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The divorcees tell Chattr they didn’t have the best first impression of Michael and Rielli, with Lara joking their necks “must be sore from looking down on everyone”.

“I think Michael just feels like he’s the captain of this ship, or whatever this is, and it’s like, when did he take over? Is he the self-proclaimed boss of the table?” Amy says. “He unfairly judged us, but I think he just needs a cuddle… it’s like he gets [wound] up, and then he just can’t stop himself.”

Michael labelled Lara a “blonde bimbo” during their first interaction, but the divorcees are quick to point out that Lara is a natural redhead.

“I feel sorry for him,” Lara says. “I don’t actually think he knows what the word bimbo means. I might have to give him a pass at this stage, but he was quick to fire back at me, yeah.”

Are the MKR gatecrashers going to score the OGs strategically?

There’s a bit of a divide between the MKR gatecrashers and the OG contestants, and it doesn’t look like that’s changing soon.

“1000 per cent there’s going to be some rivalry. I mean, it’s a competition, and it makes sense, and it’s just amusing to sit back and watch [the OGs] just go so basic. It’s so basic,” Amy says, referring to the OGs being critical of gatecrashers Danielle and Marko’s dishes.

“We got the feeling as soon as we sat down, it was gonna be that way,” Lara adds. “I think the judges were on par with our scoring, and then the OGs, they just low-balled. That was a bit disappointing.”

However, Amy and Lara plan on scoring all of the teams — including the OGs — fairly instead of strategically.

“At the end of the day, it is a cooking competition and we wouldn’t [score unfairly]. What do they say? Do unto others as you’d like to be treated,” Amy declares. “It should be fair, because it’s a competition and all that strategic scoring, we don’t want a part of it… it’s about the food, not the drama. We’re here for cooking, so we judge fairly.”

Lara also notes that if you start getting messy and scoring badly, it could come back to bite you in the end.

“We don’t want the karma coming back at us and then having them lowball us. We just want to make it as fair as possible,” Lara says.

The saucy divorcees Amy and Lara are yet to cook on MKR, but with Amy’s background as a private cook, they’re definitely a pair to watch.

The new season of My Kitchen Rules 2025 (MKR) has already kicked off with a knife fight, and the drama is just beginning. However, there is some method to the madness, with producers putting strict rules in place for the cooks.

Contestants Michael and Rielli have lifted the lid on what really happens behind the scenes on MKR, including whether contestants have to follow rules in the kitchen, how much they’re paid, and whether anyone has to eat cold food.

How much are MKR contestants paid?

Michael and Rielli wouldn’t give an exact figure for compensation, but confirmed that the cooks are paid for their time on the cooking show.

“I would say that the pay is reasonable, definitely livable, and yeah, very fair,” Michael says mysteriously.

In 2019, Piper O’Neill competed on MKR, and at that time, said she received $1000 per week by Channel Seven. “I was paid $500 per week for being on the show,” she said in a claim made to the Personal Injury Commission of NSW.

“I was given an additional $500 a week for food for myself to eat and to aid in the purchase of food that would need to be bought and to practice cooking for the show.”

What rules do MKR contestants have to follow in the kitchen?

Rielli tells Chattr there are “so many rules” the contestants have to follow in the kitchen, especially when it comes to hygiene.

“Even before cooking, you have to have your hair up, you have to have your fingers and hands well groomed, and you always have to be constantly washing your hands,” she says.

“You’re feeding people at the end of the day so there’s definitely health regulations.”

Are there any limitations on what MKR contestants can cook?

Contestants on MKR have complete control over what they decide to cook, with one caveat: each element of the dish, including pastry, pasta, and stocks, must be made in the kitchen.

“You can’t have any pre-bought stuff. Like my beef stock, I had to make it from bone. If you’ve got pasta, you’ve got to make it,” Michael spills.

Sounds like there are no shortcuts on MKR! “It’s fully about cooking,” Rielli adds. “Everything has to be made from scratch.”

Do MKR contestants ever have to eat cold or raw food?

Rielli tells Chattr that a duo could potentially serve raw food later in the season, which has us intrigued.

“Theoretically, a contestant could serve raw food. You never know, that kind of thing can happen,” Rielli teases. “Might have to watch the rest of the season.”

Michael also adds that sometimes contestants end up having to eat cold food if the timing of the cook doesn’t go perfectly.

“It all depends on the actual cooks and how quickly they can prepare it and plate it,” he says, before Rielli adds, “It’s a production at the end of the day. And you know what? Not everything comes out [at a] speedy time, because we are just normal everyday people trying to cook for 12 people. That’s craziness.”

Jacinta tells Chattr she believes the contestants and viewers would likely have been “surprised” by their meat-heavy dish, but it’s a dish Mel personally loves to cook and eat.

“I don’t cook meat in my everyday life, so when Mel and I, the way we cook together is Mel would do her portion if she wanted to eat meat, only for the reason [that] I like to taste as I cook,” Jacinta says.

“But the dish that we made, Mel loves. So it just makes sense… we’re a team, and she loves to eat that, so it’s not like we [did] it to cause any more drama, obviously.”

Jacinta tells us she wished they had plated up a different dish, but from what Chattr understands, contestants put forward different recipe options, and producers have the final say.

“[Everybody would have been] surprised with what was chosen for the first meal. There were other meals that Mel and I would have rather cooked, because we had some pretty exciting plant-based sort of dishes,” Jacinta explains.

Mel and Jacinta knew there would be quite a reaction at the dinner table when the guests realised they were being served braised beef, with the self-proclaimed meat master, Michael, judging them heavily.

“They [would have been] a bit shocked with that, just because obviously it’s been quite the big talk around the table that because [Jacinta doesn’t eat] meat, so for us to then serve up our main dish to be a meat-heavy component… it’ll definitely [have] set some tongues wagging around the table,” Mel adds.

What went wrong with Mel and Jacinta’s Instant Restaurant?

In the end, it wasn’t just Mel and Jacinta’s burnt meat dish that let them down — the MKR judges and other contestants also gave their tofu mocha mousse with coffee liqueur and coconut sauce a thumbs-down.

At one point, Manu Feildel placed his spoon into the glass and then waved the entire dessert around in the air to show how solid it was. Michael and Rielli declared they didn’t like the dessert, while Lil couldn’t contain her glee in seeing her competition fail at the final hurdle.

In the end, Mel and Jacinta scored a lowly 50 for their Instant Restaurant, compared to Lil and Lol’s 64, and they were sent packing.

There’s a strategic component to the Instant Restaurant rounds, with each team being able to score their competition’s meal. If a team wants to stay in the competition, they could theoretically score the other cooks one out of 10.

But will Lil and Lol stoop to that level to secure their spot in the MKR competition? The pair tell Chattr that while they hope “something goes wrong” with Mel and Jacinta’s cook, they won’t be scoring strategically.

“I think we will definitely still be fair,” Lil says, before Lol adds, “I think it makes us look at things a little bit differently because of how we were scored [at our Instant Restaurant], but definitely will still be fair going into it.”

“[We] may be vocal when we definitely don’t like something… maybe making our point a bit more valid. Maybe we’ve been a little bit too nice. Time to bring the spice.”

Lil tells us the pair are feeling “very nervous” going into Jacinta and Mel’s Instant Restaurant, as they are desperate to not go home. “The nerves are really high, and there is a possibility that we might be going home,” she admits.

“Being on the bottom, we really just hope that everything’s in our favour, and maybe something goes wrong [with Jacinta and Mel’s cook]. We really don’t want this to be our last cook or last dinner party.”

Lil and Lol reveal what Jacinta and Mel are really like

Even though Jacinta and Mel’s cook will determine whether or not Lil and Lol go home, the girls still won’t speak badly of their competition.

“I don’t think [Jacinta and Mel] deserve the amount of backlash they’ve got,” Lol says carefully. “Emotions are heightened in that situation. You have all these big personalities at the table that have never met.

“Obviously, people are going to react in different ways and get emotional about things, but I definitely don’t think they deserve the backlash they’ve gotten.”

What would Lil and Lol do with the MKR prize money?

The winners of My Kitchen Rules (MKR) 2025 will walk away with a whopping $100,000. Lil and Lol have big plans for their winnings, should they manage to stay in the competition and take out the title.

“The money is absolutely life-changing. We have a few little ideas together. We want to release a cookbook based on our Instant Restaurant name, Sugar, Spice, Everything Nice. Maybe like a three-part cookbook, and then eventually down the track, we would love a little cafe together,” Lol spills.

“We are definitely underestimated in this competition… you don’t have to be, as I said, 83 to know how to cook. There’s so many TikToks, there’s social media these days. It shows you different cuisines from all around the world.

“You don’t have to go there to know how to do it and I think Lil and I are proof. You don’t have to travel to know how to cook.”

But will Lol and Lil still have a chance to win the $100,000 MKR prize? It all depends on how Mel and Jacinta’s cook goes tonight.