MKR ‘villain’ Jessica distracted by painful family tragedy during filming: ‘I felt a sense of guilt’

MUCH talked about My Kitchen Rules contestant Jessica Tichonczuk has revealed during her time filming the show she was dealing with tough personal family matters.

MUCH talked about My Kitchen Rules contestant Jessica Tichonczuk has revealed during her time filming the show she was dealing with tough personal family matters.

The day she and friend Marco Dillman were eliminated, her grandmother died.

Tichonczuk is the most talked about contestant this year because of her forthright and direct food opinions, but she Dillman crashed out of the competition, scoring just 38 last night.

Tichonczuk said filming the show was tough at times because she was away from her family and her mind was at home and not on the job.

Jessica Tichonczuk and Marco Dillman from My Kitchen Rules.

“I felt a whole sense of guilt and remorse, because I thought I was letting my family down because I wasn’t around,” she said.

“I was trying to keep saying to myself that I was doing something really positive for my future, and the my family loves me and they understand, but no matter how much someone tells you it’s OK, I still felt I should have been there a bit more.

“It was very hard.”

She said she has mixed feelings about her time on the show.

Jessica & Marcos

Contestant Gareth and Alex. Pictures: Jack Tran

“It was up and down, because of what was going on in my personal life, it just really affected my personality and my ability to let new people into my life,” she said.

“I just shut down emotionally, that’s the only thing I could do.”

Tichonczuk clashed with a few contestants on the show, including Queensland miner Alex Ebert who accused her of having an attitude problem.

My Kitchen Rules judges Colin Fassnidge and Rachel Khoo. Picture: Supplied/Seven

While she had some enemies early on in the show, she said her family and friends are proud of how she dealt with the situation.

“They are really proud of me, they know who I am,” she said.

“It’s reality TV, you know how it works, every show has a character, every show has a villain.

“They love me for who I am.”