There were a few sleepless nights as Maree and James Steele worried about how their young children would react to them leaving home to film The Block: Redemption for 13 weeks. Their fears were quickly quashed when they finally broke the news to the cute duo, Mia, five, and James, three.
“We sat down and explained to them that Nana and Papa were coming to live at our house, and Nani would be next door – that’s their three favourite people. Mia immediately piped up, ‘Cool, when are you going to leave?'” Maree recalls with a giggle.
The doting couple have had kids Mia and James snice last appearing on our TV screens.
While Maree and James grapple with long days working on their Ōrewa renovation, the kids are living the dream at home with their grandparents…
“Usually, in our house, Coco Pops are a Sunday treat and a box would last us for six weeks – after two weeks of us gone, the box was finished!” laughs 35-year-old James. “I think the bedtime routines have gone out the window too.”
It’s clear how grateful Maree and James are to have a family that wraps their arms around them, enabling them to take part in The Block again, eight years after their first stint.
“Being invited back on the show was unexpected,” admits Maree, 35. “We only had five weeks to prepare and sort childcare. Us being on this show and how we carried ourselves the first time around was a proud moment for our parents, so straightaway, without any questions, they said, ‘Go’. It takes a village and we have a cool and strong village.”
Team Yellow is more focused.
James’ mum didn’t have to travel far to help out – just a few steps, in fact. On their return from their first season of The Block, Maree and James put their $147,000 prize-winnings into building a new family home on the same property as her. Being close to family is important to the South Auckland pair.
“We both grew up being close to our grandparents, so it’s nice for our kids to have the same experience – and nice for James’ mum too. There are a lot of ties to the land here for our family. Our house basically sits where James played and spent most of his childhood, and our kids are now going to the same kindy we both went to.”
However, knowing their children are in safe hands doesn’t make the temporary separation any easier for the committed parents.
“We miss them so much,” shares Maree. “There’s been a lot of tears shed for the kids. Within 24 hours of us leaving they were sick, so that was really tough. It’s been so comforting having [Block contestants] Chloe, Quinn and Ben around because they have kids and understand those low times.”
Homesick Maree and James are feeling the love from fellow Block parents.
Most nights, the couple call Mia and James, reading them their bedtime story, the part of their daily routine they most miss. What they don’t miss is the broken sleep!
“Having kids really helped us prep for this round of The Block,” James jokes. “We’re used to having interrupted sleep and having to change a plan because someone’s not cooperating. We’re definitely more flexible and understanding this time around!”
After 21 years together, the couple say their mutual respect and understanding of each other helped them deal with the challenges Three’s renovation show threw at them.
“We are very solutions- focused this time around,” says Maree. “We used to dwell on an issue, but now we go, ‘What are our options and how can we solve it?’ There are times when we are tired or stressed, but James will always back me and help me solve the problem.”
She adds, “I used to be quite stubborn and set in my ways. But now I take a step back and think, ‘I’m not hearing him’, so I’ll stop and listen properly.”
These self-confessed active relaxers have certainly packed a lot of life experience in since we last saw them on our screens in 2014. The high-school sweethearts had a magical wedding at Auckland’s Westbrook Winery in 2016, had two adorable children (James was born on Maree’s birthday, despite her best efforts to give him his own special day!), built their beautiful home, James started a new role as a development manager and, somehow, Maree found the time and energy – in amongst parenting – to launch two new businesses.
Maree and James married in a magical ceremony in 2016, and built their dream family home with their Block prize money.
“My sister and I bought a hair salon two and a half years ago,” she tells. “It’s been really cool to do something with her. She’s the stylist and I’m operations at Kith + Co. We gave the salon a full girly vibe – it’s got arched mirrors, tones of blush pink, a custom timber desk and dried florals. It was a full family affair to get it done, with Dad and James pitching in.”
Maree has also turned her creative talents to making stunning celebration cakes. A search of her dedicated Instagram page, Maree’s Cakery, reveals a real flair for decorating, from pared-back weddings cakes to fabulous over-the-top designs heaving with flowers, candy, macarons and donuts.
“I started doing celebration cakes at home because I missed being creative,” she says. “It’s my outlet and therapy – I get to be a cake artist and a florist all at once. I’m always amazed that someone wants my bit of art to be the focal point at their celebration!”
With life being so full, some might question why they went back for more with The Block.
“We just don’t know how to stop!” Maree laughs. “After five years of being busy with the kids, we were starting to ask ourselves what we were going to do next. We needed to do something for ourselves, to find ourselves again. We talked about building or having another baby, so it was the perfect timing when this opportunity came!”
James adds, “We wanted to do something fun and one of the drawcards was being able to design and style a house for someone else. With your own money, you have to be careful and thoughtful, but when you have a budget and access to all these sponsors, it’s a different game.”
But as auction day draws close, the couple are hanging out to be reunited with their kids and to return to normal life. They have plans to go on a family trip, possibly to Rotorua to do all the tourist activities.
Maree can’t wait to give the kids a cuddle. “It’ll be nice to do something with them when we’re done. At the start of this experience, I was looking forward to spending time with my husband and now I’m looking forward to going back to being a mum.”
