Simone Prest from MKR Australia has a lot to celebrate. Not only are he and his friend Viviana Barile a huge hit with the show’s viewers, but Simone Prest and his partner Victoria have some exciting family news – he’s going to be a dad.
“I’m going to be a dad soon!” Italian-born Simone Prest reveals. “We’re expecting a little boy. I’m super-happy but also a bit nervous, especially since we don’t have any family here in Australia. It’ll be challenging at first, but I’m confident everything will be alright at the end of the day!”
Simone Prest, who moved to Brisbane nine years ago and recently became an Aussie citizen, is now hoping to fly his dad over to be with him. “His support would mean a lot to us during this time,” he tells.
The takeaway business owner, 32, and his hairdresser bestie Viviana, 31, have made it to the final week of MKR. In the second semi-final, they’ll cook off against Perth’s Mike della Maddalena and Pete Bellini, whom they describe as “our friends”, despite Mike having called their entrée “crap”.
Simone laughs, “Mike is Mike. It’s like getting upset with your brother – you get upset and then you move on.”
In fact, since filming finished, all six of the original MKR teams from this season have stayed in daily contact with each other via WhatsApp – and they plan to reunite again to watch this week’s grand final together.
“We’re just in each other’s lives constantly,” says Viviana. Social media has been full of love for Simone and Viviana, who scored the highest total in MKR history at their second instant restaurant.
“We never expected this amount of love and support,” enthuses Viviana. “We don’t even know why we’re getting it, to be honest!”
Fans have called for the pair to get their own TV show, and the pair love the idea. “We could do maybe a tour of Italy, maybe on a Vespa,” suggests Simone.
“That would be absolutely fantastic – even though you’re an awful driver!” laughs Viviana. “But I think it would be fantastic… If we can survive the Vespa!”
Simone’s partner, Victoria, fully supported his decision to go on MKR – “She knows how much this meant to me” – but she has no interest in cooking. Thankfully, he always wanted to do the show with Viviana. “It was meant to be, to do this show with her, with my best friend,” he says. “I would say that it worked very well!”
MKR Australia screens 7.30pm Mondays and Tuesdays, and 7pm Sundays on TVNZ 2, streaming on TVNZ+.
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