The Block has delivered dream homes, huge auction wins and some of the most explosive scandals in Australian reality television. Picture: Nine
The Block has created dream homes, instant millionaires and some of the most chaotic moments in Australian reality television.
But behind the glossy room reveals and multimillion-dollar auctions, the renovation juggernaut has also delivered failed bids, cheating claims, walkouts, marriage drama and auctions that exposed just how strange the TV property market has become.
What started as a renovation contest way back in 2002, then revived again in 2010 has turned into a property soap opera, where one buyer can change the outcome of an entire season and a single leaked photo can blow up months of work.
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As The Block prepares for next round of big builds, big budgets and even bigger buyer expectations, these are the scandals fans still talk about from the past 21 seasons.
Adrian Portelli’s $15m Block takeover
Adrian Portelli stunned The Block viewers when he bought all five Phillip Island homes during the 2024 auction finale. Picture: Nine
Maddy and Charlotte became record-breaking Block winners after their Phillip Island home sold to Adrian Portelli for $3.5m. Picture: Nine
Melbourne businessman Adrian Portelli changed The Block forever when he bought all five Phillip Island homes in one night.
The LMCT+ founder, known to viewers as Lambo Guy, spent $15.03m across the 2024 finale and helped sisters Maddy and Charlotte walk away with a record-breaking $1.65m profit.
Their house sold for $3.5m, but it was Portelli’s role in the auction order that triggered the real debate.
He later said on radio that he had worked with the sisters on their position in the auction running order before placing the winning bid.
Nine said the auctions followed standard open-auction rules, but viewers were split.
Fake Block buyer sends Nine into damage control
Jimmy and Tam’s Brighton auction win turned into one of The Block’s most infamous controversies after the buyer failed to settle. Picture: Nine
Jimmy and Tam were allowed to keep their prize money after their winning 2020 auction sale collapsed. Picture: Nine
Jimmy and Tam thought they had pulled off one of the greatest wins in Block history.
Their 2020 Brighton home appeared to sell for $4.256m after mystery buyer Emese Fajk outbid regular Block buyer Danny Wallis.
But the sale later collapsed when Fajk failed to settle.
The scandal became one of the show’s most embarrassing auction-night disasters, with Fajk later accused in media reports of using false bank documents.
Nine was forced into damage control and Jimmy and Tam were allowed to keep their prize money.
The photo leak cheating scandal
Scott Cam called the 2021 production schedule leak the biggest cheating scandal in Block history. Picture: Nine
Block contestant Tanya’s controversial photo that sparked the cheating scandal.
A single photo sparked what Scott Cam called the biggest cheating scandal in Block history.
During the 2021 Fans v Faves season, a confidential photo of the production schedule was taken from Cam’s office.
The image revealed upcoming room reveals, challenge days and timing – a huge advantage in a competition where ordering trades and materials can make or break a build.
Suspicion fell on Tanya and Vito, and Josh and Luke, after rival contestants Ronnie and Georgia questioned how some teams seemed to know what was coming.
Tanya eventually admitted on camera that she had taken the photo.
“I took the photograph. I didn’t get it sent to me. I actually took the photo,” she said.
Both teams were hit with two-point penalties during front-garden judging.
Daylesford auction disaster
Britt and Taz won The Block’s Daylesford season after an auction night that exposed the limits of the show’s luxury regional price hopes. Picture: Nine
The Block’s 2025 Daylesford contestants were left stunned as bidder confidence collapsed during the auction finale. Picture: Nine
More recently, last years 2025 Daylesford season was meant to be a luxury country escape.
Instead, it became a brutal lesson in what happens when television price hopes collide with a regional property market.
Two homes, renovated by Emma and Ben and Han and Can, failed to sell under the hammer.
Britt and Taz won the season with a $420,000 profit, while other teams walked away with much thinner results.
Brad, Kylie and the flirt-gate fallout
Brad and Kylie’s Block experience unravelled after his flirtation with co-contestant Mimi became one of the 2024 season’s biggest flashpoints. Picture: Nine
Kylie was visibly distressed as her marriage drama with Brad played out during The Block’s Phillip Island season. Picture: Nine
The 2024 Phillip Island season veered from renovation drama into relationship crisis when Brad Baker admitted he had flirted with co-contestant Mimi Belperio.
His wife and teammate Kylie was devastated.
During judging, Kylie stormed off site barefoot and later said she did not want her marriage breakdown playing out on national television.
Brad then gave an emotional solo interview where he said he had “single-handedly destroyed” his family.
They still walked away with a $650,000 profit, but the personal fallout overshadowed almost everything else about their build.
Jesse and Paige’s sudden exit
Jesse and Paige left The Block’s 2024 season midway through filming after struggling with the pressure of the renovation competition. Picture: Nine
Jesse and Paige’s sudden exit opened the door for replacement contestants Maddy and Charlotte, who went on to win the season. Picture: Nine
Jesse and Paige’s 2024 departure was one of the most confronting moments in recent Block history.
The engaged couple left midway through the Phillip Island season after Paige struggled with anxiety and the pressure of the show.
Their exit opened the door for Maddy and Charlotte to enter the season as replacement contestants.
Elle and Joel’s 48-hour walkout
Ellie and Joel’s 48-hour walkout
Elle Ferguson and Joel Patfull left The Block’s Tree Change season after just 48 hours of filming. Picture: Nine
Scott Cam did not hide his frustration after Elle Ferguson and Joel Patfull’s early exit threw The Block’s 2022 season into chaos. Picture: Nine
The couple left the 2022 Tree Change season just 48 hours into filming, saying Joel’s mother had suffered a serious fall and they needed to return home.
But Scott Cam was furious.
Speaking at the TV Week Logie Awards, he accused the pair of leaving without properly explaining themselves and said their exit had thrown production into chaos.
Omar and Oz’s $36,000 piano problem
Omar and Oz’s baby grand piano became a major talking point after the pair secured the $36,000 item for just $7500. Picture: Nine
Omar and Oz recovered from their piano penalty to win The Block’s 2022 season. Picture: Nine
Omar and Oz delivered one of the most stylish rooms of the 2022 season, but their baby grand piano caused a major headache.
The piano had a retail value of $36,000, but the pair secured it for just $7500.
That breached a key Block rule preventing contestants from buying items at more than 50 per cent off retail price.
The result was a three-point deduction and disqualification from that week’s win.
The scandal did not stop them. Omar and Oz went on to win the season.
$8000 bathtub that divided viewers
Hayden and Sara had the last laugh in 2018, winning The Block despite weeks of brutal judging feedback. Picture: Nine
Hayden and Sara’s $8000 brass bath helped create one of the most expensive and divisive bathrooms in Block history. Picture: Nine
Sara and Hayden’s 2018 bathroom became famous for one very expensive reason.
The couple installed an $8000 brass Gatsby Bath in their ensuite, helping push the room’s cost to about $75,000.
The judges were not convinced, and the couple finished last for three consecutive weeks.
Sara later broke down under the pressure and called the show the “biggest mistake” of her life.
Despite weeks of criticism, Sara and Hayden won the 2018 season with a $645,000 prize haul.
Spy-gate and the secret phone
Shannon and Simon Voss sparked an early Block cheating scandal after a hidden phone was found recording judges’ feedback. Picture: Nine
During the 2014 Glasshouse season, brothers Shannon and Simon Voss hid a mobile phone under a bed to secretly record the judges’ private feedback.
Judge Darren Palmer found the device during an inspection.
The brothers were confronted by Cam and accused of cheating, with the judges stunned by the move.
But despite the scandal, Shannon and Simon were allowed to continue in the competition.
They later won the entire season.
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