My Kitchen Rules viewers have been noticing Josh Meeuwissen’s agitating and jarring treatment of hiswife Amy for weeks. Now it seems the judges have too.
Hosts Pete Evans and Manu Fieldel have warned the Broome man that his marriage is more important than the show in an off-camera chat about his behaviour.
Josh told New Idea that the pressure brought out the “worst in me”.
"It got the better of me a couple of times," he told the magazine.
"Even Pete and Manu had a chat with me at one stage and said: 'You have to realise the show is a small part of your life, but you have a whole marriage together'."
A Seven spokesperson confirmed to Fairfax that the pair had spoken with Josh, but did not say what about.
It's not hard to see why the judges felt the need to step in - the young couple have been bickering for weeks, with pressure getting to them in Sunday night's elimination challenge on a cruise ship.
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While cooking the entree, the 25-year-old criticised his wife, who told him, "Don't talk to me like that."
However, Tuesday night's episode proved the pair are feeling the heat even with a safe distance from the kitchen.
Amy walked off on her husband while they and other contestants were watching the elimination challenge between pairs Mell and Cyn, and Court and Duncan.
Josh has gained a reputation - not for his seafood-cooking skills, but for his rivalries with other couples and mean-spirited commentary.
The deckhand was at it again, attacking Court while standing beside his relief teacher wife, who was tightening her lips more with every word.
While microphones didn't catch all of the argument that followed, Amy can be seen scolding Josh and then giving him the finger as he talks to another contestant, Tully.
"Josh, stop it," Amy said. And when he didn't, she told him, "Josh, I'm out of here. I'm going to sit backstage. So annoying."
Josh's behaviour wasn't lost on other contestants, with midwife Karen saying to the camera "he needs to look after his wife, and he needs to respect her".
Meanwhile, construction lawyer Della stepped in to tell him he needs to stop.
"If your wife's not standing here, you're doing something wrong. Otherwise she'd be backing you, so you need to stop it," Della said before moving away from him.
The comment might have shaken some sense into Josh because he apologised to Amy, who wasn't impressed.
"You can't help yourself. You just always have to bark back," she told him.
Viewers were also unimpressed with Josh's behaviour, slamming the "jerk".
Do you think Josh's behaviour is appropriate?
Top Comments
It's not real. It's basically scripted. They are all playing a role. You don't get to be on a Channel 7 production if you're not willing to participate in the controversy. Just ask Pete.
He is just a narcissist people. This is what they do - tearing others down to make themselves look good, blaming others for their shortcomings, spiteful attitude particularly when criticised, cannot see they're the one at fault, starting smear campaigns to garner support, very childish and churlish. Stay away from them - they will make your life miserable.