The Block producers are said to be in trouble over their mental health procedures after Paige Beechey and Jesse Maguire suddenly quit the show.
The bride and groom couple, who were dubbed the ‘villains’ of 2024, walked out on Monday after producers were forced to intervene during an explosive argument between the pair.
After seeking professional help, they cited mental health stress in giving up their spot in the competition, and their exit sparked much conversation about the show’s care policies.
Paige has since slammed producers for her “horrible” experience on the show, while a 2023 The Block contestant has criticised the show’s subsequent follow-up.
In light of the controversy, it has now been claimed that Channel Nine is reviewing its mental health policies in general to avoid another dramatic incident.
“After Monday’s episode of The Block, a chain of unexpected events was unleashed following a mental health warning presented before the start of the show,” a source exclusively told Daily Mail Australia.
‘The network wants to know your story and if you don’t speak up, some practices may never be adequately addressed.’
The source claimed that many former The Block contestants felt ‘triggered’ by the departure of Jesse and Paige, so they were advised to speak to a professional.
The Block producers are said to be in trouble over their mental health procedures after Paige Beechey and Jesse Maguire (both pictured) suddenly quit the show.
The show’s former stars are said to have been reflecting on the alleged lack of support during their season.
Some former contestants are believed to have asked Channel Nine over the years to pay for their psychologists’ assessments after appearing on the show.
“It was mainly former Block contestants who were affected by Monday night’s episode,” the source added, noting that there was no influx of complaints from viewers.
Producers are said to be “reviewing their process” for improving Nine’s mental health plans on reality shows such as The Block and Married at First Sight.
A Nine spokesperson said: ‘Nine and Cavalier Television take their obligations regarding the health and wellbeing of participants on this show very seriously.
‘Nine has a service for all participants should they want or need individual and confidential psychological support.
‘This service provides participants with access to clinicians who have been specifically contracted to support those involved in the program in relation to their experiences.
‘This service is available to all participants during filming, broadcasting and once the programme has finished for as long as they need it, it does not end.’
Following her sensational exit, Paige took to TikTok on Wednesday to break her silence on the drama and admitted she was “upset” with her edit on the show.
She furiously slammed producers for her “horrible” experience on the show and accused the show of editing her scenes to make her look “crazy.”
“I’m a little upset, I feel like I’ve put up with a lot this season and said very little,” Paige said in the first video.
The engaged couple, dubbed the “villains” of 2024, stepped out on Monday after producers were forced to intervene during an explosive argument between the pair.
“But the way they handled the whole mental health issue was a crude example of a TV show trying to cash in on its relevance.
“It’s very clear that they are trying to enter their ‘woke’ era and this was very opportunistic for them at the expense of mental health.”
Paige said her four weeks with Jesse on the show were a “whirlwind,” but that everything went “smoothly” during the first two weeks of production.
She claimed the couple had a good relationship with producers, who she said referred to her as the “Energizer Bunny,” but said the story after production was different.
“Nothing disrupted my flow, there were no tantrums, no anger, no arguments, nothing for two weeks, and that’s obviously not what you saw,” Paige said.
“That wasn’t the narrative they pushed because in those first two weeks, they just turned it into something it wasn’t.”
“They did it by literally putting whole sentences in my mouth, and that’s what we like to call Frankenbites,” he added.
‘They were cutting bits and pieces from everywhere and putting them together to get everything into the context they wanted, but it was crystal clear that things didn’t fit.
In light of the controversy, it has been claimed that Nine is reviewing its mental health policies in general to avoid another dramatic incident.
‘They were blatantly cutting off conversations to make me look crazy. So we were pretty frustrated with the way we were portrayed the first two weeks. We were just sitting there like, ‘What?’
She stated She went through an “absolutely horrible experience” in the third week of the program when they moved from their tents to the finished guest bedrooms.
Paige alleged that during that time, crew members would enter contestants’ rooms in the morning to film while they slept.
“Without any prior information, without any prior warning and without any consent, the crew started entering our rooms in the morning to film us while we were sleeping,” he said.
‘Being someone who had a history of sexual assault was horrible.
‘You wake up in your bedroom, it’s pitch black and there are three black figures, two or three figures standing next to your bed, and it’s terrifying. And that’s how you wake up.’
Daily Mail Australia does not suggest that producers were aware of Paige’s experiences with sexual assault during filming.
Paige added that the alleged situation had sent her into a spiral and she began to become “paranoid.”
Paige also said she felt “disheartened” by producers’ reaction to her deteriorating mental health.
He ended his videos by arguing that more needed to be done to prepare contestants for the experience.
In light of her and Jesse’s shocking exit from the show, one former contestant also weighed in on the mental health debate.
Ash Milton appeared on the 2023 series with his wife Leah and delivered a scathing verdict on his time in the makeover competition and the show’s aftercare.
“We were there last year more than 12 months ago and, for example, the post-lockdown support is not very good,” he alleged.
‘My wife is seeing someone now and she’s doing really well, but it took her a while to find someone she felt comfortable talking to. But yeah, there wasn’t a lot of help or support afterwards, I’m sorry.’
Ash went on to give his honest thoughts on the sudden departure of 2024 stars Jesse and Paige after they decided to call it quits following a series of explosive fights.
In light of her and Jesse’s shocking exit from the show, one former contestant also weighed in on the mental health debate, claiming they received very little support after the show.
He insisted there were also tense disputes behind the scenes during the 2023 season, but they never came to light.
“It’s hard to maintain a relationship when you’re under so much pressure. You have to be a solid unit at the beginning,” she said. “I think the other thing is that (Jesse and Paige) are relatively new to their relationship, they just got engaged.
‘You know, they’ve probably never been under this kind of pressure before. So, I mean, even if their mental health was at stake here, which is not our place to comment on, you know, they’ve probably never experienced anything like that to know how they’re going to deal with it or not.
‘Leah and I went there as a solid team when we did our season last year. But we had heard that argument before, in our season, that it was happening at my neighbor’s house, but it was never shown.
“It’s there and it’s being aired, but that’s how it wants to be aired. That’s how they edit it.”
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Channel Nine for comment.
