The Block 2019: Meet El'ise and Matt

We get to know the WA contestants

EL’ISE, 33, & MATT 39
This couple married seven and a half years are match-fit and ready to go all out for their family - so don’t stand in their way.

Experience Level
These two are experienced renovators. And with hubbie Matt a chippie and owner of a company that specialises in renovations, they’re coming at this competition with a serious advantage. With fire in their bellies and a will to do all they can to give their young family a leg-up, this couple are prepared to go all out for Block victory. And the other contestants had better watch out - they've been in training.

Matt and El'ise with their three beautiful kids pictured on a family camping holiday in 2018.

Experience Level
These two are experienced renovators. And with hubbie Matt a chippie and owner of a company that specialises in renovations, they’re coming at this competition with a serious advantage. With fire in their bellies and a will to do all they can to give their young family a leg-up, this couple are prepared to go all out for Block victory. And the other contestants had better watch out - they've been in training.

El’ise, 33
Say “three under three” to any parent and you are likely to be met with looks of sympathy and the occasional shudder. So spare a thought for El’ise: she had her three kids in quick succession while renovating. “I came home one day from work, looked up and said, ‘El’ise, what are you doing?’ She was up a ladder painting the house and 35 weeks pregnant,” Matt recalls.
Mum to Baxter, 8, Charlize, 6, and Maverick, 5, (they’re big Top Gun fans), El’ise also works full time for a fashion wholesaler in Perth. She’s been studying interior design too and even finds time for the gym.
After narrowly missing out on a spot on the show last year, making it to the final auditions, El’ise became so determined to get in this year that she put herself in training.
“I made a conscious effort a year ago, after we got the no, that I would get up at five a.m. every morning and go to the gym,” she says. “I wanted to get myself Block-fit, and in Melbourne time.”
So does she feel well prepared for what’s to come?
“I have achieved a lot of things this year and I feel wonderful in myself,” she says. “Am I match-fit? Yes. But my brain slows down at the end of the night and I like my nice comfy bed.”
Oh dear ...


Matt and El'ise have been married seven and a half years.

Matt, 39
Matt has dedicated his professional life to building other people’s dream homes. Now it’s his turn. Owner of his own renovation company, this chippie is the backbone of his family, the solid, dependable guy they all turn to in times of stress.
He always keeps his cool.
“His presence is very calming,” says El’ise. “He’s a great listener and a brilliant father, and he’s selfless in everything he does. He’s like, ‘El’ise, you have this. You get it for the kids.’ He’s never a person to ask for or want or need anything.”
But don’t be fooled. Though he has a soft side, this exacting, perfectionist carpenter likes things done properly and he’ll always put family first, so that means he’s ready to do serious battle at The Block.
“I renovate other people’s properties, but I would love to be able to do it on my own,” says this driven tradie, who one day hopes to flip properties solely for his own family. “It would be great to make a bit of money.”

Matt and Elise are doing The Block to make things better for their young family.

Together
This mum and dad couple from Perth are all about doing The Block to make things better for their young family.
“We’re really doing it for the kids,” says El’ise, who remembers how they did it tough financially when the kids were little.
“We had the three kids, bought our first house, and went down to one wage,” Matt explains. “It put a massive financial strain on us.”
It was El’ise’s idea to apply for The Block, this year and last. She’s the first to admit it was sometimes hard watching the show last year, knowing they almost were selected to compete at The Gatwick.
“It was interesting to watch the show,” she says. “There was that anticipation of who is it going to be? What is the WA couple going to be like? Why did we miss out and they got on?”
Never one to let a setback get in the way of her bigger plans, El’ise was determined to give The Block another crack, and thrilled when their application was successful this time.
“It wasn’t the right time for us last year,” she says philosophically. “We went through an emotional time with it all and we questioned ourselves – was it something we did or didn't do?
“But everything happens for a reason and we look back now and think we wouldn’t have been ready, or in a situation to give our lives to the show.”
Now that all three kids are at school, the time’s right to head East and put their hard work and training into effect.
Will it be smooth sailing? Don’t count on it.
“We are laidback,” Matt says, “but so connected. We push each other’s buttons far too easily. We will react to each other all the time.”
However, they move on from conflict quickly.
“Within a second we are back to normal, over it and done,” Matt says. “We realise what’s the point?”
Wise words, Matt

“We are laidback,” Matt says, “but so connected.

Matt and El'ise are sure going to miss these adorable faces during the build!

Matt and El'ise went to insane lengths to get on The Block - read all about it HERE




We are loving watching Matt & El'ise - view their completed rooms HERE

El’ise and Matt open up about the hardest obstacle they’ve had to overcome as a couple HERE

El’ise opens up about the tragic story that touched her heart and inspired her art choices for The Oslo. El'ise pays tribute to a St Kilda murder victim through the art in their home. Read more HERE

Take a tour of El'ise and Matt's finished Block home!
A wrap up of all the room results and images  HERE



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