The latest reality TV cheating scandal comes to you from *checks notes* The Block
If there’s one thing I love, it’s messy reality TV cheating scandals (sue me), and if there’s another thing I love, it’s when they come completely out of left field.
Yes, we’re used to the drama and chaos from shows like Married At First Sight (the patron saint of cooked Australian reality TV), but this time, it’s family-friendly series The Block that’s apparently demolishing relationships along with homes. For context, I have not once watched an episode of The Block but I’m fairly sure I nailed that analogy.
The key players involved are contestants Brad Baker and Mimi Belperio, who much to the dismay of Brad’s wife Kylie, have gotten a little too close for comfort whilst filming the show’s 12th season.
Rumours of an affair surfaced last month when Women’s Day published claims that Brad and Kylie had quit the show, with a source revealing to the site: “Something happens later in the season that shatters their relationship. Kylie was left embarrassed and she’ll be shocked by an incident that occurred after a few of the houses caught up socially.”
JUICY and OMINOUS.
Naturally, Australia’s gossip girl Megan Pustetto aka So Dramatic! jumped on board and got more of the scoop, revealing through sources that Kylie “stomped around saying, ‘I don’t want to be here’ the whole time, and then she caught him cheating with Mimi, so she walked out and refused to keep filming.”
Having said that, she also shared another source’s take, claiming that during cast drinks, “Kylie walked in on Brad in a compromising position with Mimi. They weren’t doing anything physical. They were flirting and being a little too friendly. But the fact everyone was drunk didn’t help the situation.”
So, whether or not anything happened physically, it’s safe to say that Kylie’s boundaries were well and truly crossed.
Things were then heightened when contestants Maddy and Charlotte went live on-air with HIT WA’s Allan & Carly and confirmed that “all will get revealed in the next couple of weeks” when asked about the alleged affair.
“We don’t want to speak on it specifically because it’s people’s real lives at stake, and we weren’t obviously there, so we don’t know full details,” Maddy told the radio show, “But I think, yeah, look, things hap—something happened. But we’re probably not the right people to speak on it.”
It’s not sounding good hey? Brad and Kylie are rumoured to have split up after filming the show, with a source telling Yahoo, “They don’t feel comfortable talking about anything that goes down yet because they are dealing with the aftermath.”
Move over MAFS, The Block might just be the new front-runner in the relationship-ruining reality TV department.
Written by Lil Friedmann, who is adding a new show to the roster. You can follow her at @lilfriedmann on socials.
The Block is currently airing on Channel 9 and available to stream via the 9Now app.
Image credit: The Block + Punkee