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Still living the dream

With The Block as a launchpad, Oslo dynamos Jesse and Mel are still powering ahead with their renovation dreams and in 2021 we see Jesse back on The Block representing House 3, Tanya and Vito. 


Exciting update November 2021:

Jesse and Mel pregnancy announcement
Jesse and Mel are looking forward to their next project - a baby due in May 2022. 
They share their news with The Block Shop HERE!!


So, two years later... can you believe you were on The Block?
No, we can’t, it feels more like a dream than reality and it feels even more unbelievable now watching the new series on TV!

What's life been like since?
All things considered, things have been going quite well even with all the chaos going on around us in Victoria! We are back to our day jobs which we both really enjoy, and even in stage 4 lockdown, we managed to buy a new home!

Jesse and Mel back on The Block in 2020
Amongst the Stage 4 lockdowns, Jesse and Mel even managed to buy a new home and catch up with Block friends earlier in the year. (Images: Instagram @jessendmelblock)

Did you follow up on the dreams you were competing for?
We have in the sense we were hoping to win enough money to give us a good head start so we could buy a house and do our own renovation which we have done! Jesse also managed to get back on The Block in 2020 selling Sarah and George’s House 2 and again this year in 2021 representing Tanya and Vito in House 3.

Jesse back on The Block 2021 with Tanya and Vito
We see Jesse Raeburn back on The Block this year representing house 3 along with Christine Henderson as their real estate agent.

What does a typical day look like for you now?
It has been like Groundhog Day! No make-up, no suits and a ton of zoom calls from our makeshift home offices. Also, plenty of facetime and zoom catch-ups with our friends and family.

Has life returned to normal?
When the show finished it was unreal! It was like being a celebrity and we got our 15 minutes of fame, we were invited to all sorts of events, after-parties, the races, it was a pretty amazing experience that only happens once and we made the most of it. Now life is normal or close to considering and were just back to being Jesse and Mel so no more being stopped on the street and people asking for photos!

Jesse and Mel auction couch
Throwback to Scotty's auction couch with Jesse and Mel selling their Oslo home giving them $388,000 profit.

Are you still living in the same area?
We are! It’s really close to the new place we bought so that’s going to be handy when we renovate! Although I’m not sure if we will be pulling any all-nighters on this one!


Do you still keep in touch with the other Blockheads?
We do, we still speak to most of them almost every day we have such a close relationship. We even had a holiday all planned together which got put on hold but we are all hoping to catch up again soon.


Who are your Block besties? 
We couldn’t pick just one! If we had to choose a group of people to be stuck on a deserted island it would be Elise and Matt, Tess and Luke and Andy and Deb we love them!

Block besties
"If we had to choose a group of people to be stuck on a deserted island it would be Elise and Matt, Tess and Luke and Andy and Deb," Jesse and Mel told Insider Style.


What was the best part of your experience on The Block?
The entire experience is out of this world! Even though it was insanely hard it is the most rewarding experience every week looking at the rooms we delivered and what we created it gave us such a huge sense of accomplishment and self-pride.

What was the worst part of your experience on The Block?
The renovation and doing the work was the easy part the filming was worst!

Favourite past Block Couple?
Courtney and Hans, they’re such beautiful people.

How has COVID-19 affected you?
We would be lying if we said it hasn’t. As human beings we need to be with our family and friends, we need to feel like we are always moving forward and achieving things, we need to be able to live our lives how we see fit and not be punished or made to feel guilty for wanting that.

What would you buy yourself from The Block Shop?
A Mirror TV, we absolutely love them for the bedroom!

Now there's no judging, what's a perfect Sunday afternoon?
Catching up with our friends and family for a BBQ, sitting outside or around a campfire and just being with them.

What was it like to come back as an All Star team?
It was AWESOME! It was amazing to be able to help the contestants on what is typically the hardest week on The Block especially Mel who should take up painting as a career being able to win the challenge for Sarah and George and give them a much-needed cash boost! Yeah, it really felt good just to be able to help them they’re so lovable. Also being in lockdown for six months it was AMAZING to be able to see our friends from last year we have missed them so much and we haven’t been able to spend any time with our friends down here for so long it was the highlight of 2020 by far!

Jesse and Mel with Sarah and George
Sarah and George "work so well together and especially with their trades the relationship they have with their trades are truly special." 


And what about life after The Block, any wisdom to share with the new crew?
Make the most of it! Go to every event, TV opportunity, Radio opportunity enjoy your 15 minutes of fame then get back to work and keep hustling!

Jesse and Mel
They did it!. And would "do it again in a heartbeat!"


So, with all you know now, would you do it again?
We would do it again in a heartbeat! Even though it is chaotic and ridiculously hard there is something quite calming about not having to worry about anything else in the world for 14 weeks other than renovating!


And if you did, what would you do differently?
We would pay for more help, not let Jesse stay up until 4 am every morning and only sleep for 10 hours a week and let Mel take over a lot of the design because towards the end she really came into her own and I’d love to see that person for the entire show - it would be awesome!


Anything that you are loving at the moment that you would like to share with us?
Loving being able to catch up with two friends from the same household outdoors within 5km’s (make that 25km's!) from home… 


Catch up on everything Jesse and Mel and take a look back at their Block home HERE 

Where are they now? Catch up with past Block contestants HERE

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