The Block 2024‘s Paige Beechey has shared DMs from past contestants who back her claims of producer mistreatment and lack of duty of care on the show.
ICYMI: Paige and her fiancé, Jesse Maguire, opted to quit the renovation series due to their mental health being at risk.
This played out during the September 9 episode of the landmark 20th season and portrayed that they had the full support of The Block and Nine in getting the help they needed.
However, Paige has vehemently denied this is the case, both to So Dramatic! and in a series of lengthy TikToks in which she criticised Nine for using her mental health as a “gross cash grab”.
Now, she has shared several messages she’s received from past Blockheads who told her they experienced similar situations during their time on The Block.
“Just a bit of insight into the many different conversations I’ve had with past contestants,” Paige wrote on her Instagram Story.
“With some contestants dating back over a decade ago.”
What did past The Block contestants say about their experiences?
In screenshots posted on Paige‘s Story, one female contestant detailed how she was “stripped” of her personality during the show.
“Honestly, I walked in a happy-go-lucky woman and walked away completely stripped bear of any joy or sanity,” they said.
Other former stars recounted similar experiences.
“It’s so messed up. I won’t even go into the details of what happened during mine,” another told Paige. “Change is definitely needed, or at least transparency of the risks and nature of the production to people applying in future.”
A third wrote, “They just throw you to the wolves. We had no idea how bad our portrayal was going to be, and the comments tore me to shreds.
“I begged for help, and they had no one.”
The Block‘s Paige Beechey calls out Scott Cam for claiming contestants aren’t ‘resilient’
In another Instagram Story, Paige shared a screenshot of a news.com.au article in which host Scott Cam claimed the current contestants aren’t as tough as stars used to be.
“The contestants are less resilient than they were 20 years ago, 15 years ago,” he told the outlet. “There’s more expectation of it getting easier, but it’s not.
“It gets harder… and people aren’t ready for how hard it is.”
“Good on ya,” Paige simply penned over the quotes.
The claims specialist also posted what appeared to be a comment from a netizen, which called out producers’ lack of care for her mental well-being.
“But the producers didn’t take any action or refer her for help until after they’d recorded it and played it out on national TV?” they mused.
“‘Duty of care’, only after they had milked it for ratings??”
This follows Scott assuring the public that Jesse and Paige received “professional help” upon exiting the show.
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