The Block 2026 contestant Rick has defended his daughter and teammate Tayla, saying she “doesn’t stop” hustling after some of her fans questioned her work ethic during the build.
Tayla — who forms one-half the The Block’s Green Team alongside her dad — has faced scrutiny in recent weeks about her level of commitment and involvement in the renovation, with fans claiming throughout the season that she has offloaded much of the work on Rick, a builder and property developer.
Only fuelling the lazy accusations were the instances where Tayla took a trip to the beach and got her nails done instead of working on-site, as well as how frequently she’s caught dancing and fooling around during the build.
It led some fans to criticise Tayla’s perceived lack of manual labor, saying on social media that she is “constant[ly] fluffing about and not knuckling down,” that she has been “pretty useless” in terms of actual renovation, and that she “needs a serious attitude adjustment” in order to truly shoulder some of the workload required for The Block.
The Block’s Rick defends his daughter and teammate Tayla
Now, Rick has come out in fierce defence of his daughter, advocating for her work ethic and denying the lazy criticisms. In an episode of Tools Down — The Block’s official behind-the-scenes interview segment — Rick directly addressed chatter about Tayla’s dedication to the job.
“As you’ve probably heard, there’s rumours about [Tayla] not doing much on The Block,” Rick said in the Tools Down interview. “But she doesn’t stop… I know for a fact that she put 100 per cent in, right the way through,” he added. Rick went on to reference Tayla’s beach trip, saying there was enough time in their schedule for her quick break and suggesting there were contextual details of that moment that were left out.
“You see her skipping along the beach and doing her bits and pieces, but I actually told her to go because I didn’t need her that day,” Rick explained of their Bathroom Week workload. “She was doing cartwheels down the beach. But look, it’s TV, and they can show what they want,” Rick said, with Tayla adding that there was “nothing I could do” on-site during that moment.
It’s not the first time the Green Team has hit back at the lazy allegations. Tayla told TV Week that her carefreeness is reserved only for moments of downtime, like “when I am waiting for my car, or the cameras are being set up,” while Rick admitted that he struggles to accept help and “tr[ies] to do too much myself.”
The Block teams weigh in on each other’s work ethic
The other teams have also weighed in on the commentary. Chantel and Wyatt told New Idea that Tayla “wasn’t doing much” on the show, and said her minimal involvement in the build became “a thing” throughout the work site “as the weeks progressed”.
Interestingly, Tayla wasn’t the only one who copped that criticism from Chantel, with the fitness coach levelling a similar claim at fellow 2026 contestant, Lisa. In an exclusive interview with Chattr, Chantel — who forms the Blue Team with her partner, Wyatt — said Lisa “was napping most of the time and couldn’t make a decision to save her life.”
That clap-back came after Lisa and Rosco claimed in an exclusive interview with Chattr that Chantel and Wyatt “probably wouldn’t have finished a room a lot of the time because they left early all the time” — so it’s safe to say a bunch of teams are quarrelling over just how much work they are (or are not) putting into their builds.
We’ll get to see whether all the work pays off this Sunday, when the teams reveal their Main Ensuite rooms for judging as Week Four wraps up.
The Block airs Sunday – Thursday on Channel 9 and 9Now.
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