The Block stars Jess Eva and Norm Hogan have announced their surprise split – which they kept a secret for three years.
The hosts of Budget Battlers revealed they had parted ways on a recent episode of the Channel Nine renovation reality show.
‘Jess and I broke up three years ago,’ Norm admitted as he sat next to his ex on the couch.
He added that the decision came as a result of wanting to offer their two children Freddie, 11, and Matilda, eight, the best life possible.
‘We just had some stages where we probably weren’t getting along as well as we were and we called it off at that point because we’ve got two kids,’ Norm admitted.
‘It’s not the ideal world, mum and dad are not together, but we try and make life the best for them and try to make them as happy as we can.’
The Block stars Jess Eva and Norm Hogan have announced their surprise split – which they kept a secret for three years
The couple continue to co-parent their children and Norm added that the split was amicable.
‘We’re still great mates and, to be honest, if we weren’t great mates we wouldn’t be doing this show together,’ he said.
‘It’s a good thing between us because we still get along.’
Jess also reflected on the couple’s relationship as they walked through the woman’s Melbourne home that was getting a makeover.
She took particular notice of photos of the woman with her late husband, who had been married for 50 years.
‘You know, love comes in every single way, that’s why I’m so proud of us,’ Jess said.
‘We’re not together, together, but I’ll love you forever.’
Following the split, the couple continue to live together in their Sydney property, with Norm splitting his time between Sydney and Victoria where he cares for his parents.
The hosts of Budget Battlers revealed they had parted ways on a recent episode of the Channel Nine renovation reality show
‘Jess and I broke up three years ago,’ Norm admitted as he sat next to his ex on the couch. He added that the decision came as a result of wanting to offer their two children Freddie, 11, and Matilda, eight, the best life possible
‘He’s got his own bedroom at my house, and he’s got his own little jar of Moccona,’ Jess laughed.
‘I have to buy that myself, though,’ Norm added.
Speaking to New Idea in April about the split, Jess said it was an ‘accumulation of small things and pressures.’
‘One day, we were both sitting in our backyard, having a beer in front of the fire pit, and I just said, “Norm, I love you, but we can’t keep going like this.” He said, “I love you too, and I agree.”‘
Jess added that the couple spent hours figuring out how they were going to break the news to their children.
‘We were pooping ourselves but eventually, we sat them down and said that there are two kinds of divorces,’ she said.
‘There’s bad divorce where it can get mean or there’s fighting – or there’s ‘best friending’.
‘Then I said, “Daddy and I have decided we want to try best friending.”‘
Jess and Norm gained popularity on the 2018 season of The Block, where their apartment at Melbourne’s Gatwick Hotel fetched $2.859 million, earning them a profit of $209,000
Jess added that Freddie and Matilda were so ‘unfazed’ by the news that they ran off to play basketball.
Jess and Norm gained popularity on the 2018 season of The Block, where their apartment at Melbourne’s Gatwick Hotel fetched $2.859 million, earning them a profit of $209,000.
They returned to television last year as hosts of Budget Battlers, a series in which they transform a home each week with only a $10,000 budget.
