What you don't see on TV: The Block star on horrific consequence of being a reality 'villain'

The Block’s Paige and Jesse have finally spoken out about the intense level of backlash they’ve received following their appearance on the reality show. The engaged couple have been named this season’s ‘villains’ on social media after being shown arguing several times throughout the competition, with many viewers accusing them of having a “toxic relationship” and posting unnecessarily nasty comments online.

Speaking exclusively to Yahoo Lifestyle about the strong negative reaction they’ve received from fans of the series, Paige admits it’s gotten so bad that she’s had to turn off comments and stay away from certain social media platforms to protect her “sanity”.

“I've had a lot of death threats, I've had a lot of violent threats, I've had a lot of people just say nasty things that I could never even conceptualise. So I turned the comments off for my own wellbeing,” she details. “I started receiving hate pretty much episode one, and then I think everyone got really comfortable with the idea of harassing me online so that just really ramped up.”

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The 27-year-old adds that it’s “really sad” to see so many of their co-stars receiving hateful messages online because they’re “just normal people”.

“It's just a TV show as well. I don't think it's appropriate whatsoever,” she continues. “Jesse actually has my Instagram account on his phone so he can monitor all the requests so I won’t see them. And I deleted Facebook like six or seven weeks ago so I don't see all that vitriol there.”

How Paige and Jesse have been staying strong

While the couple acknowledge that Channel Nine has been paying for their counselling and made various mental health services available to them, Paige shares that it was the support of Jesse and her family that’s gotten her through this rough period.

“My parents are so amazing,” she says. “My brother, when we were younger, he dealt with online bullying and death threats on quite a big scale as well. So my parents have been a really great support and they've been living with us which is really nice.

“I think just being around grounded people, it's a lot harder to fall into those traps. I don't even know these people [sending hate online], so I can't really take on their projections and what they're saying.”

The WA-based team add that their Block co-stars have also been extremely supportive and are constantly reminding them of the fun, positive experiences they had during filming that weren't shown on TV.

“You start to question yourself when you’re watching yourself on TV, like, ‘Who am I as a person?’,” Jesse remarks. “I think we've been really good with ourselves after each episode, pulling ourselves in, remembering the good moments from those days that we watched and be like, ‘Well, remember that was only five minutes of the day, the rest of the day we did this and we did that’.”

“And then you jump on a FaceTime with Brad and Kylie and you all have a laugh,” Paige says. “That's really nice to stay in touch. And Courtney, she's like, ‘Oh my god, I wish they showed our funny moments, we had so many’. And you're like, ‘We did, right?’.”

The surprising response to Paige's explosive TikTok

Not all of Paige and Jesse’s recent social media interactions have been negative, however. The pair share that they received an influx of supportive comments following Paige’s three-part tell-all TikTok series last week where she spoke candidly about her on-screen portrayal, the “pathetic email” she received from the show’s producers, and why she really quit the show, becoming the first couple to leave the show on bad terms.

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“The response that I got was pretty huge,” Paige reveals. “I received so many wonderful messages from women, men, current contestants, past contestants.”

“For 50 good messages, there were two bad, which was really positive to see,” Jesse adds. “It's like, okay, there actually are people who can understand and care and realise that it's more than just a show and behind-the-scenes stuff.”

Mental health support for yourself or a loved one can be found by calling Lifeline on 13 11 14, Mensline on 1300 789 978, or the Kids Helpline on 1800 551 800. Online support is available via Beyond Blue.

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