BLOCK FAVOURITE ETHAN'S CHAOTIC ENGAGEMENT

The Kiwi reality star opens up about popping the question and his family's new life in Oz.

- Debbie Harrison

"When The Block NZ: Firehouse fan favourite Ethan Ordish's now-fiancé. Mia Broad suggested they should pack up their lives to move to Australia, he laughed.

At the time, their Te Kuiti construction business was full-on and so was their family life with two young kids.

But Mia's words stuck and a month later, Ethan agreed to the trans-Tasman move.

"There was no big catalyst," says the 32-year-old. "We had a business which was going well, but I was over it. I was tired of being tired and stressed all the time." Without confirmed jobs or much of a plan, they moved with their kids, Marley, five, and Noah, two, to Queensland six months after making the decision.

"We could have thrown a dart at a map for where we were going to live, but instead we just googled the most family-friendly suburbs in Queensland and ended up in North Brisbane," laughs Ethan.

"I had a job lined up, but the guy ghosted me three weeks out. I started panicking - we were trying to get a rental and needed proof of employment. Thankfully, when I posted on a community Facebook page, someone straightaway messaged, 'We'll take you!' It was a huge relief." The good-natured builder, who tackled The Block alongside teammate Sam Whatarangi in 2019, found the first six months in Oz rough.

"We'd blown our savings getting over here," he recalls.

"I find comfort in working, so being in limbo was really hard.

I wasn't enjoying it. I went back to New Zealand a few weeks ago and it was a total eyeopener. I realised we actually made the right choice.

"The cost of living is less and I'm earning 2.5 times what I was back home. I used to work weekends and longer days now I'd be lucky if I crack 40 hours a week. There's way more balance now." That balance is especially important with two little ones.