With her silky blonde locks, radiant smile and enviable figure on parade at our photo shoot, it’s hard to imagine Cat Glass ever looking anything short of glamorous.
But while she’s giving her dusty, downtrodden home a much-needed makeover on The Block NZ: Villa Wars, the DIY diva admits she could do with some TLC of her own.
“I knew I was going to be on TV, so I packed my bags full of outfits that were practical, but also kind of ‘construction-site chic’,” laughs the 27-year-old New Plymouth pre-school teacher. “But by the end of day one, it was anything goes! It gets pretty gross – we only shower every couple of days and end up wearing the same clothes for three days. I always put mascara on, which ends up lasting me the entire week.”
While Cat’s had no choice but to adapt to her barely-there beauty regime at The Block HQ, there’s one man who sees beyond her looks – her partner of five years, Jeremy Hill.
“Cat jokes that now I’ve finally seen her at her worst, but if she smells as much as she says, I must be just as bad because I don’t notice a thing,” smiles ad agency owner Jeremy, 29. “I’m so proud of the way Cat’s got stuck in – I couldn’t imagine doing this show with anyone else but her.
“Just coming up to the big smoke is an adventure for us, so sometimes it feels like we only have each other. When you’re up against the other teams and you’re dealing with cameras in your face, it’s nice to know you have that one person with you who you truly know and trust.”
The relentless workload at house number three keeps Cat and Jeremy constantly busy, but back home in sleepy Taranaki, the lovers prefer a laid-back lifestyle. They’re missing the coffee from their local café, the cheap and cheerful food at their favourite Thai restaurant, and their weekly “cave nights”, where they veg out at home with movies and junk food.
Family’s first
“The ’Naki will always be home for us – there’s nothing like touching down and seeing the mountain,” says Jeremy, who lives with Cat in their first do-up, which backs onto his parents’ home. “We’ve got such a great set-up – we have family all around us and we’re five minutes from the beach.”
“We have a really great network of support,” agrees Cat, who says Jeremy’s mum is hanging out to play babysitter when the couple have children. “She can’t wait to retire because she’s itching to be a grandma!” she laughs.
While the rock-steady couple are looking forward to a long and happy life together, the mere mention of kiddies and taking the next steps in their relationship, which began after the couple first met in a nightclub, has Jeremy all flustered.
“I’m turning 30 in January, so obviously we want to start ticking off some life milestones together. Ya know, some of those classic things that couples do,” he says, sidestepping the topic of marriage or babies, despite Cat jokingly pressuring him to “spit it out”.
Jeremy continues, “When we do have a family one day, though, it will be cool to tell the kids we were a part of The Block. Cat and I will be able to boast, ‘See, Mum and Dad were pretty awesome!’”
With a room reveal and two challenge wins to their names, Cat and Jeremy have already positioned themselves as the team to beat on the TV3 show, but they insist they are in it for more than just the prize money.
Cat explains, “It’s easy to coast through life and not challenge yourself. As clichéd as it sounds, we really just wanted to do something crazy. The Block is a really amazing experience, but at the same time, it’s a little traumatising. There are so many moments when all I want to do is lie down with Jeremy and cuddle.
“We haven’t spent this much time together in ages, so I thought that alone might be quite testing on our relationship, but it’s been amazing. Being on The Block has made me realise more than ever how much better life is with Jeremy in it. When he’s not on site, it’s never as fun. We are always laughing.”
Nodding, Jeremy adds, “At the end of the day, my happiness depends on Cat’s. People talk about those first few months in your relationship as the honeymoon period. But while it sounds as cheesy as hell, five years on, we’ve never got out of it.”
Cat and Jeremy say they’ve never gotten out of their honeymoon period!
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