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An 'awful' divorce and new babies: Where all The Block winners are now.

For 17 seasons, we've watched contestants hammer, knock down and design rooms on The Block, in an effort to win some serious prize money (yep, we're looking at you Jimmy and Tam).

But that hard-earned cash doesn't always last after the show.

Well, at least that was the case for 2018 fan favourites Jess Eva and Norm Hogan who spent their entire $209,000 prize money in two years.

Watch the trailer for the current season of The Block. Post continues below. 


Video via Channel Nine.

Speaking on Triple M’s Moonman in The Morning last year, Jess explained all their money went to swimming pools for friends, gambling and a kind act for a stranger, among other things. 

"The first thing we bought was two above-ground pools, and we handed them out to our friends like lollies," said Jess who now works at Triple M as a radio host. 

The money also went to a big bet at the tennis and helping a stranger who they came across on a community Facebook board. 

"When you come from nothing you’ve got nothing to lose," she said.

"If everyone can’t enjoy it together, what is the point of living?" 

The couple said they have since started a savings plan.

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Here's a look back at what past Block winners are doing now. 

Adam Thorn and Fiona Mills

Adam and Fiona were the very first contestants to win The Block back in 2003. The couple took home $256,000 and went on to write their very own renovation book, Adam and Fiona's Renos On A Budget: How We Renovated Our Way To The Block. 

According to Now to Love, Fiona now has a business in the beauty industry and Adam works for Freedom Kitchens.

Image: Channel 9. 

Dr Andrew and Jamie Rochford

Andrew Rochford shot to fame after winning the second season of The Block with his now wife Jamie Nicholson in 2004. 

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The couple applied for the show on a whim and ended up winning $178,000 in profit.

"I was a final-year medical student when I applied, and I was just trying to win some money," he told Stellar magazine earlier this year.

Since then, Andrew has gone on to appear on and host programs like The Project, Studio 10, Breakfast on Channel 10, The Living Room, National Medical Editor and Pointless. He even appeared in TV drama Offspring in 2011.  

But after all this time he still gets recognised for The Block. 

"It's always amusing when people remember I was on The Block because it was so long ago now, and my hair was a very different colour," he told the publication. 

John and Neisha Pitt

John and Neisha Pitt won $305,000 back in 2010 on season three of The Block. The couple now live in Illawong in southern Sydney with their two kids. Neisha also owns Stepping Stones Early Learning Centre, Bexley. 

Image: Channel 9.

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Polly and Warwick 'Waz' Jones

Polly and Waz made $115,000 profit when they won The Block in 2011. Since then, the couple have welcomed two children together, a son called Hudson in 2016 and a daughter called Scotland in 2017.

The couple previously spoke about the moment they met their daughter in an interview with Woman's Day.

"I fell hopelessly in love," Waz told the publication. 

Polly, who suffered from postpartum depression after giving birth to Hudson, said she felt more relaxed the second time around. 

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"My new mantra is if it's not right for mum, it's not right for baby." 

Brad and Lara Cranfield

After winning $606,000 on The Block in 2012, Brad and Laura bought 25 hectares of land in Bishops Bridge, between Maitland and Cessnock in NSW to build their very own designer home. 

But late last year they decided to move to Byron Bay with their two sons, Harry and Jimmy who they welcomed after the show. 

"It was one of the hardest decisions we’ve ever had to make as we poured four long years of blood, sweat and tears into creating our dream home," Brad said, according to Property Observer. 

Phil Rankine and Amity Dry

Fan favourites Phil and Amity returned to The Block for the season six 'All Star' series and earned themselves $395,000 profit. 

But five years after their win, the couple announced they decided to go their separate ways in 2018. 

"It was pretty hard, it was pretty awful," Amity told news.com.au of their divorce. 

"I built my dream home and I’m no longer in that. I think divorce is really like a death in a lot of ways. It’s the death of who you were and the life that you know, and you have to rediscover who you are as a single person, and not being part of a couple."

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"But I’m on the other side of it now and I’m really happy. I’m in such a good place and I’m excited about what’s coming next." 

Amity met Phil back when she was just 19 and they went on to have two kids together. 

"I think people grow apart and change. Who you are at 19 and who you are at 40 are completely different and I think if you manage to grow in the same direction with somebody and still make each other happy, that is an amazing thing."

Since then, Amity has written a cabaret show about her marriage breakup called Fortified and performed her Fringe show, Highway Superstar last year. 

Alisa and Lysandra Fraser

Twin cops Alisa and Lysandra won the 2013 season of the show, earning themselves a total profit of $395,000. They later competed on the show again in 2014 for The Block Fans vs Faves but lost out to Steve O'Donnell and Chantelle Ford. But they didn't walk away completely empty-handed, all up they've made $1.01 million from The Block prize money, making them the two of the show's most successful contestants. 

Since the show, the sisters have kept busy running their successful design business and have worked together to renovate a heritage home in Albert Park. They've also launched their own naturally derived range of hand and body products called Al.ive Body. 

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Steve O'Donnell and Chantelle Ford

Steve and Chantelle surprised everyone when they won The Block: Fans vs Faves in 2014. The couple hadn't won a single room during the entire series and ended up pocketing $736,000 in prize money. 

But just 14 months after winning the show, they decided to call it quits on their relationship. 

Steven and Chantelle shared the news on their joint Facebook page in 2015, explaining that their split was a mutual decision. 

"We interrupt your Sunday night to let you know that we are no longer a couple," they wrote. 

"We’ve had an incredible 3.5+ years together and remain the best of mates, but both agree that we are better off as friends.There’s no drama, no scandal, we’re just two people with an enormous amount of respect for each other who, together, made this difficult decision." 

Chantelle has now created designer headwear label Ford Millinery, which provided masks and face shields to protect the cast and crew against COVID-19 during last year's season of The Block. 

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Shannon and Simon Vos 

Since winning $435,000 on The Block in 2014, brothers Shannon and Simon have both married and started design companies.

Shannon, who tied the knot with his wife Lisa in 2014, now runs his own business Vos Creative and is a contributor for Inside Out Magazine. The couple share two sons together. 

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Simon, on the other hand, married his wife Ashley in 2015 and has gone on to launch construction and design consultancy business Vosa Design Construct. 

Darren and Deanne Jolly

Darren and Dea made Block history in season 10 when they walked away with the largest amount of prize money, at the time. The builder and interior designer earned themselves an eye-watering $935,000 in profit. 

Following their success on the show, they began flipping houses and spent 11 months renovating a worker’s cottage in Kew East, Victoria, which they later sold for $2.9 million. 

Alas, the pair decided to go their separate ways in September 2019.

"This is a very difficult time for me and my girls," Dea said in a statement to the Herald Sun at the time. 

"We have been blindsided and left devastated by Darren’s action. But I'm focusing on my two daughters who are my number one priority. Please respect our privacy while we move on." 

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Dean and Shay Paine

Dean and Shay walked away with $755,000 after winning The Block in 2015. Since then, the couple have welcomed two more kids together, their son Vinnie in 2017 and Morris (affectionately known as ‘Mo') in 2019. 

They now travel around the country together with their three young children, which they document on Instagram. 

"People say we are crazy for travelling with three small kids in a camper. We agree but wouldn’t want it any other way. We feel pretty blessed to be able to spend so much time with our kids," they shared in a post last year. 

Will and Karlie Bethune 

Will and Karlie became the first Queenslanders to ever win The Block when they took home $815,000 in 2016. After the show, the couple went on to have their dream wedding and honeymoon in New Zealand. 

In March last year, the couple announced they were expecting their first child together on Instagram. 

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"In these uncertain times, one thing is certain... Will and I are incredibly lucky and excited to announce we are expecting a new addition in July!" they captioned the post. 

Days after sharing they’d been in hospital due to a health scare, Will and Karlie welcomed their baby daughter in August 2020. 

"Welcome to our world!! We would like to introduce Indigo Jade Kara Bethune," they wrote on Instagram. 

"We are the happiest parents and think we are punching well above our weight with how gorgeous this girl is."

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Josh Barker and Elyse Knowles

Josh and Elyse took home $547,000 in prize money after comedian Dave Hughes bought their Elsternwick property for a casual $3.06m in 2017. 

Speaking to Mamamia the following year, the 29-year-old model said she considered backing out of The Block at the last minute.

“We worked so hard to get on the show, and then we found out we got in, and we kind of had this shock feeling of, ‘Oh my God. Imagine if this is going to have a negative effect on my career. I’ve been working so hard since I was 10 years old on modelling, is this going to make me or break me?’ It was a really big chance that I took,” she said.

Thankfully, it all paid off. 

In 2019, the couple moved to Byron Bay and recently purchased a 1960s beach house - the perfect renovation project for the couple and their business J & E Projects. 

They also announced they were expecting their first child together last year. 

Elyse shared an Instagram photo of her and Josh in front of Uluru with the caption "and then there were three". 

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In February, the couple welcomed a baby boy named Sunny. 

Listen to Mamamia's You Beauty podcast, where we get to rummage inside Elyse Knowles beauty bag. Post continues after podcast.

Sara Tumino and Hayden Vale

Bondi couple Sara and Hayden were best known for spending the most amount of money on a bathroom in Block history. The couple, who now have two children together, ended up pocketing $645,000 in prize money when they sold their Gatwick apartment for $3.02m. 

Since the show, Hayden has returned to work as a project manager, while Sara works as a flight attendant. 

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Tess and Luke Struber

Queensland couple Tess and Luke took home a massive $730,000 when they won The Block last year. Unfortunately, the couple weren't able to spend their prize money on what they had planned because of COVID-19.

"We tried to go back to normal life then all of this coronavirus stuff happened just as we were gonna pull the trigger on a few big calls, so we've kinda just been chilling out," Luke told 9Entertainment last year. 

"We haven't really touched any of our prize money to be honest," said Tess. "We paid off a few debts like my car, but nothing else really."

These days, the pair are designing their dream home. 

They also announced they're expecting a child together in November last year. 

The Block winners shared the exciting news during an interview and photoshoot for Stellar magazine.

"We’re having a baby, and we’re so excited. It’s something we’ve been planning on for a while, and the stars aligned perfectly. I’m almost 20 weeks now, so I’m pretty pregnant," Tess told the publication. 

Tess went on to explain that while pregnancy hasn't exactly been what she expected, she's been "loving every minute of it."

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"I thought pregnancy would be a time of me being beautiful and gorgeous and glowing, and that I’d have thick hair."

"I’ve had the complete opposite – I’ve lost my hair, I’ve had skin issues, I’ve been sick every day, I’ve had migraines, nose bleeds, it’s been the most unattractive pregnancy... but I’m loving every minute of it."

Their daughter, Cleo Sophia Struber, was born in April this year. 

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Jimmy and Tam Wilkins

Jimmy and Tam Wilkins became The Block's first ever millionaires when they won the show last year and pocketed $966,000 profit and an extra $100,000 for winning the season. 

However, one month on from the finale, the Queensland couple were forced to put their home back on the market after it's buyer, cyber security specialist Emese Fajk, reportedly failed to make the deposit for the home.

Speaking to Cliffo and Gabi on Hit Queensland, the pair said they only recently received their prize money following the controversy.

"We only just got it about two months ago, so it was a massive roller coaster of whether we were going to get it, whether the house was going to sell," Jimmy explained. 

"So it was a very hard time for us mentally."

Tam went on to say that "Nine were absolutely incredible" and are the pair "did get the money that we won on auction day". 

"They didn't have to do that, they did it out of goodwill," she shared. 

The couple have since bought a new house in Pomona, Queensland. However, they are currently living in a caravan before they move in. 

"We have bough a house in Pomona, we are living in our caravan at the moment because it has a tenant living in it that needs to vacate," Jimmy said. 

"Proper trailer trash!" he joked. 

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Who was your favourite team from The Block? Let us know in the comments below.

This article was updated on October 3, 2021.

Feature Image: [email protected]/ @jimmyandtam 

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