Jane and Shane’s time on My Kitchen Rules may have come to an end, but judge Colin Fassnidge has now offered a very different perspective on one of the season’s most talked-about contestants.
Following the couple’s elimination, Colin admitted he was surprised by the result before opening up about Jane’s time on the show, the controversy surrounding her and a connection between the pair stretching back around 15 years.
His comments also provide more context around the Jane he knew before reality television — and why her experience on MKR may not have been quite as straightforward as it appeared on screen.
Jane and Shane’s MKR journey comes to an end
Jane and Shane entered the competition with considerable expectations.
Jane had years of experience as a food stylist and had worked around professional chefs, something that quickly caught the attention of the other contestants.
But their first Instant Restaurant did not go as planned.
Their duck egg chawanmushi was undercooked, while their master stock pigeon was overcooked. Their tomato sour dessert was better received, but it was not enough to rescue their overall result.
Jane and Shane ultimately recorded the lowest score in the competition at that stage and were eliminated.
“It was quite shocking actually”
For Colin, the result was unexpected.
“It was quite shocking actually, to be perfectly honest, to see that,” he told TV WEEK.
Interestingly, Colin said the controversial presentation of the pigeon — including the head and feet — was not what concerned him.
Instead, he questioned the cooking technique, explaining that pigeon is a lean meat and that he would not have prepared it in the same way.
His reaction suggested that despite knowing Jane before the competition, she was being judged by exactly the same standards as every other contestant.
Colin reveals his 15-year connection with Jane
Jane’s previous connection with Colin had already attracted attention during the season.
Colin has now explained that the pair had known each other for approximately 15 years through the food industry.
“I’ve known Jane, I reckon, for 15 years, maybe, around the traps,” he said.
He described the professional food world as a relatively small one, with Jane knowing many of the same people he did.
However, Colin also stressed an important distinction: Jane is a food stylist, not a professional chef.
Before filming, Colin said producers had only hinted that one contestant knew him well enough to call him by his nickname, “Fass”.
Once he realised that contestant was Jane, he felt it was important to acknowledge their connection openly.
Why Colin addressed their history from the beginning
The existing relationship inevitably raised questions about whether Jane could receive favourable treatment.
Colin said that was something he wanted to avoid from the outset.
Once he learned Jane was competing, he made it clear that he knew her because he did not want any doubts surrounding his judging.
According to Colin, Jane also quickly understood that their history would make no difference once she entered the competition.
“I think she realised, pretty straightaway, that she was going to get treated the same as everyone else,” he explained.
Jane and Shane’s eventual elimination ultimately put any lingering suggestion of preferential treatment to rest.
The drama surrounding Jane went beyond the food
Jane had become one of the most polarising contestants of the season well before her elimination.
Her direct opinions and criticism of other teams drew considerable attention, particularly after her comments about Alisha and Deanne’s colourful melamine plates.
The disagreement later became one of the season’s most discussed moments, with Alisha and Deanne saying they only discovered the full extent of Jane’s comments after watching the episode themselves.
Other contestants have since offered differing views about how accurately Jane’s personality was represented on television.
That makes Colin’s perspective particularly interesting.
Colin offers a different picture of Jane
Despite the reaction Jane received from some viewers, Colin said his own experience of her had been very different.
“I find Jane quite nice, to be perfectly honest,” he said.
He suggested she may simply have been uncomfortable in the reality-TV environment.
“I just think she was a bit out of her element,” Colin explained.
He also felt the tension with Alisha and Deanne may have contributed to Jane becoming more guarded as the competition progressed.
For someone who had known her for many years before MKR, Colin’s comments provide an alternative perspective to the personality viewers became familiar with on screen.
A different perspective after her MKR exit
Jane’s elimination ultimately came down to what happened in the kitchen.
But the discussion surrounding her time on MKR has extended well beyond one unsuccessful Instant Restaurant.
Colin’s comments reveal that their connection existed long before cameras began rolling — while also making clear that the history between them did not protect Jane and Shane from elimination.
More significantly, his description of the Jane he knew away from the competition paints a somewhat different picture from the outspoken contestant who became one of the season’s biggest talking points.
And with Jane now out of the competition, that long history offers viewers a new perspective on everything that surrounded her MKR journey.
Source: Now To Love / TV WEEK, October 14, 2026.