The Spill: Wednesday's best entertainment and gossip news.

1. MAFS‘ Nick Furphy has opened up about his “disappointing” split from Jessika Power.

Just two months ago, Married At First Sight’s season four contestant Nick Furphy was making headlines for dating the show’s season six villain Jessika Power, but last night Nick took to Instagram to confirm their split.

The 32-year-old started an Instagram live stream to respond to fans and open up about his now ex relationship.

“Are Jess and I dating? No. [With] all the articles out there and people guessing, I just want to put that to bed,” Nick said.

“Am I upset? A bit disappointed, but it’s early days.”

View this post on Instagram

 

I like this girl ???? @jessika_power

A post shared by Nick Furphy (@nick_furphy86) on Aug 5, 2019 at 10:00pm PDT

Jessika first announced the split on Instagram last Sunday saying, “Regretfully after thinking of what’s best for myself and Nick, I decided to ended [sic] our relationship.”

But Nick claims the break-up was a joint decision.

“Jess and I just thought it was better to go our separate ways. I don’t know, it just fizzled out in the end.”

“Look, it was a mutual thing, but I probably still would have tried to hang in there a bit. But the distance… and Jess… it wasn’t working.”

And it sounds like Nick isn’t too keen to get back into the dating game just yet.

“There’s plenty more birds out there, but there’s no rush. I’m just going to live my life and take it easy.”

Coincidentally, Jess announced the split just after Channel Nine confirmed Love Island Australia would be coming back for a second season… which is interesting timing to say the least.

The Spill is Mamamia’s daily entertainment podcast that catches you up on everything in entertainment and pop culture. It’s snackable and perfect for your commute home.

2. “Alex never really was genuine.” Bachelor In Paradise’s Brooke Blurton on her kiss with Alex Nation.

It was the famous kiss that sent waves through paradise. But according to Brooke Blurton, her kiss with Alex Nation on season two of Bachelor in Paradise wasn’t really how it appeared on TV.

“I just think Alex never really was genuine with her feelings and I could really read through that,” 24-year-old Brooke told Who magazine. 

Brooke and Alex became somewhat of an item on the show, before Alex decided to pursue a relationship with fellow contestant, Bill Goldsmith.

“I would’ve really liked it if both parties were genuine with how they were feeling.”

Brooke told the magazine that she was proud to be the first woman to share a lesbian kiss on an Australian reality series. But said there was pressure from producers.

"I wouldn't say it was forced, but [the producers] were really going with it," she said.

Since leaving the show, Brooke has found love with her new boyfriend Nick Power, announcing the relationship on Instagram earlier this year.

"There's no bad blood, but I am all about people who bring value into your life and I just feel like I had to let that part of my life with Alex go."

3. Sunrise's Samantha Armytage denies "spitting the dummy" on The Chase Australia.

According to Lawrence Mooney, Sunrise host Samantha Armytage did not like losing to her colleagues on Channel 7's The Chase.

Competing against her fellow Sunrise stars, David Koch, Mark Beretta and Edwina Bartholomew, Armytage was the first to be kicked out, and the Triple M radio host alleged she initially refused to leave.

“She said, ‘I’ve been humiliated, this is embarrassing! I want another go!’” he claimed, speaking on his morning radio show, Moonman in the Morning.

“The producer said, ‘No, you can’t have another go. The questions are randomly generated, sorry.’

“The story is Sam Armytage refused to leave the floor of The Chase after being caught in the chase,” he said.

 

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This, is 43... ????????‍♀️????????xx (FYI I’m planning to J-Lo myself as I age...????.)

A post shared by Samantha Armytage ⭐️ (@sam_armytage) on Sep 3, 2019 at 6:32pm PDT

However, Armytage has vehemently denied Mooney's accusations, directly responding to his claims on Twitter.

"What complete rubbish. And how irresponsible & mean to repeat such BS. No such thing happened," she tweeted.

"I got out in the first round and couldn’t wait to get off the bloody set! I sat in the green room (eating peanuts) til my colleagues finished, then I went out and rejoined [with] them for the end of the show.

"You’re being salacious and silly and looking for viral hits, which I’ll no doubt unfortunately give you."

What complete rubbish. And how irresponsible & mean to repeat such BS. No such thing happened. I got out in the first round (& couldn’t wait to get off the bloody set!) I sat in the green room (eating peanuts) til my colleagues finished, then I went out & rejoined them 1/2 https://t.co/yrmX0yOXhW

— Samantha Armytage (@sam_armytage) September 4, 2019

@MoonmanMornings ..for the end of the show. You’re being salacious & silly& looking for viral hits(which I’ll no doubt unfortunately give you????‍♀️)
The show was for charity & @SoldierOnAust was v happy with my performance (& for having a go!) So cease & desist with the BS ????????‍♀️????2/2

— Samantha Armytage (@sam_armytage) September 4, 2019

Since Armytage shared her post at 8am this morning, neither Mooney, or representation from Triple M have responded to her comments.

4. Australian Survivor host Jonathan LaPaglia has spoken out about the show's editing and... woah.

Fans were not happy with last night's episode of Survivor, which saw previously evicted contestants Daisy Richardson and Simon Black compete to return to the competition.

The challenge saw the pair manoeuvre 10 discs through a maze, before attempting to balance the 10 discs on top of each other, holding the count for three seconds.

However, fans claimed the competition was rigged, calling out host Jonathan LaPaglia.

Although Daisy was the first to balance all 10 of her discs, viewers noticed LaPaglia was much slower in delivering her three counts, than when Simon stacked his 10 discs. Ultimately the former AFL Brisbane Lions player won the competition, sending the former Contender home.

Another day another @Survivor_AU controversy! @JLa_Paglia not a fan of counting? first video is daisy. Keep watch of the time stamp...#SurvivorAU pic.twitter.com/cQOzlTb1TF

— Michael Lee (@MickLee93) September 3, 2019

Responding to the controversy, LaPaglia said that while the challenge only lasted six minutes during the episode, in reality it was filmed over two hours. The instructions of the original challenge were also different to the one screened on TV.

"I see a lot of people upset at my counting in this challenge but the anger seems misdirected," he wrote in an Instagram post.

"I can assure you I am a staunch defender of the integrity of the game and do everything I can to make sure it is fair on the floor.

"This challenge did not play out as depicted in the edit. Originally the goal was to stack 12 discs. But after almost two hours of failed attempts (Simon was close, you can see his stack of 12 falling in the third pic) a decision was made to reset and do a sudden death playoff; whoever had the most discs stacked in 10 minutes wins.

 

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I see a lot of people upset at my counting in this challenge but the anger seems misdirected. I can assure you I am a staunch defender of the integrity of the game and do everything I can to make sure it is fair on the floor. However once it’s shot, it’s out of my hands. This challenge did not play out as depicted in the edit. Originally the goal was to stack 12 discs. But after almost 2 hours of failed attempts (Simon was close, you can see his stack of 12 falling in the 3rd pic) a decision was made to reset and do a sudden death playoff; whoever had the most discs stacked in 10 minutes wins. Simon undoubtedly won the playoff, no question. Now I guess a decision was made in post production to edit out the playoff and create a more exciting ‘horse race’ (even though in reality Simon and Daisy were not neck and neck at that point). In doing so they grabbed a countdown from somewhere else for Daisy. That’s why they don’t sound the same. That being said, Simon won fair and square. And sometimes things are rearranged in the edit to make it more exciting for the viewer. That doesn’t mean it’s rigged. In this case it means the editing wasn’t as sharp as it could have been. #SurvivorAU

A post shared by @ jonathanlapaglia on Sep 3, 2019 at 7:04pm PDT

Instead, he blamed the error on the post-production editing process.

"Now I guess a decision was made in post production to edit out the playoff and create a more exciting ‘horse race’ (even though in reality Simon and Daisy were not neck and neck at that point). In doing so they grabbed a countdown from somewhere else for Daisy," he wrote.

"That’s why they don’t sound the same. That being said, Simon won fair and square. And sometimes things are rearranged in the edit to make it more exciting for the viewer. That doesn’t mean it’s rigged.

"In this case it means the editing wasn’t as sharp as it could have been."

And there we go... the tribe (leader) has spoken.

5. “I wasn’t healthy." In 2010, Renee Zellweger abruptly disappeared from the spotlight.

In the 1990s and 2000s, Renee Zellweger was everywhere you turned.

She became widely known after starring in Jerry Maguire, and then cemented herself as a household name with Bridget Jones’s Diary in 2001.

She’s received three Oscar and six Golden Globe noms, and won an Oscar, Golden Globe, BAFTA Award and SAG Award for 2003’s Cold Mountain.

In short, Renee Zellweger was a powerhouse.

But in 2010, after a series of films that didn’t hit the mark, Zellweger retreated from Hollywood. Her break lasted six years.

In a interview with Vulture, Zellweger has explained why she decided to take a step back.

It was, in part, thanks to some words of wisdom from her friend Salma Hayek:

“She shared this beautiful… metaphor? Analogy? ‘The rose doesn’t bloom all year … unless it’s plastic’,” Zellweger explained.

“I wasn’t healthy. I wasn’t taking care of myself. I was the last thing on my list of priorities,” she said, explaining that around this time she saw a therapist for the first time.

You can read more about Renee Zellweger here. 

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