The Block thrown into chaos as builder sensationally quits: 'Over it'

Maddy and Charlotte, the newest team on The Block, haven't had the smoothest start after taking over for Jesse and Paige, and things went from bad to worse on Tuesday night when their builder Zak sensationally quit. Tensions have been high since their first week when the girls admitted to host Scott Cam that they found Zak intimidating to speak to, with Zak complaining this week that he felt ignored by the girls, who would speak to his junior Nathan instead, because they felt like he was more respectful.

Zak pulls Charlotte aside, telling her he's trying to have "direct conversations" with her, and he feels disrespected when she speaks to Nathan instead. Charlotte tells the cameras, "I find Nathan a bit more approachable and he will also give me an answer, where sometimes Zak doesn't give me an answer. So, I probably do go to Nathan more."

"It's quite rude and I really don't appreciate it," Zak tells her, adding he's "pretty over it".

Later, Maddy joins the fight, telling Zak that the way he speaks to them is "aggressive" and "intimidating", but he simply responds, "That's how it's gotta be."

The girls ask to be met halfway, and Zak tells them, "My behaviour has not been off at all."

"I'm sorry that you can't handle the way that I talk," Zak says, with Charlotte pointing out that it's not an apology.

Things go downhill when Charlotte says she wants to speak to him, but doesn't feel like she gets an answer and he responds, "Alright, I think this has made the decision."

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"We're going to no longer work here with you guys, this team dynamic isn't going to work, I'm sorry, guys," he said as he walked off.

The girls may have the final laugh, however, as they asked The Block royalty Kyal Demmrich to help them out, even if just for a few weeks and it looks like he's tempted, leaving the other teams very nervous.

'Not a team player'

The Block fans were quick to slam Zak's behaviour, with one Facebook user writing, "He’s not a team player! He had full control with the first two because they didn’t care! The girls want to work as a team would and he doesn’t/cant! He’s in it for his ego and they didn’t play to that!!"

"It all boils down to communication," another said. "If you are in business you have to have good communication and problem solving skills. Some people start their own business because they can’t work with others because of this. The builder didn’t have good communication skills. The girls did but that infuriated him more as he thought the girls were talking down to him. I hope he learns from this."

"Good on the girls for standing up for themselves," a third said. "He never gave them a chance had his nose out of joint ever since Scotty pulled him up."

"Solid effort from the girls there," someone else added. "Standing up to Zac, that was good to see. Yes it’s heartbreaking seeing the girls try and fight to keep what little there was of the relationship between them and the build team to try and build something off it but I hope they find some empowerment to find the confidence to take on the rest of The Block with the new team."

They added, "What he showed over the past week is simply not good enough."

Jesse defends Zak following backlash: 'Absolutely disgusting'

Jesse took to Instagram to defend Zak against the backlash, saying the builder and his team are "incredible people who are so dedicated to their craft".

"The amount of hate and disrespect towards Zak tonight is absolutely disgusting and not called for," he wrote. "For a bloke that takes so much pride in his quality of work and also his effort in building relationships with his clients like myself, Paige, Maddy and Charlotte, it is just so disrespectful to write hateful comments on someone who makes a living doing this when all the details are not shown."

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Jesse continued, "IT'S A TV SHOW – what you see doesn't make these people bad people or bad at their job. Unfortunately, you can't gel with everyone and we asked Zak to be our builder because we felt a connection. Maddy and Charlotte didn't get that option unfortunately, but both sides really wanted to make it work, you just don't see that."

"At the end of the day, Zak and the boys are incredible people who are so dedicated to their craft; but also, Maddy and Charlotte are two amazing girls who have already shown how determined they can be in the face of adversity. So, for all cases involved, it's clearly best for both to part ways and for the girls to enjoy their experience with their own builders of choice like we did with Zak, Nathan and Jack."

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