“Every team scored strategically!”

My Kitchen Rules contestant Bailey admits to Woman’s Day he and cooking partner Maria are “shocked” they’ll be competing in the grand final of the reality competition this Sunday night.

“With our turbulent time on there, we’re shocked that we actually made it in,” says Bailey.

“It was such a hard time for us both inside and outside of filming – we definitely felt really low. But we stayed strong and we really wanted to show that we can do it and we can be proud of us as a team and as individuals,” says Maria.
(Credit: Seven)
And the pair say speculation they only made the cut because of their strategic scoring isn’t fair.

“We scored one team low once and that’s become the centre of attention. But I think everyone can see that every single team has scored strategically in there they just don’t admit it,” says Bailey. “We did it one time, to Amy and Lara – and the rest we’ve just been honest.”

“I don’t feel like we changed any results – it’s not like someone left because of us carving a score or too. It’s the same result,” says Maria.

And the Adelaide-based team says there’ no hard feelings between them and the other contestants….well, most of them.

“Even now, we message each other every day. I know it looks like that we’re not friends on screen but we’re actually very close with everyone except for two people.”

She says she’s referring to Mark and Tan, who the pair famously clashed with on screen this season, after Mark first accused them of strategic scoring.

“We just don’t get along,” says Bailey, who shares the pair are “best friends” now though with Michael and Rielli.

“The highlight has been meeting the people on the show. Our common goal is we love food,” he says.

“My highlight is also the friendship I have with Bailey,” Maria, 30, adds. “It grew stronger and we didn’t have any fights.”
(Credit: Seven)
But they’re more than willing to do battle with the competition on Sunday night.

“It would mean the world to us,” Bailey says of winning. “We’ve put aside a lot of our work things to jump into the competition and we’d love to see all the hard work pay off.”

“For me, it would be unreal to win and get my shop front going,” says Blondies Bakehouse owner Maria. “It’s really hard to have a small business in 2025 so it would really help me with that.”

And she’s already dreaming about her potential cookie store.

“It’s all pink and cute!” she says.

Meanwhile, Bailey, 28, is planning to build his own cooking app for kids.

The pair say they went into the grand final with a secret ingredient – some words of advice from My Kitchen Rules judges Colin Fassnidge and Manu Fieldel!

“Work hard and make sure you communicate,” Bailey says the chefs told them.

“And keep it simple,” adds Maria.

Regardless of the reality show’s outcome, Maria and Bailey say their respective partners are glad to have the pair home.

“Now we can go back to cooking for them every night,” Bailey laughs. “It’s unreal.”