Doing their Block

Wait, what? We were on The Block? A year after it all happened Perth couple Matt and El'ise are still trying to believe the way their lives have changed.

So, a year later... can you believe you were on The Block?
We were on the block?! Whattttt???!!!! Ha ha ha honestly no way!! It feels like a massive dream, a blur, something we still pinch ourselves about. We dedicated two years to get onto the show, trying to get “block fit” and before you know it you’re on and then it’s all over! But God, it was good!

Matt and El'ise are currently undergoing their own DREAM RENO!

What's life been like since?
Life since the show has been amazing. We have been able to start to tick off our own personal bucket list items, the dream items, ones that we thought weren’t possible, ones that still wouldn’t be without our Block winnings! When the show was airing, we went straight back to work as we needed to make up for the time we were away, so we never got a break. That was strange because it felt like nothing had changed. It was only after the auction we realised how much actually had changed because we went to Hawaii for a month my sister Chloe’s wedding. Chloe had been living in Hawaii for 5.5yrs and we had never been able to afford to go (buying five plane tickets wasn’t financially available to us) but suddenly we could and we really made the most of our time and lived with all the locals. That was when we started to realise that we had done something special.

After returning home, we decided we wanted to do something to help after the big bushfire that had happened, so we went to Kangaroo Island for a week to build an animal hospital for the sick and injured koalas. We teamed up with Kerrie and Spence and Allesandra and took on the challenge to deliver the hospital in a week with some other amazing volunteers.  After that we went on again to help the small community of Mallacoota get back on their feet too, teaming up with Kerrie and Spence again plus Will from 2016 season of the Block to rebuild areas that had been burned… this town was trapped on the local beach during the bushfires and to not have deaths was nothing short of amazing, but there was so much destruction! We joined the amazing members of the local Lions clubs to rebuild the BBQ areas at the beach that was burnt, rebuild the Lions family park area and the chicken coop at the local school – again all in the one week. It was seriously the most rewarding experience and being able to do things like that is one of the biggest reasons why we signed up to do the Block.

Matt and El'ise used some of their Block winnings to take the family to Hawaii for El'ise sisters wedding in January 2020.

Did you follow up on the dreams you were competing for?
100% we did! We have been able to spend more time with our kids than ever before and that was the most important thing. Not only that, but while Matt has been working on the house (I’ll tell you more about that in a moment!), he’s also been getting his builder’s licence - Crazy I know!!! I think that even though the dream was to get on the Block the bigger dream was what life after the Block looked like, and that was making sure we set up our family’s future! 

What does a typical day look like for you now?
Exactly like the show except with kids added into the Mix! Matt and I literally work every day on site getting our home renovated- we haven’t put the tools down at all. We do however make a conscious effort on the weekends and school holidays to be with the kids and spend time with them. Matty has always coached our son Baxter’s football team and this year our daughter Charlize debuted in Netball which was exciting as I was able to coach her team. Other than this is just a normal everyday life of waking up and getting the kids ready for school, jamming in as much as we can before the school pick up and after school activities begin. All parents will relate that when you have kids life is a circus and the kids have a better social life than us, we’re a taxi service! But would we change it?! Hell no, we love it!

Has life returned to normal?
There is no such thing as normal after The Block, your eyes have been opened to a world like no other before!!! You have experienced so much, it actually changes you. We have become stronger, more resilient, more empathetic and more realistic about the world around us. And even though this wasn’t our “old” normal it really has become our new normal and were ok with it.

What has changed?
So much! We are very lucky as we have wonderful opportunities shown to us weekly whether it's collaborating with amazing brands, working with charities, filming our own build,  Matty has even got his own guest radio segments weekly on 6PR radio in Perth station! We know that if you work hard and are kind, that good things do come, but that doesn’t mean sit back and put your feet up, you do need to still go out and put yourself out there - if you want it you’ve gotta go get it!

El'ise and Matt teamed up with other amazing volunteers including Kerrie and Spence to build an animal hospital on Kangaroo Island after the bushfires early this year.

Have you done any more renovating?
We haven’t stopped since the minute we arrived home! We are currently undergoing our DREAM RENO! We put the plans into council in March and as soon as we got them back, we were straight into it.  It’s a full-scale home renovation and extension that is the same size as the Oslo, silly we know!!!

We have been lucky enough to be given a platform to share our renovation on the @eliseandmatt Insta page and not only that, we have been revealing all the rooms on the 9now social platform, its actually been amazing!!! We try not to but the pressure on ourselves too much but sometimes you can’t help it. The rooms that we have revealed so far has been our Daughter Charlize’s bedroom, the Master EnSuite, Master WIR , Master Bedroom and most recently the new pool area that once was a backyard full of dog poo and rats!!! Now it’s a stunning Oasis where the kids have spent their whole school holidays, its actually breathtaking.

In the coming month we will be continuing to reveal the rest of the house and that is the new Kitchen, Scullery, Laundry, Alfresco, Exterior Make over, Guest bedroom, Lounge Room, Living Room, Stair Case and the two boys’ room and a theatre room…. Yep, it’s a biggy!!!

So, you’re still living in the same area?
We sure are! We’re in the same house. This is the one we are currently renovating.

Do you still keep in touch with the other Blockheads?
Yes, daily! We message constantly and speak all the time The strangest thing is we don’t know how we actually “did life” without them before the show. We were strangers the day we met and now we are literally family and because of our experience we shared we are officially unbreakable force- we absolutely adore them and their families.

Who are your Block besties?
Well, that’s easy, because there are no favourites (and we don’t want a headline out of it) let’s just go in house order - Tess and Luke, Deb and Andy, Jesse and Mel, these guys are seriously the greatest gift of all from The Block. We have many trips planned to holiday with each other and we are itching to be together again - but bloody Covid keeps us apart!!!

Block besties 'These guys are seriously the greatest gift of all from The Block," El'ise tells The Block Shop.

What was the best part of your experience on The Block? 
Showing our kids that no matter how big your dreams are you can achieve them and the amazing bonds we have formed. Not only with our Block Besties but with the crew behind the scenes, our trades and the whole team at Channel Nine. 

What was the worst part of your experience on The Block? 
That’s easy, being away from the kids, there wasn’t a minute that you were away that they weren’t on your mind. Then there was the size of the build. Because it was SO big, we weren’t able to take in more special moments and have fun and appreciate what we were accomplishing. We just worked twenty hours a day seven days a week. Seriously we slept three to four hours a night and every Saturday was an all-nighter. Saturday and Sunday was just one day, we were flat out the whole time…. I wish we had a chance to breathe!!!!  There was none of these family dinners etc…. haha! And yes, I’m saying this because we’re jealous, we wished we had more times like that.

Favourite past Block Couple?
Well, clearly our fellow Block cast! But really we’ve been so, so lucky to have worked with some amazing past couples on projects and spend time with them. We got to spend some really special time with Kerrie and Spence and Will and Karlie and let me tell you, they seriously have the most amazing souls!

How has COVID-19 affected you?
The homeschooling was very hard but being in Western Australia, I feel like I can’t complain at all as we have been the lucky state through this all. Our hearts have bled for our friends and family in Victoria and other seriously affected areas.

What would you buy yourself from The Block Shop?
Ummmmm, EVERYTHING!!! And I’m not lying as I still do throughout our home.

Now there's no judging, what's a perfect Sunday afternoon?
Sitting in our new pool area watching the kids enjoy it - and I say this as it’s exactly what we’re doing as I type this!

What was it like to come back as an All Star team?
Amazing! We got to have fun as the stress wasn’t on us!! But in all seriousness, it's actually so humbling to go back and to help out the Newbies. You can’t help but feel sorry for them but at least they can see that the big picture is totally worth it.

How do you think your partners from the new Block Crew are going?
Jas and Luke are doing so well! They’re having a go at everything that is thrown at them and it shows in their home as its absolutely breathtaking!

El'ise and Matt "got to have fun as the stress wasn’t on us," when they team up with fellow Western Australians Luke and Jasmin.

Auction day is fast approaching for the new crop of contestants, any advice for them? 
Enjoy it, this is your time to shine. Trust your agents and let them do their thing as they’re amazing at what they do and that’s why they’re representing you. Also whatever you do remember to stop and look around and appreciate how far you’ve come and what you have achieved as this day will come and go as quickly as your wedding day, so take a minute to yourself and remind yourself how lucky you are. You are and will forevermore be a BLOCKHEAD!!!

And what about life after The Block, any wisdom to share with the new crew? 
Don’t be scared if you go back to your old jobs, don’t be scared if you’re not running 100 miles per hour anymore, enjoy five minutes off with the family and look at your options once you’ve caught your breath. You’ve just run five marathons in a row, so pause and take things at your own pace for a few seconds.

So, with all you know now, would you do it again?
100% we would do it again! We have learned what we would and wouldn’t do and most of all we have learned from our mistakes. We loved our experience and you really can’t explain the satisfaction you have when you look back on that final day and realise how far you’ve come. To put it into perspective, it’s like childbirth - you’re scared shitless and it hurts but it’s so worth it and for some strange reason you go back again and again!

And if you did, what would you do differently?
There is a lot we would do differently, but if it didn’t play out the way it did would we have walked away with the same friendships and money in the bank? It’s a hard one!

Anything that you are loving at the moment that you would like to share with us? 
Not just yet, but there is more to come so you will just need to wait and see……

Catch up on everything Matt & El'ise 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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