Adelaide-based content creator Aaron has gate-crashed his way into the My Kitchen Rules arena alongside his mate, Chris – and the self-confessed “BBQ kings” reckon their strong friendship will be the secret ingredient to them smoking the competition.
Aaron initially met Chris, from Sydney, on Instagram. Working in similar fields, they connected over their mutual passion of BBQs.
But it was only after Aaron invited “talented cook” Chris, 47, to an interstate BBQ competition that their bond really “blossomed”, Aaron reveals.
Since then, they’ve entered – and won! – many BBQ competitions around Australia.
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While Chris and Aaron, 33, have enjoyed being by each other’s sides for all the highs, they’ve also supported each other through some very low points.
Devoted family man Chris tells us that he and his wife, Mayleen, tragically lost one of their twin sons when they arrived prematurely.
“One of them passed away sadly after eight days,” Chris reveals to New Idea.
“They were born prematurely at 25 weeks, so we went through complications with our other son, Adrian.”
Chris and Mayleen are also parents to a daughter, Yvonne.
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Understandably, Chris says that losing their infant son changed the couple forever.
“It’s hard,” he bravely shares.
“It’s something that changed mine and my family’s lives, but at the same time we feel lucky that we’ve got each other.”
Two years after their heartbreaking loss, Mayleen returned to work and Chris became the family’s primary caregiver.
Chris explains that having Aaron around has been “awesome,” and his kids see him as their ‘Uncle Aaron.’
“We love having him over to our house,” Chris tells us.
“He’s always got his own room when he visits.”
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When it comes to his family, Aaron shares that they are so excited to see him on TV.
“They haven’t watched the show for a few seasons – or some of them have never even watched it!” he says.
“But they’ll all be tuning in now that we are making an appearance.”
They’re also preparing him for his new-found fame, with Aaron adding, “My cousin got me to sign one of my BBQ bottles.”
Meanwhile, Chris admits it was a “weird” experience meeting judges Manu Feildel and Colin Fassnidge in real life.
“I’ve always watched Manu,” he explains. “So I was obviously pretty chuffed to meet him!”
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