On Tuesday night, The Block had a major, very big, hugely important ‘cheating’ scandal.
We know this because a) the promos told us as much, b) the music had very dark and mysterious undertones and c) there were many tears and shots of sad faces. Also, we knew it wasn’t quite a ‘cheating’ scandal, because ‘cheating’ was used in inverted commas, and inverted commas always equal lies. (Sort of.)
So what was it all about?
Earlier this week, Perth-based couple Ronnie and Georgia were accused of copying the interior designs of a Melbourne-based store when completing their children’s bedroom back in week three.
According to judge Shaynna Blaze, the room had the perfect amount of whimsy and later won Ronnie and Georgia both the challenge and a cool $10,000 for their efforts.
But following an Instagram discovery by their fellow contestants, the high-achieving couple were being called out and labelled as cheaters.
“OK, I’ve got to say something,” Georgia told the group after an emergency meeting was called to discuss the cheating-scandal-that-wasn’t-actually-a-cheating-scandal-at-all. “I have got to defend myself here. I am highly passionate about that bedroom I did,” she said.
“I went into that store because I knew I wanted the Mrs Migehtto prints. I knew I wanted the Incy interiors bed. They happen to be stockists of that. I one hundred and fifty per cent did that whole room on my own. I did not have help from them. And I take pride in my interior design abilities and I won’t let you say that they helped me on that.”
So did they actually cheat? What are the guidelines actually like? And how much can contestants actually take from social media inspiration?
A spokesperson for Channel 9 confirmed to Mamamia, that no, Ronnie and Georgia did not cheat.
Love TV? Feel the need to debrief about it? You need to listen to The Binge.
As it happens, contestants are able to take as much inspiration as they like from social media, and in fact, as the show illustrated last night, almost all contestants will take photos into interior stores for inspiration. The issue comes, though, when they're seeking advice from an interior designer.
"It’s a long-standing rule on The Block that contestants are not allowed to enlist the help of a professional interior designer," the spokesperson told Mamamia.
"Ronnie and Georgia have not broken any rules by drawing inspiration from the latest trends and styles. During the episode airing on Tuesday, August 29, other contestants are seen to be gathering inspiration from many different sources i.e. from stores, photographs in magazines, and online outlets. This has been the case with contestants across many past seasons."
As such, there doesn't seem to be any boundaries on the scope or amount of inspiration the contestants take.
And as a result, this 'cheating' scandal was exactly what the inverted commas suggest.
A non-event.
This season, Mamamia is recapping The Block. You can read some of our recaps below:
The Block kid’s bedroom recap: The first “perfect” room and one big mistake.
The Block room reveal recap: One couple’s accused of “taking the piss.”
The Block spare bedroom reveal recap: Everything about this week is a bloody mess.