Lesbian Couple Makes History on The Block Australia: A Pride-Powered Journey

When Han and Can walked onto the of The Block Australia this year, they werent just stepping into a renovation competition they were making history.

As only the second lesbian couple in the shows 21 season history, their presence was another important step forward for visibility and LGBTQIA+ representation on primetime Australian television and it isnt something the pair are taking lightly.

Han and Can sat down to chat with The Star Observer about their time on the show, the importance of visibility and handling the negativity that comes with it.

Coming out for us is something we need to do on the daily

When Han and Can stepped onto the set of The Block the pair were one of the freshest couples on the show, having only been dating for just over a year, they were facing many new experiences together, including being out and proud on national television.

Im always of the belief that I am who I am and I dont really think about my sexuality Han says.

Im just like, Im Han. I know Im a bit wild, a bit crazy, but at the same time it was like, wow, then you think about it like, to be out and proud together and to show Australia what two women can do together, I think thats really, really important. So then it was just like, OK, lets do this, lets talk about it and lets be an upstander and a voice for people that dont feel so comfortable with themselves.

Can reflected on the experiences for both of them as they navigate not only coming out on national television, but in their everyday life.

As two femme presenting women coming out for us is something we need to do on the daily, you know, at every job, every friendship, every time we meet someone, it it is like were coming out because people assume were sisters or were friends and facing that was something quite large to go on national TV and literally out ourselves to everyone that will now know us who watches The Block that we are lesbians, and we are a couple.

That was pretty big for me because in my growing up, my coming out story wasnt so easy as Hans, like I did hide myself and I felt a lot of shame as a teenager. So it was a huge step to come out and it was a great season to do it as well.

A Pride-Powered Beginning

The season began with a bang at Daylesfords iconic ChillOut Festival in rural Victoria, a colourful and joyous moment captured on national TV as the contestants were tasked with building their own pride floats which they proudly stood atop as they weaved through the crowds.

For Can, who had never attended a Pride celebration before, it was transformative.

This was the first one [a pride event] Id ever been to believe it or not& it was the first time. It was absolutely incredible. I cant wait to go to another one. I would love to go to Sydney and do the actual Mardi Gras, but yeah the first time ever doing a Pride festival and being in a float that we designed was pretty extraordinary.

Han was equally moved by the experience, something they didnt quite expect when signing up for the show.

It was so amazing. Theres so many people there for such a small town& everyone was so welcoming and excited and even like had their dogs dressed up like it was super cool. And we interacting with everyone and they were so excited for us, that felt really nice.

Navigating Negativity

While their time on the show has been overwhelmingly positive, online backlash has been unavoidable. With the girls both locking down their social media accounts to avoid online trolls, unfortunately reading the comments online was unavoidable.

Who ordered the Scissor Sisters? Han recalled reading in the comments. It was just like, typical diversity ticking boxes and Oh, we came to watch The Block, not Mardi Gras or pride and there was a lot of like youve lost my vote for watching and never watching this again, i ts not a pride festival and things like that  she says.

Can spoke candidly about how confronting that negativity was after overcoming her own fears and coming out on national television.

But also I think it like it showed like my message on that opening episode was that Ive had such a hard time coming out and I felt so much shame and I didnt feel accepted and it was this big celebration of just owning who I was and then to just be met with the exact same energy of being shut down again,   thats what everyone is scared of . And I think coming on the show, we were hoping that young kids and communities would watch and be like, oh, thats so awesome! Good on them. But then the negative trolls on social media just really bring that all back and I think like for young kids watching, they might read the comments and go ohh actually that is a little bit scary. I dont want all that hate.

But despite the trolls, both remain determined to focus on being visible and proud to show the younger generations theres nothing to fear.

We wanted to show young kids. It doesnt matter who you are or how you identify, you can do anything you want, Han said.

We want to show the younger generation coming through or people struggling with their identity or sexuality that they literally can do anything and its OK to put yourself on a national forum and be yourself. I think theres nothing worse than gr owing up in the world as not yourself, that takes a lot of energy.

But Han remains upbeat with plenty of positive being sent to the pair as well.  T here is a lot of positive comments and a lot of support as well. So I think they outweigh the negatives. Its a really small sample of people that have the time in their day or energy to go out of their way to make a negative comment about someone else t hey dont even know, like that takes a certain person. I could never do that like it doesnt make sense to me.

Love, Design, and Bold Choices

Inside the competition, Han and Cans creativity shines as they promise lots of loud and different designs that go against the norm of their other competitors.

We really wanted to get on The Block and just do something really creative and really different and thats who we are at home. We had a lot of fun using the budget to do some pretty like pops of colour and just some zany like things Can says.

And while renovating under pressure tested their relationship, it ultimately brought them closer.

We had a few arguments, bold disagreements, but we quickly come back together and connect with love, Han shared. I think like we know each other on such a deep, deeper level, I think 12 weeks [on the show] equals 12 years. I feel like Ive been with Can forever, but in a good way.

Can agreed revealing the pair are now even considering marriage after the show.

It aged us, it accelerated us, you know Han and I are talking about getting married now& I love Han so deeply. Shes my best friend, and I know we can do anything together if we can do The Block

At the heart of their journey on The Block, Han and Can want LGBTQIA+ audiences to feel seen.

Like the biggest message we wanted to put out on The Block is that it doesnt matter who you are, doesnt matter who you love or how you identify. You have a very solid place in this world. You belong and you can do amazing things they said.

You can watch Han and Can on The Block Australia on Channel 9.