Pictures: Tink Lockett.
It’s been six years since popular “Gizzy hard!” couple Amy and Stu Watts competed on The Block NZ, but it still makes Amy emotional talking about it.
Though grateful for the rewards that came with it – taking home a car and winnings of $169,000 – Amy reveals the experience took a toll that affects her even today.
“I didn’t leave the house for six weeks after the show,” she admits. “I felt too scared. What people were thinking or saying about us made me feel really nervous. The comments on social media had been brutal and I just couldn’t face it.”
Having been an avid fan of the show, Amy was thrilled to be chosen as a contestant for season seven in Hobsonville, Auckland. She went into it thinking it would be a dream come true renovating a house with someone else’s money. But she quickly realised it was about more than just interior design. It was about providing entertainment, often at her expense.
“I probably got the worst edit on the show,” says Amy. She recalls a dinner party that was hilarious behind the scenes. A visiting hypnotist tried to get the group into a meditative state, only to be interrupted by giggles from the intoxicated contestants and a wayward fart from Stu.
Sadly, the light-hearted antics never made the final cut – instead, viewers saw Amy leaving the dinner party early, edited along with Stu slagging someone off (from another time), and were left with a skewed impression of what really happened.
“I looked like the disrespectful guest when we were all half-pissed and cracking up, having fun!” she recalls. “Chloe [Hes] was trying to stuff a bandana in her mouth to stop her laughter! So it was awful seeing stuff like that hit the screen – it made my stomach drop every time.”
In her excitement to compete on The Block, Amy, 45, hadn’t anticipated the extent of the scrutiny that comes with reality TV, particularly on social media.
“People quickly decide if they like you or not and if they don’t, they’ll tell you,” she says. “The comments and judgement on social media were awful.”
At one stage during filming, Amy suffered a severe panic attack that left her physically unable to move.
“I had a mental health episode while we were filming – a full panic attack so bad that I don’t even really remember it,” she shares. “I couldn’t physically breathe. Stu had to move the camera person away from me because the camera was right there. Someone told him he’d be up on assault changes!
“They said on TV that they sent me away for a break, but I left. I went to stay with my brother for a night. At his place, I had a shower, washed my hair, got my s**t together and then went back.”
Even today, Amy still experiences moments that remind her of the anxiety from that time. She refers to this as her “Block PTSD”.
She tells, “Even talking about it now makes me feel like I need a glass of wine.”
On the other hand, Stu, 52, took it all in his stride. He says he enjoyed the attention, criticism and all.
“I loved it,” he grins. “I’d paint until 4am and then lie in bed reading the comments on Facebook. It didn’t bother me. I’d do The Block again tomorrow – although I’d be slower now.”
The couple still love living in Gisborne. Two years ago, they moved from their house by the beach to a villa in town, which they share with Stu’s 17-year-old daughter Zoe, a dog and two cats. “It’s like an animal rescue here!”
Amy’s 19-year-old daughter Nina is away studying screen arts and production at Massey University, and Stu’s sons Flynn and Marshall are in Australia “living their best lives”.
One thing The Block did do for Amy was transform her love for interior design into a career path. She never went back to her job as a beautician – “I couldn’t handle the thought of having the same conversation with the same questions every day about being on The Block!” – but started to help others with interiors advice.
That eventually expanded into a bustling retail store called The Workshop, which includes furniture, homewares and unique items like vintage rugs imported from Morocco. She recently added a café to the offering and is up every morning to bake fresh scones for customers.
Stu has continued with plumbing, albeit with a more relaxed approach. He jokes about being the only tradie who starts work at 10am and finishes in time for the pub at 4pm, explaining his lifestyle is more about quality of life than constant hustle.
“Life’s too short to worry about what you’re leaving behind,” he tells. “There’s plenty of other plumbers in town if they’re waiting.”
Amy laughs, “And on The Block, they made out that Stu was a harder worker than me!”
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