Meet Hans and Courtney

The sky's the limit for these two high-flyers from WA​

Experience Level:
This go-getting couple have sky-high ambition - but will their lack of practical renovating experience see them grounded before the competition takes flight? One thing’s for sure - Courtney and Han's are both here to give it a red-hot go.

Courtney and Hans ready to take on what The Gatwick throws them.

Hans, 37
Commercial airline pilot

He’s been flying professionally since he was in his late teens. But adventurous Hans admits he’ll never get bored of the view up front.
“I still take photos out the window. A sunrise, or a cloud formation, blues like you’ve never seen - it’s absolutely stunning,” he says.
A pilot for a major commercial airline, Hans did the hard yards starting out, flying across different parts of Africa. It was there he managed to pick up Malaria - twice.
But, true to form, he bounced back, never once taking a backwards step in his quest to fly large passenger aircraft for a major airline - something he’s been doing now for several years.
In 2011 he met Courtney, his equally-driven soulmate, a woman who keeps him grounded, and continues to support him in his aeronautical endeavours.
They’re in this together.
 

The Block was filmed in summer for a change this year, however we don't suppose Courtney and Hans had time to hit the beach.

Courtney, 33
Flight attendant

Flight supervisor Courtney knows a thing or two about sleepless nights - she’s well accustomed to putting in long hours as she criss-crosses the globe as a longhaul flight attendant.
“I fly to LA, Dallas and Dubai, on the A380 out of Sydney - they’re long flights,” says Courtney, who admits that when it comes to those Block all-nighters, she already has form.
“I go to work, and everyone says, ‘You look so glamorous.’ And I’m like, ‘You wait until it’s time for landing, and I’ve been awake for over 20 hours - it’s a totally different story!”
Originally from Perth, Courtney has travelled the world, first as a model, then with her job.
Her quest for adventure makes her the perfect partner in the air and on the ground for fiance Hans, who popped the question just a week before they started on the show.
 

Tile inspo? Courtney on an earlier trip to Marrakech.

Together

You can’t get much more cliched than a pilot marrying a hostie. But whatever you do - don’t bring it up with Courtney!
“When I found out Hans was a pilot, pretty much straight away, I was like, ‘Nup! Not interested.’ Courtney jokes. “I was never one of those flight attendants who was on the lookout for a pilot - that old cliche.”
But, sure enough, Hans won her over. And seven years on from their first date, they’re now engaged.
“It works really well, actually, because we understand each other’s jobs,” Courtney admits.
Their shared experience of disjointed time zones and long-haul flights will stand them in good stead for those late nights on The Block.
“Shift work is pretty heavy,” Hans admits.
“It’s a different kind of tired - especially long haul,” Courtney adds. “But Hans gets it. I think we’ll be fine.”
With their get-stuck-in attitude, and Hans’ exacting ‘pilot brain’, the couple are determined to set a high standard while competing.
“I’m very clinical, I think,” says Hans, who’s renovated a home in Queensland as well as the couple’s investment property in Perth.
Never one to shy away from a challenge, Hans did much of the work himself - even though he has no experience.
“It took me three or four times longer than a tiler would have, when I was doing the bathroom,” he admits. “But we weren’t against the clock, so I got to do it my way - which was very slow.
“I had no qualms about ripping tiles up if I wasn’t happy with how it was sitting or if it wasn’t perfect.”
Courtney, a reno rookie, is well aware his perfectionism might cause problems on The Block. But she’s not about to doubt her hubby-to-be, and the two of them are determined to keep a united front as times get tough on site.
“We’re perfectionists - but we like things to be done well,” she explains. “If we’re hiring people, we want them to do their jobs well - after all, we want to have a beautiful place to sell at the end of it all.”
And they’re in this together.
“I don’t want to say we don’t have a filter - but we don’t,” Courtney says. “We know each other so well. We have been together seven years - that’s enough time to know someone. We’ve travelled the world, and we’ve had some pretty drama-filled holidays - but we’ve always kept our cool.”

Courtney and Hans have travelled the world together, pictured here in Rome.

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