You won’t believe what they said!

My Kitchen Rules stars Maria and Bailey admitted to “strategically scoring” their rivals in a shock twist on Monday night.

Last week, the pair were accused of “low-balling” their scores by their teammates to ensure their place in the competition.

And now, they have brazenly admitted to being “strategic” with their judging, and said they would do “whatever it takes” to win in a jaw-dropping moment.

They then further fuelled tension when they gave Lol and Lil’s Ultimate Instant Restaurant a surprisingly low score after heaping praise on the duo.
My Kitchen Rules stars Maria and Bailey admitted to strategically scoring on Monday. (Credit: Channel Seven)
The drama kicked off when Justin and Will confronted Maria and Bailey over their criticisms the week before, when they gave a low score despite judge Manu Feildel’s praise for the same dishes.

Maria and Bailey first defended themselves against the allegations before admitting they had “strategically” scored once in the past.

“We’re super honest in the way that we score,” Bailey insisted after Will branded their low scoring as “suss”.

“We’re all different, we all have different palates, it doesn’t mean that because Manu likes it, I’m going to like it,” Maria added.

Bailey said they always promised to be “honest” and wouldn’t change that for any of the teams, with Maria insisting they just hadn’t liked Justin and Will’s food.

“Have you never disagreed with anything that the judges have said?” Maria said, as their rivals pointed out, that Manu had given Justin and Will two 10s for the same dishes.

Mark then accused the pair of “lying” before asking them if they had strategically scored during the first round of Instant Restaurants.

His question prompted a disgruntled Maria to admit that they had strategically scored once in the competition to ensure their own place in Kitchen Headquarters.
Lol and Lil were left baffled when the pair gave them a low score, despite giving them praise. (Credit: Channel Seven)
“Only for the last one. For Amy and Lara’s Instant Restaurant, that’s it. Are you happy with that?” Maria said.

Mark then fumed: “There we go! You said you’ve never done it, you have!”

“We were on the bottom, and we were scared that we were going to go home, so just to be certain that we were going to make it to the HQ, we scored a point less,” Maria explained.

“It was either them or us, so you’re going to do whatever you can to go back to Kitchen HQ, anyone would do it.”

“We’ll do whatever it takes to win the competition,” Bailey added.

Will insisted he has always been honest in his scoring and said he wouldn’t be able to “sleep” at night if he strategically scored as the table was sent into shock over Maria and Bailey’s confession.
Maria and Bailey gave very different scores to Manu Feildel last week, sparking questions. (Credit: Channel Seven)
Later in the episode, Maria appeared to double down as she said she and Bailey would be choosing Lol and Lil’s dishes that they could be most critical of.

The teams were given two options for each course, and Maria said to the camera, “We need to be very strategic in what we choose, so we can be extra critical.”

They first picked bao buns, with Maria gushing: “They were so delicious, it was one of the best entrees that we’ve had in this competition.”

She then picked the chicken gyros, because of her own Greek heritage, and said of the dish, “It was a good Australian gyros, I’d say!”

They then said Lol and Lil’s dessert, a chai poached pear, was “delicious” and “had it all” as they had nothing but praise for the duo.

However, Maria and Bailey then gave a score of just six overall, leaving Lol and Lil completely baffled.
Mark confronted the pair during a heated moment. (Credit: Channel Seven)
“They said our entree was one of the best they’ve had in the competition, but they scored us low; this doesn’t add to me at all,” Lol said.

“The critiques are not matching the scores from Bailey and Maria,” Lil added.

Speaking exclusively to New Idea, Danielle and Marko said they had noticed some of the teams had been “low-balling” in their scores.

Meanwhile, Michael and Rielli, who were eliminated during Kitchen HQ, also said they didn’t believe everybody was scoring fairly on the show.