The Block 2024‘s Jesse Maguire and Paige Beechey have addressed the “death threats” and backlash they’ve copped since their sensational exit.
During the September 9 episode, the controversial couple announced they were leaving the series due to mental health struggles.
Since then, they’ve been vocal on social media, blasting the show’s “messed up” duty of care and stating their mental health was used as a “gross cash grab”.
*Trigger Warning: This article discusses mental health and may be triggering to some readers
Despite their struggles, netizens have been blasting the “villains” online, with many calling out Paige’s toxic behaviour towards her partner.
Speaking to Yahoo Lifestyle, Paige confessed she had to turn her comments off on social media “for [her] own wellbeing” after receiving several nasty messages from viewers.
“I’ve had a lot of death threats, violent threats, and a lot of people saying nasty things that I could never even conceptualise,” the 27-year-old said.
“I started receiving hate [since] episode one, then everyone got really comfortable with the idea of harassing me online so that just really ramped up.”
The reality star added that she was “really sad” to see her co-stars get slammed online because they’re “just normal people”.
“It’s just a TV show. I don’t think [the hate] is appropriate whatsoever,” she said.
“Jesse has my Instagram account on his phone so he can monitor all the requests so I won’t see them. And I deleted Facebook six or seven weeks ago so I don’t see all that vitriol there.”
The Block‘s Jesse & Paige say they’re ‘grateful’ for the support they’ve received since leaving the show
Alongside Channel Nine offering them counselling, Paige revealed that Jesse and her family have been her support system since quitting the show.
“My parents are so amazing,” she gushed. “When we were younger, my brother 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.”
She also said being around “grounded people” makes it harder to fall into the “trap” of spiralling.
“I don’t even know these [trolls], so I can’t really take on their projections and what they’re saying.”
Jesse also added that their co-stars have been very supportive.
“You start to question yourself when you’re watching yourself on TV,” he explained.
“I think we’ve been really good with ourselves after each episode, remembering the good moments from those days.
“And then we jump on a FaceTime with Brad and Kylie [Baker] and we all have a laugh,” Paige added.
“As well as Courtney [Freeman], she’s like, ‘Oh my god, I wish they showed our funny moments, we had so many’. And we’re like, ‘We did, right?’.”
Jesse & Paige thank fans for showing their support during their tough journey on The Block
Whilst the divisive duo have copped a lot of backlash, they noted that fans were really supportive after Paige shared a series of TikTok videos about her negative experience on The Block.
“The response that I got was pretty huge,” Paige said. “I received so many wonderful messages from women, men, current contestants, past contestants.”
Jesse added: “For every 50 good messages, there were two bad, which was really positive to see. There are people who understand and care and realise that it’s more than just a show and behind-the-scenes stuff.”
If you or anyone you know is struggling and needs support, call Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800 or Lifeline on 13 11 14. You can also speak with someone confidentially at Headspace by calling 1800 650 890 or chat online here. If you are in immediate danger, call 000.
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