THE STORY OF US
THE BLOCK FAVOURITES ON THEIR LONG AND HAPPY LOVE JOURNEY
They may not have begun dating until after high school, but if The Block’s Deb had had her way, she and Andy would have been school sweethearts.
“I definitely had my eye on him when we were growing up in Taree [NSW],” says Deb with a laugh. “I always loved him! The very first time I saw Andy, when I was in Year 7 and he was in Year 8, I thought he was gorgeous and funny.”
“And Deb had this really long, curly, beautiful hair,” recalls Andy, adding, “It took up most of the atmosphere! She also just had this energy and aura about her that was, and still is, so beautiful.”
Fast-forward three decades and it’s easy to see that professional comedian Andy, now 48, and Deb, 46, are still mad about each other. What’s more, competing on The Block has only made their relationship stronger. “We always say we go through things together, but that we grow through things,” says Deb. “When we put our minds together, we seem to make a really good team.”
And then, says Deb, there’s the fact that Andy has always made her laugh.
“He has a really great way of using humour in the good and the bad times,” she says, adding, “although he does test his material on us a bit too”.
To which Andy adds: “But only the bad jokes!”
It wasn’t until 10 years into the couple’s relationship that Andy proposed to Deb.
“We owned a shop together at the time and Andy had been in and out a few times throughout the day,” recalls Deb. “I remember thinking he looked quite agitated, which was very unusual for him as he’s always very level, happy and bubbly. It was on his fifth visit into the shop that day that Andy dropped to one knee, pulled out a ring and said ‘Will you marry me?’.”
“In amongst the sale items,” quips Andy.
On November 18, 2000, Andy and Deb exchanged vows in the NSW seaside village of Harrington. “We married on my dad’s birthday,” says Deb, “We had an amazing wedding cake and then, during our reception, we brought out a massive birthday cake for Dad.”
These days Andy and Deb, who with her sisters owns and runs fashion and homewares store The Shed Luxe on the mid-north NSW coast, share their lives with their daughter, Luca, 14, and son, Tyler, 9, and their foster children, Leilanie, 22, and Gregg, 21.
Over the years, too, there has been sadness along with the joy.
“As well as happy times, we’ve been through a lot together,” says Deb. “We’ve lost some very special people in our lives – family members, including most recently my mum. We stick together through the tough stuff, though, and support each other. That’s just what we do.”
As for applying for The Block, Deb has a confession to make.
“That was definitely my decision,” she reveals. “I’ve been a very, very big fan of the show since the very first series.
“But it was so much tougher than I thought it would be. It’s been an amazing experience and a wonderful opportunity. We’ve learnt a lot about ourselves and about each other, and it’s definitely brought us closer together.”