Amanda actually seemed pretty damn popular to me across SM with the Beryls. Whether that was by default of being paired with Gio, I don't know. I even remember my mum saying this about a group she followed, that the only female celeb they talked about was Amanda. After she went, they gravitated to Annabel.
Regarding breaks, even Layton outright said on ITT how strict Nikita was being during week 10 and wouldn't let him go to the loo or stop for food! He then said, "I'm sure there are rules against that..." Now he may have said it jokingly, but many a true word is spoken in jest and obviously they had great relationship , but still... you simply can't have pros getting that carried away.