The Block might be wrapping up in Mt Eliza, but the biggest drama of the season isn’t happening in front of the cameras. Rumours are swirling that Lisa and Courtney are currently at war – and Channel Nine is reportedly scrambling to keep the peace.
Woman’s Day has heard from a source close to the show that relations between the two women have completely broken down in the final weeks of the competition, and now the pair are barely on speaking terms.
Why are The Block’s Lisa and Courtney feuding?
While rivalries on The Block usually boil down to stolen trade secrets or room reveal scores, insiders reveal this fallout has become personal.
At the heart of the rift are allegations regarding anonymous social media accounts targeting the contestants.
Behind the scenes, suspicions have allegedly grown that members of one contestant’s inner circle could be linked to negative comments posted about the other.
“Once people started believing some of these accounts weren’t just random viewers, everything changed,” an insider shared. “It’s one thing having strangers criticising you online. It’s another thing entirely if you think it’s coming from somebody connected to another contestant.”
The insider went on to say the feud is all anyone is talking about behind-the-scenes.
“Forget some of the arguments viewers have seen on television. Lisa and Courtney’s relationship has completely deteriorated,” they alleged. “It’s one thing having strangers criticising you online. It’s another thing entirely if you think it’s coming from somebody connected to another contestant.”
While the claims surrounding the accounts remain a sensitive issue, Woman’s Day understands both camps are furious about the trolling they have received throughout the season.
‘Lisa doesn’t want Rosco caught in the middle’
The relationship between Courtney and Lisa has reportedly become so fractured that our source says Lisa has asked her husband, Rosco, to distance himself from Courtney, someone he once considered a friend.
“Lisa doesn’t want Rosco caught in the middle anymore,” our source says. “Rosco and Courtney became close, but Lisa has essentially told him that she doesn’t want him continuing that friendship as though nothing has happened.”
“Rosco is in an impossible position,” the insider adds.
“He got along with Courtney and doesn’t necessarily want to inherit somebody else’s feud, but Lisa is his wife. When she says she’s uncomfortable with what’s happening, he’s obviously going to listen.”
Is Courtney being isolated by the other teams?
The bitter fallout may also explain why Courtney has increasingly found herself isolated from some of the women of Mt Eliza.
Insiders say several contestants have grown frustrated with the House 4 star as the competition has progressed, with her fiercely competitive approach rubbing some people the wrong way.
But the source insists the breakdown with Lisa is far more personal than a simple case of rivalry between contestants.
“There’s competitive tension and then there’s what is happening here,” the source says.
“This has moved beyond who won a room or who copied whose idea. Families are upset, people are watching what is being said online, and everyone is suspicious about where comments are coming from.”
What will happen at The Block auction day?
The situation presents a headache for Channel Nine as The Block races towards its October 31 auction, which will air in the season finale on Sunday, November 1.
With the contestants required to reunite for one of the biggest television events of the year, insiders say there is now a concerted effort to stop the off-screen feud from overshadowing the homes themselves.
“Nine doesn’t want this spiralling right before auction day,” our source adds.
“The network is aware of how heated things have become and everyone involved wants to make sure it doesn’t explode publicly.”
However, with emotions running high and the contestants now outside the tightly controlled environment of filming, keeping the peace may prove easier said than done.
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