“Justin and Will have been the people that we wanted to go up against.”

Boss friends Maria and Bailey are up against frontrunners Justin and Will in the My Kitchen Rules (MKR) grand final, and they believe they have a secret weapon that could secure them the win.

Both pairs earned their spots after winning their respective semi-finals and eliminating two teams from the competition, setting the stage for an intense grand-finale showdown.

However, Justin and Will’s journey to the end was a lot smoother than Maria and Bailey’s; they scored the highest in the first Instant Restaurant round, meaning that they got to skip the entire second round of Instant Restaurants. Meanwhile, Maria and Bailey travelled around the country three times for the home cooking challenge.

Looking back at their journey on MKR 2025, Maria and Bailey said that the fact that they did an extra Instant Restaurant round, compared to Justin and Will, may work in their favour at the finale.

“We actually had the chance to cook more times in the competition than Justin and Will, so maybe we’re a bit more aware of how to deal with stress when things go wrong,” Maria told Chattr.

Bailey added that he and Maria are extremely determined to come out of the grand final on top.

“I think just sheer willpower is the only secret weapon that we’ve got,” he laughed.

Bailey said that while he knows Will and Justin are tough competition, he’s glad to be facing them in the finale because he wants to win, knowing he beat the best.

“Justin and Will have been the people that we wanted to go up against,” he explained. “We wanted to be against them, because we find them the biggest competition that we’ve had, so we’re definitely nervous to go against them, considering all the feedback and the scores that they have had the whole competition.”
Maria and Bailey with Justin and Will on MKR. Image: Seven.

What would Maria and Bailey spend the prize money on if they win MKR?

The winner of MKR 2025 scores $100,000 in prize money, and Maria and Bailey already know what they’ll spend the money on if they’re triumphant.

“I’m planning to maybe open up my first shop room with my cookie business,” Maria, who owns Blondie’s Bakehouse, told Chattr.

Meanwhile, Bailey, who already owns five businesses, is looking to launch a cooking app.

“I want to create a an app that it’s a little bit like a YouTube or a video program for and for youth to be able to watch and underprivileged youth, that’s what I do for for a living, and so that they can watch and learn how to cook with cooking — really easy with things that you can just find in the cupboard and and make it a bit fun and exciting. So it’s not just a boring video of how to cook something, but makes it a little bit more interesting.”