The Block winners Mitch Edwards and Mark McKie have forgiven Tanya Guccione for masterminding the whiteboard cheating scandal.
The stylish grandads said on Monday that Tanya deserves a second chance after ‘making a mistake’ and ‘digging a hole she couldn’t get out of’.
It comes after the makeup artist, 40, finally confessed during Sunday’s season finale to taking a photo of the show’s production schedule and using it to gain an unfair advantage over the other teams.
‘She made a mistake’: The Block winners Mitch Edwards and Mark McKie have forgiven Tanya Guccione for masterminding the whiteboard cheating scandal
Mitch, 59, and Mark, 60, shared a photo on Instagram of themselves with Tanya and husband Vito on auction day at Bronte Court.
In the lengthy caption, they said Tanya had found herself caught in a lie after making an ‘error of judgement’ early in the season.
‘Tanya, the purple-headed girl and the face of the big lie of The Block. She made a mistake,’ they began.
Human frailty: The stylish grandads said on Monday that Tanya deserves a second chance after ‘making a mistake’ and ‘digging a hole she couldn’t get out of’
‘Have you ever made a mistake and tried to cover it up, it gained momentum and before you knew, there was no way out, you’d dug such a big hole you couldn’t see any way out?
‘Imagine doing this on the biggest show on Australian television. This is what happened to Tanya.’
The Sydney couple insisted Tanya was a good person who simply ‘stuffed up’.
Diplomatic: Mitch, 59, and Mark, 60, were praised for their ‘classy’ response to Tanya’s deception, with The Block host Shelley Craft commenting: ‘If the ones affected most are happy to move forward then that should be good enough for everyone’
Grateful: Tanya herself responded, ‘A million thank you’s to you both for this post. Truly you could have shared anything and you chose to be kind and understanding. Thank you’
‘Class, grace and love’: Some fans praised Mitch and Mark for their gracious response
They wrote: ‘We know her: she’s good, but she stuffed up. We too have made mistakes; you all saw me (Mitch) with my inside-head thoughts that I blurted out.
‘If you’ve ever made errors in judgement in your life that have embarrassed you, please consider what Tanya has gone through and is dealing with before you judge her.
‘She deserves a second chance. We know this is difficult and we’ve had time to talk with Tanya and support her to move forward. Please join us and give Tanya a chance; we all deserve it.’
Mitch and Mark were praised for their ‘classy’ response to Tanya’s deception, with The Block host Shelley Craft commenting: ‘If the ones affected most are happy to move forward then that should be good enough for everyone.’
‘You are way too nice’: However, others said Tanya didn’t deserve forgiveness
One viewer wrote: ‘Very noble of you both. It just shows that you are both full of class and style and pure elegance.’
Another added: ‘Well said, with your usual class, grace and love of others.’
Tanya herself responded: ‘A million thank you’s to you both for this post. Truly you could have shared anything and you chose to be kind and understanding. Thank you.
‘We know we had our moments but it’s just a moment captured in time – it’s not forever… I’m so grateful to call you friends. Your forgiveness means more to me than money.’
Cheater: Tanya, 40, finally confessed during Sunday’s season finale to taking a photo of the show’s production schedule and using it to gain an unfair advantage over the other teams
However, some fans weren’t happy with Mitch and Mark’s sympathetic response and said Tanya didn’t deserve forgiveness.
‘Fair enough, but she will never be trusted again,’ one commented, while another added: ‘You are way too nice.’
Mitch and Mark were crowned the winners of The Block on Sunday, selling their home for $4,044,444 with a profit of $644,444, plus the $100,000 prize money.
Winners: Mitch and Mark were crowned the winners of The Block on Sunday, selling their home in Bronte Court for $4,044,444 with a profit of $644,444, plus the $100,000 prize money
They had clashed with Tanya and Vito throughout the season, mostly because of the cheating scandal, but it seems their prize money has helped them forgive.
During one particularly tense confrontation, the professional renovators confronted Tanya for calling them ‘pigs’ during a group meeting.
Tension: They had clashed with Tanya and Vito throughout the season, mostly because of the cheating scandal, but it seems their prize money has helped them forgive
War of words: During one particularly tense confrontation, the professional renovators confronted Tanya for calling them ‘pigs’ during a group meeting