Channel Nine/Ray White
Once the cameras stopped rolling on the 2025 season of The Block, contestants Sonny and Alicia Aplin walked away $120,000 richer.
But almost a year on from the duo’s life-changing reality TV appearance, they have a candid admission: the money has gone.
It’s not that the married couple from Queensland’s Gold Coast splashed the cash on fancy holidays or a souped up car – rather Alicia told realestate.com.au that the duo ploughed the windfall back into renovations at the family home in Bonogin, which they purchased for $1.24 million four years ago.
“We wouldn’t have been able to renovate this house without that money, because honestly, that’s where all of it has gone,” she told the outlet in an interview published on July 8.
The five-bedroom abode, where Alicia and Sonny live with their three kids Aria, 12, Boston, 11, and Koa, eight, is now listed for sale with Ray White Robina – with offers over $1.795 million anticipated.
“Our end goal is that we’ve got our eye on a little off-market property at the moment, and we’d love to dive deep into that and do a really extensive renovation on the next home,” Alicia explained.
A source tells Woman’s Day that the couple are, in fact, more proud of what they’ve achieved with their family home than the transformation they made to their allocated property on The Block.
That home, in Daylesford, Vic, was relisted for sale just seven months after it sold at the auction finale. The relisting meant that three of the five homes from the 2025 season of The Block were all on the market at the same time.
“To be fair, when Sonny and Alicia heard their house from last year’s auction on The Block was already back on the market, their first thought was they just hope whoever ends up with it is not an investor – they really would love it if a family like their own actually get to enjoy the fruits of their labour,” an insider tells Woman’s Day.
While there are suggestions that Channel Nine got it wrong with the Daylesford project, and the style of homes weren’t particularly in line with what buyers were looking for at the country location, Sonny and Alicia were still able to use their modest gains to the best advantage.
The source describes the renovation of their family home as a “real labour of love” to create a “dream” property for any family.
“It’s where they raised their brood and now hope that tradition will live on with whoever buys it,” the insider explains.
“The plan now for them is to buy another fixer-upper somewhere closer to the coast because they’re a real surf family and the ultimate dream is to live right on the beach.”
