The Block's Shelley Craft issues urgent plea to fans following backlash: 'Please'

It’s no secret that The Block is a pressure cooker environment. The renovation reality show, which is currently in its twentieth season, has the power to bring out the best and worst in its contestants and often puts their relationships to the test.

This is especially evident in this year’s season, with engaged couple Jesse and Paige shown arguing and yelling at each other in almost every episode as they try to waterproof their bathroom, select furniture, or drive to appointments. The pair’s constant bickering - which, let’s be honest, would happen to most of us if we went on a high-pressure reality show with our partner - has led to viewers naming them the 2024 ‘villains’ and posting unnecessarily nasty comments online.

The Block’s longtime co-host Shelley Craft has now urged fans to stop sending hate to any of the show’s contestants on social media, telling Yahoo Lifestyle that she wishes people would be nicer.

“The audience is only seeing little snippets of their personalities, not what they’re like every day when they get nine hours of sleep and they get to do their hair and makeup and feel fabulous. We really are by the end of the series seeing these contestants under the greatest amount of pressure that they've ever been in,” she says.

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“I think we have to be a lot gentler on them as an audience for what they're going through because they're providing you entertainment. They’re providing us with some wonderful rooms and design ideas, but ultimately, we're all watching because we're intrigued by who these couples are and who these people are.

“From that mental health side of it, just be kind. These people are giving you some viewing pleasure, be a little bit more kind on the other end of the line, please.”

Shelley points out important detail about The Block

Shelley, who joined The Block in 2010 for the show’s revamped third season, points out that the contestants never direct any anger or hate towards the audience so there’s no need for them to retaliate.

“It's not like the contestants sit there going, ‘I can't believe Jono on the couch has given me whatever’,” she remarks. “It's usually intra-couple, which is why we're fascinated by it. And if it does have anything to do with any of the other houses, appreciate that this is a bubble and these are the only people that they are dealing with every single day and they are in a pressure cooker situation.

“It's not their everyday personalities, and I don't think most of them would even know how they were going to react under great stress. So enjoy the show for what it is, pick up some reno tips, absolutely have the couples that you love and the couples that you love to hate, but don't hate on them because they've done nothing to you at home.”

The TV presenter adds that the contestants who competed on the first few seasons of the reality show “got away ‘lightly’ when it came to public opinion” because social media didn’t exist in its current form.

“We were also filming at the same time that we were going to air for a few of those series. so they were sort of seeing themselves on the telly at the same time as they were still working on The Block,” she details. “And in that regard, they were able to perhaps see themselves a little differently, or pull back on some of their mannerisms, or just have that mirror held up to them.”

How Shelley's encouraging conversations about mental health

Shelley was recently announced as the latest ambassador to join Beyond Blue’s Big Blue Table, where people are encouraged to host a meal and create a safe environment where friends, family and colleagues can talk about mental health. The campaign runs throughout October and raises vital funds for the Beyond Blue Support Service, which delivers free mental health support to more than 300,000 people each year.

“I haven't suffered from mental illness personally, but I know that it takes work to wake up with gratitude every day,” Shelley says. “For me, working with Beyond Blue isn’t about speaking from my experience of having suffered mental illness, but more from, let me help you try and find keys that you can use in your every day that might make you feel that little bit better.

“I do work on my gratitude, I do find joy in the day, I do make sure that I see the sunrise, I do stand with my feet on the ground and appreciate the earth, and I do try and get out into nature as much as I can. So all these little things can help everybody. Obviously, mental illness is a very serious matter, but there are little baby steps that everyone can take every day to just lift themselves up a little bit.”

Big Blue Table participants who register to be a host receive a free host kit containing all the information and decorations needed to create a culinary and fundraising success, including conversation starters that feature fun ‘getting to know you’ questions as well as mental well-being topics.

“I think the most important thing is these little questions as conversation starters that everyone can perhaps learn to open up and let that support and let those people in that are going to be the ones that can hold you when times do get rough,” Shelley shares.

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“I would encourage everyone to not feel like these services are just for when you're in your darkest times, but they are there even for when you're feeling just a little bit off or that something isn't sitting right and you don't know how to process it. There are counsellors, there are trained people on the end of the phone that can help you work these things out, and hopefully, then you never do get into that dark space where you feel like there's no way out.”

Learn more about Beyond Blue’s Big Blue Table here. If you're seeking mental health information or qualified support for you or someone else, Beyond Blue is here to help.

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