Winners of The Block issue statement to Tanya
The winners of this season of The Block, Mitch and Mark, have issued a public statement about fellow contestant Tanya, urging fans to “give her a chance” in the wake of the revelation that she had been cheating all season.
Mitch and Mark butted heads with Tanya and her husband Vito throughout the season, largely due to the latter’s cheating: Tanya was found to be in possession of a photo of the show’s production schedule, which she claimed all season long had been sent to her by an anonymous tradie who wanted to give her an advantage.
Contestants Josh and Luke revealed the truth in Sunday’s finale, however: Tanya took the photo herself way back during the first week of filming, and had been lying about it all season. Tanya broke down in tears as she faced the rest of the cast after this bombshell had been dropped, and admitted she took the photo.
“I don‘t think anybody is as embarrassed or as disappointed as me,” she said. “I am not a stupid woman but I did a stupid thing.”
Mitch and Mark had labelled Tanya and Vito “liars” in spats throughout the season, but evidently in better spirits after their $750,000 win, they were in a more understanding mood and encouraged fans not to throw Tanya under the bus.
Taking to Instagram on Monday, the couple wrote, “Tanya, the purple headed girl & the face of the big lie of The Block. She made a mistake. Have you ever made a mistake & tried to cover it up, it gained momentum and before you knew, there was no way out, you’d dug such a big hole you couldn’t see any way out – image doing this on the biggest show on Australian television…
“This is what happened to Tanya, we know her, she’s good, but she stuffed up, we have too made mistakes, you all saw me (Mitch) with my inside head thoughts that I blurted out. If you’ve ever made errors in judgment in your life that has embarrassed you, please consider what Tanya has gone thru (sic) and is dealing with before you judge her, she deserves a chance – we know this is difficult and we’ve had time to talk with Tanya and support her to move forward, please join us and give Tanya a chance, we all deserve it.”
Block presenter Shelley Craft echoed the couple’s sentiments in a comment underneath the post, writing, “No truer words spoken boys. If the ones affected most are happy to (move) forward …. then that should be good enough for everyone!”