MKR's Lauren: "I'm the most hated person in Australia"

The internet can be a pretty nasty place. Even apparently pleasant celebrities are wise not to Google themselves unless they have particularly thick skin. So what if you’re the villain of a reality TV show?

For Lauren, the famously fiery and bitingly critical contestant on the current series of My Kitchen Rules, the reaction on the world wide web has been nothing short of brutal. In an interview with New Idea, Lauren said that she and her husband of two years, Carmine, have struggled with the backlash.

“The social media comments are really, really nasty,” said Lauren. “We try not to look at it too much, but time to time we will have a little peruse.”

After incidents like the infamous horn blowing and even last week’s “attacky” spat with Monique, critics have pounced, leading Lauren to conclude that she is “the most hated person in Australia right now”.

Toot toot! Bring on a custard-off? #RedemptionRound #MKR #MyKitchenRules

A video posted by My Kitchen Rules #MKR (@mykitchenrules) on Mar 6, 2016 at 1:42am PST

“But what’s even more shocking to see is that some of the people making really nasty comments are actual friends of mine, people I used to know very well,” she said. “Very interesting – all this bullying from people we were close to, it’s really nasty.”

Naturally, Lauren thinks it’s all misguided and that she and Carmine are being punished for being upfront.

“We went on the show saying we’re honest and open people,” she told New Idea. “We don’t say one thing and then in the private interviews say something else, which, you know, we’ve seen a lot – like Lisa, who pretended to be nice to our faces but then knifed us in the back.”

Watch Manu surprise Lauren and Carmine while they were cooking at their home restaurant below (post continues after video).

Lauren and Lisa butted heads after the latter raised suspicions that she and Carmine were voting strategically rather than on merit. (Contestants playing the game? Never!)

The South Australian couple aren’t going to be changing their ways any time soon, but still hope that the public will come around.

“It’s been really hard for our families to see the hate, because they were so excited to see us on TV,” Lauren told New Idea.

Do you feel sorry for Lauren?