The Block's little-known prize money rule exposed: 'Unfair'

The Block saw a historic twist during its 20th season when House 1 team Jessie and Paige made the tough decision to walk away from the competition. The controversial couple chose to put their mental health first and fly back to WA, becoming the first team in the show’s history to exit midway through filming.

Sisters Maddy and Charlotte stepped up to complete their unfinished house - coming in halfway through the competition and facing some pretty shocking behaviour from the other Blockheads in the process. Maddy has since exclusively told Yahoo Lifestyle that she found it quite difficult watching the series back because it was “triggering” seeing how the other contestants treated them.

"We strive to be kind to people in every circumstance, and then to have someone who's just blatantly choosing to be unsupportive and unkind, it’s just not a nice feeling at all," she said. "We didn't do anything to them to deserve that behaviour."

Maddy and Charlotte's surprising gesture

Given what a rough time they've had, you couldn't blame the sisters for going for the win and then riding off into the sunset with their riches, never to think about anyone from the renovation series again. However, an insider has told Yahoo Lifestyle that Maddy and Charlotte were actually open to sharing their profits with Jessie and Paige before having the idea squashed.

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"The sisters were open to splitting the money with the Western Australian couple but producers have advised them that it is in their contract that they can't split money with other contestants," the insider told Yahoo Lifestyle. "The reason being that it promotes collusion and that could affect future seasons.

"In most competition reality the contracts will state that you can not make an agreement to split prize money and the reason is more obvious than what people would think. You can't pal up with other contestants as it creates an advantage and that is unfair to the other competitors."

The insider went on to say: "This is a first for the show. That a couple would leave midseason but they were very much made aware of forfeiting the profits of House One in Phillip Island."

Insider says the sisters have "made the house their own"

Despite the negativity they have faced from the other Blockheads, Maddy and Charlotte have been nothing but gracious - even agreeing to lend some of their plasterers to Kristian and Mimi after the couple's own contractors failed to show up. The sisters admitted in their piece-to-camera interview that the situation was “a little bit funny” considering Kristian had previously ‘stolen’ their tradies when they first arrived in the competition. However, they decided to be the bigger people and help out.

Their graciousness has also extended to how much they have acknowledged Jessie and Paige and how much work they completed on the house before the sisters took over. However, our insider points out that "the girls have really made House One their own" and says "When you see their full story it is obvious they deserved to take all the money the house makes."

"Jessie and Paige have had a lot of support from Channel Nine since they decided to leave," the insider claims. "It has been a rollercoaster for the couple, but in many ways, they have chosen to go against the advice the network has offered.

"It probably hasn't been that surprising to learn that they want a piece of the profits if the girls do well but it is surprising they have been telling the media they would do the show again."

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Jessie and Paige - who recently called off their upcoming wedding - previously talked about taking part in The Block again with Jesse admitting he would definitely be open to giving the experience another try.

“I think now that I understand behind the scenes a lot more, I would do it again,” he shares.

Paige, on the other hand, said she was unsure whether she’d ever want to put herself back in that situation.

“Jury’s still out for me,” she said. “We’d have some conversations”.

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