‘I did this for me’
The TV star reveals why she wanted the world to know all about her plastic surgery secret
Melbourne makeup artist Tanya scored herself the title of this season’s Block villainess after she was unveiled as the mystery cheater last week.
The mother-of-two tells Woman’s Day she feared she’d get the boot from the series over the scandal, which saw a photo of the show’s production schedule shared among some of the contestants.
“Half the reason I stayed quiet is because I thought we’d get disqualified,” Tanya says of her and husband Vito’s actions.
And the 39-year-old admits she regrets not coming forward with the truth earlier.
‘You’re just in this bizarre bubble and put on the spot’
“I acted out of fear,” she says. “You’re just in this bizarre Block bubble and put on the spot. I’m a mum with kids and I’m like, ‘Oh my gosh, this looks so bad. Being called a cheater – what’s this going to mean? This could totally defame us and could this affect us in real life?’ But hindsight is an amazing thing and you can just look back and go, ‘What an idiot.’”
‘EVERYONE CHEATS’
But while Tanya confesses she’s “super apologetic” for her behaviour and will “spend the rest of the season apologising”, she claims she isn’t the only one who should be coming clean.
“A lot of people weren’t willing to own up to stuff and that’s where the conflict really lies,” she tells Woman’s Day, unwilling to name names.
“It’s hard to point the finger, when some people will probably deny it to their dying day. At some point, everyone cheats. Kirsty cheated because she took the furniture, the boys [twins Luke and Josh] cheated because they were using their builder to paint...”
Tanya denies that having access to the all-important production schedule gave her and Vito, 45, any advantage in the competition. “In reality, the only advantage anybody ever had was the Faves
– who have done it before,” she insists.
FIERY BUST-UP
Indeed, there is no love lost between the makeup artist and Faves Ronnie and Georgia and Mitch and Mark, who she clashed with on-camera.
“It did shock me how aggressive Mitch and Mark got but what I said was a trigger point, as well,” Tanya tells Woman’s Day of their infamous bust-up during the body corporate meeting last week, where she seemingly referred to them as “pigs”.
“Vito and I would struggle in real life being friends with Ronnie and Georgia. They’re very competitive and very fierce,’’ says Tanya.
And while she says she isn’t nervous about facing her rivals come auction day, Tanya admits
“there will definitely be tension” among the Blockheads. “We’re all just one big dysfunctional family,” she says.
As for backlash from viewers, Tanya says bring it on!
“I don’t really give people the power of opinion unless they were there and they experienced it first-hand. I know that there will be a lot of opinions, but at the end of the day, people need to remember it’s a reality TV show before it’s a renovating show,” she says.
“Whilst I was feeling very embarrassed and regretful about what had taken place, producers were licking their chops. They should be thanking me!”
She’s funny and fearless, and last week comedian Julia Morris received accolades from celebrities and fans for publicly confessing to having had a brow lift and eyelid surgery to enhance her famous face, and deliver a youthful glow.
“The reason why I’m looking so fresh – I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I fully am – is because I had my eyes done,” she announced in a beauty tutorial on Instagram, before also posting before and after shots on social media.
GLOWING AGAIN
“I had all of the beef cut out of my eyes. I’ve got absolutely no interest in anybody’s opinion on that but it’s something that I wanted to do for me, because quite frankly, not only were my lids hanging over my lashes like a balcony, I looked like I was just tired and cross all the time. What a glow-up for this 53yr old.”
JULIA MORRIS’ SURGERY MAKEOVER!
Friends say the I’m A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! host was determined to own her plastic surgery and not hide the fact she did it for cosmetic reasons, with the bonus that it has improved her sight.
‘It’s something I wanted to do for me... What a glow-up’
And there was no shortage of famous friends who were quick to congratulate Julia on her new look, and her brave decision to be honest about it, unlike many other “refreshed” celebs who often try and keep it secret.
Today Extra host David Campbell told her “You are and always have been an icon”, while his wife Lisa went one better saying she loved Julia for being “authentic, honest and amazing”. Packed To The Rafters star Rebecca Gibney asked her to “book me in ploise”.
Former Sunrise host Melissa Doyle posted an emoji with love heart eyes, actress Debra Lawrance labelled it “magnifique”, singer Rhonda Burchmore thought it was “sensational” and TV presenter Jessica Rowe said she was “beautiful – inside and out”.
FRESH OUTLOOK
And there were also hundreds of positive comments from everyday Australians who commented that Julia’s surgery confession had only made them love her more, with one fan saying how much she admired her for not pretending it was the result of healthy eating and exercise.
“I would have to sleep for 30 years to look so fresh,” responded Julia.
Explaining that she got the surgery done in between
lockdowns in Melbourne, the comedian also made a point of thanking her “amazing” plastic surgeon, Dr Andrew Greensmith, and revealed she paid for it and wasn’t posting about it as part of a sponsorship deal.
“The operation was pretty intense,” she says.
“It was a big deal. And for those of you who just think it’s cosmetic – of course, I went to make it cosmetic but here’s what my sight was like...
I had lost 25 per cent of my upper peripheral vision (because her brow hung over part of her eyes).
“I actually have an optical reason to have it done but truthfully, I just wanted to look less curious.”
Julia, who has long cracked jokes about her regular Botox injections, says she realises people may go “spare” after finding out she’s had plastic surgery, but adds, “I can see better, which is the best.”