It’s garage and front garden week, but most of the action is happening at the on-site cafe, where the baristas expertly dispense gossip along with flat whites and lattes.
The episode starts with them telling Mimi that Kylie has left the show and returned home to Cairns. Mimi professes herself shocked, but it’s not a performance that will help her parlay her reality show turn into an acting career.
“Has she gone, gone?” she asks, and when a producer asks her why she thinks Kylie might have left unconvincingly offers “maybe landscaping?”
When Courtney turns up and informs the baristas that she told Mimi the night before that Kylie had left they are taken aback.
“Oh so Mimi knew?” one says. “Interesting. Well I heard she’s involved.”
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It’s not the first time Mimi is caught lying this episode. We also see her kicking back at Courtney and Grant’s house when a stressed out Kristian calls to see where she is as he attempts the mammoth job of clearing out their garage and driveway.
“I’m planning,” she says.
“Oh good, keep doing that, talk later,” Kristian says while a shocked Courtney watches the lies roll off her tongue.
Kristian is once again left to shoulder the bulk of the work himself. He can’t even hire anyone to help him insulate and replaster the garage because he and Mimi’s budget has been blown. Because of Mimi’s lies.
“It’s all my fault. You trusted me when I said our budget looked fine even though I never checked,” she says giggling. Cue vision of Mimi consistently claiming they were under budget and in great shape.
Then it’s on to Mimi’s version of what happened the previous Saturday night.
When Scott Cam comes to visit the couple she says “the three of us were hanging out together having a few drinks. He said a few things that were a bit flirty but I didn’t feel that it was.”
She gives a little more detail when a producer probes her later.
“I was at Kylie and Brad’s hanging out and drinking. We were just chatting and Kylie went to sleep on the deck next to us and I stayed chatting and maybe there were some comments that came across as flirty. I felt quite comfortable in the situation. Then Kylie was up and went to bed and that’s when it started and that’s when I left. It’s unfortunate Kylie overheard which led to her leaving which was not anyone’s intention,” she says.
Kristian is nonplussed.
“I don’t think Mimi should have any regrets about going out and having a good time. It’s come to that time when we’re going to have to say goodbye and she wants to make the most of the beautiful people and friends that we’ve met. In terms of the comment, if Mimi didn’t feel uncomfortable about what was said then I’ve got no reason to. I’m not that kind of partner that’s going to be over-protective. You’ve literally done nothing wrong, you’re just sitting there having a conversation. It’s not like you’re flirting back.”
But it would seem Kylie doesn’t see it that way.
Scott Cam next goes to visit Brad, to inform him that he’s persuaded Kylie to return to the site.
Brad wisely packs a bag and moves next door to Ricky and Haydn’s place before she arrives to give his wife some space, but the episode ends with audio of her telling Brad “Do you understand what I heard? I feel like something happened. You’ve just completely annihilated our entire relationship.”
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It’s all pretty heavy for a renovating show, but luckily Ricky and Haydn are on hand for some light relief.
Ricky spends all night trowelling a concrete slab at the communal clubroom in the hope of winning the prize of $50,000 off his and Haydn’s reserve price when the final burnished job is finished.
The next morning Dan and the experienced concreters on site are impressed with the quality of the job, but 10 minutes later someone has piled about 500kg of plastering supplies on top and Ricky is worried his big night on the tools might have been for nothing.
But that stuff up pales into insignificance compared to the mess he and Haydn make of their side garden. Instead of ordering separate deliveries of large and small river rocks, they order it delivered in one go, to the wrong spot.
When they finish the backbreaking job of barrowing it into place and spread it out, the uneven finish is a recipe for sprained ankles in anyone game enough to walk on it.
The rocks are unbreakable so they can’t be crushed, which means the pair, along with their long-suffering builder Duncan, have to separate the rocks out by hand ahead of covering the whole catastrophe with topping.
Most other contestants would either be crying or storming off, but Ricky and Haydn not only manage to laugh about it, but invite other landscapers and foreman Dan over to witness their incompetence in person.
Then it’s back to the producers interrogating Brad, with questions seemingly custom-made to extract tears.
“Why do you love Kylie,” he’s asked.
“I love Kylie because despite what people may think, she is the nicest, most giving person there is,” he says. “She’s so driven. When we came on The Block, it’s Kylie’s dream to do it. She tried every year and we just wanted to have an opportunity to set ourselves up for the family. The family I hope I still have.”
He then leaves the sofa crying in what is becoming uncomfortable viewing.
MISSED AN EPISODE?
EP 45: Block in crisis as Kylie flees, Brad’s ‘flirting’ confession causes uproar
EP 44: Judges slam ‘unAustralian’ backyard
EP 42/43: Teams’ surprise move after nasty Block spat
EP 41: ‘Don’t deal with f***ing liars’: Kylie storms out of Block dinner
EP 40: Block sisters make ‘nasty’ toilet error
EP 38/39: Block foreman’s spray reduces sisters to tears
EP 37: Fury over Kylie’s Block walk off threat
EP 36: ‘Useless s**t’: Judges get brutal on Block ‘peep show’ rooms
EP 34/35: Uproar as team member naps, leaving partner in the lurch
EP 33: ‘Be a man! It’s embarrassing’: Block contestant’s gross sledge
EP 32: ‘Vanilla’ and ‘squashed’: judges issue harsh criticisms
EP 30/31: ‘Devastated’: Why tradies refuse to work on The Block
EP 29: ‘Mean girl antics’: Block sisters bullied after win
EP 28: ‘Competition is rigged’: Furious Block contestant lashes out
EP 26/27: ‘They lied’: Teams turn on sisters, Block’s reputation questioned
EP 25: Why two teams are fighting over hotshot agent
EP 24: Grant, the master snitch
EP 22/23: ‘F..king brothel’: second Block builder quits
EP 21: Grant lets rip on “dog ugly” room
EP 20: ‘Can’t polish a turd’: Block judge lets rip
EP 18/19: ‘Paramount to cheating’: Scott Cam accuses Block team
EP 17: ‘Don’t give a f***’: Block team quits after producer steps in
EP 16: Abusive 1am phone call shocks entire Block
EP 14/15: “Snake … I’m not having you on site’: Block builder fired
EP 13: ‘F***ing walk off’: Block couple’s fight turns toxic
EP 12: ‘Arrogant’: Blockhead goes on a bender, cop huge judge spray
EP 10/11: ‘Rip it up’: Block’s biggest bathroom disaster ever
EP 9: ‘You never listen to me’: Block couple fall apart
EP 8: ‘This has become a joke’: Dan slams popular Block pair
EP 6/7: ‘F***ing wasting time’: Block couple set to quit
EP 5: ‘This has never happened’: Block team caught in fraud scandal
EP 4: ‘Childish, boring’: Block judges come in blazing
EP 3: Block builder already breaking rules incurs foreman’s wrath
EP 2: ‘Who the f**k wants to sleep near their kids?’ — Block couple baffled
EP 1: ‘Not good at anything’: Bathroom fireworks kick off on The Block