From the start of the season, a cute romance was seemingly blossoming on My Kitchen Rules (MKR) 2026 between Simon and fellow South Australian contestant Deanne.
During Angus and Simon’s Instant Restaurant, Simon appeared noticeably flustered around Deanne and even decorated her dessert with a desiccated coconut love heart, prompting Alisha to tease, “Is there going to be a romance?”
Simon later admitted Deanne had stood out and joked that he wasn’t sure he had won her over.
In an interview with New Idea, Simon opened up on his feelings. “Deanne caught my eye, and I was sort of trying to put a bit of the dingo magic to try to win her over, and unfortunately I’m not sure that I got across the line there, but we live in hope,” he said.
Deanne didn’t seem to share the same crush as Simon, so Chattr asked her in an exclusive interview if the feeling was mutual and she umm… did not mince her words. “Oh God, no!” she replied.
Deanne went on to suggest she only played along with Simon’s affections to secure higher scores from him and Angus. “You know what? We did at one point, I guess we did needed some sympathy votes. So having some of the boys like us at the table wasn’t a bad thing,” Deanne said.
“Maybe we used that to our advantage. It was just a bit of fun with him.”
The reality star added that she made her opinions known to Simon at one of the dinners. “None of that was shown because then he asked [if he was her type], and I said, ‘Simon, you’re not my type’. Like none of that was going anywhere.”
Do Deanne and Simon have a romance on My Kitchen Rules?
No. Both Alisha and Deanne maintain that they considered Simon and Angus just their friends on the show.
“We absolutely loved them. They were hilarious. They thought we were funny. I don’t know if they thought we were funny or hot — either way, maybe both!” Alisha joked.
“We definitely got along with them. They were a good laugh.”
Of course, this will come as disappointing news for romance enthusiasts, but alas, it sounds like the My Kitchen Rules set did help birth a beautiful friendship between the two teams.
My Kitchen Rules airs on Channel 7 and 7Plus.
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