Is Adrian Portelli *really* out of The Block game?

Emma and Ben with Adrian Portelli at The Block

Billionaire The Block buyer Adrian Portelli has been spotted filming a video in Emma and Ben’s Daylesford wine cellar, despite repeatedly indicating he wouldn’t be attending this year’s auctions.

Ray White real estate agent Jamee Favorito shared a video talking to Adrian about his path to success — and the background looked suspiciously familiar. It wasn’t long until followers pointed out in the comments section that Adrian and Jamee filmed the clip in Emma and Ben’s cellar.

“Bro at The Block… after they said he wouldn’t be back…” One person wrote. Another commented: “Stop buying the houses. I want to see actual auctions.” Jamee replied, saying that “someone just needs to outbid him”, and the user bit back, pointing out that it’s extremely hard to outbid a billionaire.

So, does Adrian’s appearance at House One mean that he’s a potential buyer? When Chattr asked Emma and Ben about Adrian visiting their house, they stayed coy.

“It’s AI, it’s AI,” Ben joked, notably not giving a simple explanation for Adrian’s visit.

On top of that, Jamee has repeatedly popped up at The Block this season, and Emma and Ben’s real estate agent is his Ray White colleague, Aaron Hill.

Will Adrian Portelli buy one of The Block 2025 houses?

During last year’s The Block auctions, where he spent $15 million and bought all five houses, Adrian Portelli said that it would be his last time at The Block auction day.

“I think this is the final one [auction day],” he said. “So, I’m going to hang the boots up and go out with a bang. So, I did.”

Then, earlier this year, The Block host Scott Cam told Nova 96.9’s Fitzy & Wippa with Kate Ritchie that the show asked him not to come back, later reneaging and clarifying that Adrian wasn’t ‘banned’.

“We said to Adrian, ‘We’d love you not to come next year, if that’s alright…’ He said, ‘Yeah, okay, he won’t come,’” he explained.

“But he may come,” Scott continued. “We don’t know, but we do want to give mums and dads the opportunity to have a crack at a Block house … but if Adrian comes and wants to buy the lot of them, well, that rules them out.”

In July, the billionaire revealed he’d signed on for My Reno Rules, a new renovation series on Channel 7 — The Block’s rival network — making a return to the auctions seem even less likely.

However, as a Reddit user pointed out, Adrian initially said last year would be his last auction, not his last The Block purchase.

“He did say last year that he won’t be attending auctions but could send a buyer’s advocate like he did last year for two of the houses…” they wrote.

Another suggested that the clip of Adrian in Emma and Ben’s cellar might be a marketing technique to create buzz.

“Maybe done through the REA, because they know the level of interest in Portelli, and chasing clicks and views. Looks like it is working!”

Regardless, we can’t wait to see whether Adrian will attend this year’s auctions!