The Block 2024: Here's which couple quits halfway through

The Block’s milestone twentieth season is well underway with five teams of everyday Australians renovating run-down properties into luxurious holiday homes. While each season of the Channel Nine reality series has been described as “The Biggest Block Ever”, this year will feature one of the most dramatic storylines in the history of the show.

It's been teased since the beginning of the season that one of this year’s couples will leave the competition partway through filming - similar to Elle Ferguson and Joel Patfull in 2022, although they left after just 48 hours. Viewers were told they’d have to wait and see which of the five teams calls it quits, however, the contestants' identities have already been leaked.

Yahoo Lifestyle revealed in April that the Blue Team’s Jesse and Paige decided to pull the pin five weeks into filming as they buckled under the stress of the high-pressure environment. A production insider told us that “everyone was left gobsmacked when the Western Australian team fled Phillip Island”, and Channel Nine scrambled to find a replacement team.

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“Producers felt blindsided by their decision to quit. It certainly wasn't on their bingo card when they cast the season,” the insider added. “This was supposed to be the wholesome, back-to-basics season of The Block which viewers had been crying out for.”

Producer speaks out about dramatic storyline

The Block’s executive producer Julian Cress recently shared details about the upcoming storyline and revealed how production dealt with the team’s shock departure.

“We didn’t make it through the whole series with all five teams. We had to replace one of them along the way, which was a very dramatic moment,” he told TV Tonight last week. “It was a very difficult decision for them to come to, but there was a very strong reason why they decided to do it and very dramatic and will be unfolding in the coming weeks.”

Julian, who co-created the series in 2003 alongside David Barbour, went on to say that the show’s producers didn’t try and force the team to stay in the competition because “it’s impossible to tell somebody to do The Block”.

“If you even take your eye off the ball on The Block for a day, you get your arse handed to you. Nobody can do it unless they’re 100% committed to the task at hand,” he continued. “I’m not saying these people left because they were lazy. They wanted to do it, but it just became enormously challenging at some point and their reasons for leaving are pretty remarkable. I think it will start a very interesting conversation amongst the audience.”

Are Paige and Jesse still together?

Audiences have been ablaze on social media with comments about the House 1 couple’s behaviour on the show, with many predicting that they may have split.

“Jesse and Paige will absolutely break up at some point... not the first couple to come undone by #TheBlock!” one person posted on X, while another said, “I smell a divorce on the horizon”.

Despite their occasional clashes, Yahoo Lifestyle can confirm that Jesse and Paige are still together and going ahead with their wedding later this year. The couple travelled to Europe with friends last month visiting the United Kingdom and Cyprus, and Paige shared a sweet Instagram post celebrating Jesse’s 30th birthday in June.

“Loved doing your 20s with you 🫶🏽 Happy 30th to the best man I know,” she wrote alongside a gallery of loved-up snaps.

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“Paige and Jessie really struggled with the high pressure of The Block and away from that pressure the two are a very happy couple and get along famously,” an insider tells us.

“The network will always put the mental health of contestants as their highest priority and network executives are forever making changes to the way in which their process protects their contestants. Some people forget reality TV is only in its second decade. There is constant learning and the show should be commended for introducing the conversation of what it would look like for the couple if they walked away.”

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