The Block 2023 winners Steph and Gian Ottavio stepped out at their first Melbourne Cup in co-ordinated pink outfits, swarmed by fans on Tuesday after their historic win.
The childhood sweethearts sold their property to eccentric billionaire Adrian Portelli for an eye-watering $5m in Sunday night’s auction, beating the record set by last year’s winners, Omar and Oz, who also sold to Portelli.
Pocketing an impressive $1.65m in the sale, Steph and Gian said Portelli’s bid came as a complete shock.
“It was a bit different last year because no one knew who Adrian was,” Gian said.
“This year everyone was blocked, like you couldn’t get in contact with him.
“They’re like Block royalty.”
The house was one of three purchased by Portelli this season, who also picked up Melbourne sisters Eliza and Liberty’s home for $4.3m and WA’s Kyle and Leslie’s for $3.1m.
Steph and Gian, speaking from the Schweppes marquee, remained adamant they had “no idea” of the billionaire’s plans.
“You can’t necessarily converse or chat with them, because they’re sort of untouchable,” Steph said when asked if she or Gian had any contact with the billionaire prior to the auction.
“Our job was to make sure that we filled the room with many potential buyers to make sure that when you walked into that room, you felt the tension.
“Obviously that paid off.”
The Sydneysiders also pocketed an additional $100,000 in prize money for winning the show, making them $1.75m richer overall.
Moving into the holiday season, the couple are looking forward to some time away together by themselves.
“We actually would like to go away and just have like some real R&R,” Steph said.
“We need to be alone on an island.”
Beyond that, the duo are planning to launch their own homewares brand, Japandi Estate.
“We’ve got so many dreams and ambitions,” Steph said.
“We’re just gonna keep on with the next thing and The Block journey has created an amazing foundation for us.”