Block winners issue statement about Tanya

Mitch and Mark clashed angrily throughout the season with Tanya and her husband Vito, largely due to the cheating scandal that erupted early on. Tanya was found to be in possession of a top-secret photo of the show’s production schedule, a picture she claimed all season long had been sent to her by a mysterious tradie who wanted to give her a competitive advantage.

But contestants Josh and Luke finally revealed the truth in Sunday’s finale: Tanya took the photo herself way back in the first week of filming, and had been lying about it all season. Tanya broke down in tears as she faced the rest of the cast for the first time after the truth was revealed, finally admitting that she took the photo.

“I don‘t think anybody is as embarrassed or as disappointed as me,” she said. “I am not a stupid woman but I did a stupid thing.”

Mitch and Mark had labelled Tanya and Vito “liars” in ugly confrontations throughout the season – but, almost $750,000 richer after their win, the All-Stars were in a more conciliatory mood.

“Tanya, the purple headed girl & the face of the big lie of The Block,” the couple wrote on Instagram on Monday.

“She made a mistake. Have you ever made a mistake & tried to cover it up, it gained momentum and before you knew, there was no way out, you’d dug such a big hole you couldn’t see any way out – image doing this on the biggest show on Australian television … This is what happened to Tanya, we know her, she’s good, but she stuffed up, we have too made mistakes, you all saw me (Mitch) with my inside head thoughts that I blurted out.

“If you’ve ever made errors in judgment in your life that has embarrassed you, please consider what Tanya has gone thru (sic) and is dealing with before you judge her, she deserves a chance – we know this is difficult and we’ve had time to talk with Tanya and support her to move forward, please join us and give Tanya a chance, we all deserve it.”

Longtime Block presenter Shelley Craft echoed Mitch and Mark’s sentiments in a comment underneath the post, writing: “No truer words spoken boys. If the ones affected most are happy to (move) forward …. then that should be good enough for everyone!”

The backlash for make-up artist Tanya and her husband Vito has been intense all season, with Tanya revealing back in September she’d received “death threats” from members of the public.

“[Messages like] ‘If I find you on the street, you better watch your back.’ People have called Vito’s business and called my agent because I‘m a makeup artist and left them abusive, abusive comments and emails.”

“You know what, people are angry at the moment. They’re really upset, it’s an audience that are not happy in their lives and are in lockdown … And they take it out on me,” she said.

The wave of viewer backlash reached a new peak on Sunday, when during the course of the finale, Tanya first finally admitted she was to blame for the cheating scandal that had disrupted the entire season – then took home $400,000 at auction, placing third ahead of favourites Kirsty and Jesse and Ronnie and Georgia.

Last-placed couple Ronnie and Georgia – who earned the smallest profit of $296,000 after picking themselves to go first at auction – appeared to make a dig at Tanya in an Instagram post after their shock defeat.

“Our The Block journey might not have ended the way we planned but it’s still such a fabulous financial outcome for our family,” they wrote.

“We hold our heads high knowing we left nothing in the tank, did the best we could whilst playing an honest and fair game.”