finding the separation difficult.
“They just want to be here, you know?”
In the end, Rachel had to leave the call to compose herself so her children wouldn’t see her upset.
“You just want to give them a hug. And they ask for a hug – there’s nothing worse than when your baby asks for a hug and you can’t give it to them. Being upset, it breaks my heart,” she said as she held back the tears
In Monday’s episode, the couple had taken radical action: after just one week The BlockRachel had flown home to Sydney for a couple of days to be with the kids, leaving Ryan to fend for himself for 48 hours.
But as he told the cameras, it was definitely the right move.
“She’s so glad she made the decision to go home … the kids really needed it and they got it. She tucked her two daughters into bed last night and they wouldn’t let them go, so. .. got some love and they got some love back.”
Rachel and Ryan weren’t the only ones who found their early days The Block particularly tough: Fellow contestant Sharon looked heartbroken after she and husband Ankur came last in the judging during Sunday’s episode.
Sharon deflated after the judges’ scores came in, crying on camera as her husband comforted her.
“I’m over it and it’s basically the first week. I’m over it and I’m so tired and… maybe I have no idea,” she said.
In Monday’s episode, she said that she had made a promise to husband Ankur that she would not beat herself up so much going forward.
“This is the pact we made, because I’ve literally spent every day crying since I got here, and that’s not good.”
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