In the lead-up to The Block auctions on Sunday night, many people were wondering what would happen, given it was the first year since 2022 that billionaire buyer Adrian Portelli wouldn’t be at. ‘Mr Lambo’, as he was referred to after his first appearance on the show, went out with a bang last year, purchasing all of the properties and spending a huge $15,030,000.
The year prior, Adrian spent a whopping $12 million on three of the properties. The billionaire certainly changed those contestants’ lives, but this year, he was nowhere to be seen.
Adrian was responsible for two out of three of the biggest sales in the show’s history, and on Sunday night, he appeared to be watching the auctions from the comfort of his couch, like the rest of us.
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Adrian took a swipe at the show by sharing a stunned selfie with several crickets emojis, referencing the fact that four out of five of the auctions were very quiet, with very little bidding.
He also shared a photo of The Block’s logo crossed out with a Channel 7 logo over the top and “My Reno Rules” written underneath.
Adrian (pictured last year with Block producer Julian Cress) took a dig at The Block by sharing a photo of its logo covered by that of Channel 7. Photo: Nine and Instagram/adrian_portelli
Adrian also took another dig at the show.
“Well, that’s a bit awkward,” he said in a Facebook video as the show played on a TV behind him.
“But anyway, I still have The Block houses [from last year], and it’s clear that nobody wants to pay for them,” he said of his Phillip Island properties.
Adrian Portelli joins Channel 7’s My Reno Rules
It was revealed earlier this year that Adrian was joining Seven’s upcoming rival renovation series, My Reno Rules, in 2026 alongside Dr Chris Brown and former Block judge Neale Whitaker.
The series is a brand-new renovation competition that will see four “hardworking teams of Aussie battlers” going head-to-head as they transform two neighbouring rundown houses in Melbourne into breathtaking homes.
The Block host Shelley Craft told Yahoo Lifestyle that she thought it was a good thing that Adrian wouldn’t be at the auctions this year, hoping that it would allow other “fresh faces” the chance to get involved.
Adrian Portelli with last year’s winners, Maddy and Charlotte. Photo: Nine
“We don’t pay Adrian to be there; he’s not on staff at Nine, he’s not a part of The Block production,” she told us.
Without Adrian’s this year, two of the properties were passed in, meaning Emma and Ben, and Han and Can haven’t made a cent from their 12 weeks of hard work.
Foreman Dan slams The Block’s reserve prices
It wasn’t just Adrian taking a swipe at the show, but former contestant and one of the show’s stars, Dan Reilly, AKA Foreman Dan, also took a jab.
Dan said sitting on the couch next to Scott was “one of the most amazing experiences” of his life.
But, within the comments a follower asked who sets the reserve prices.
“Someone who hopefully won’t be doing it again,” Dan said.
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Another asked how he felt seeing two teams make no money thanks to the high reserve prices to which he responded he was “gutted for them”.
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