EXCITABLE TV

chef Aldo Zilli admits to the real reason he married his second wife, former model Nikki Welch, 14 years ago.

‘I’m Italian and I can cook. When we got married, I asked her if she could cook, and she said: “Why would I have married you if I could cook?” ’ the 63-year-old tells me.

‘I married her for her money. Everybody thinks it’s the opposite, but she had two properties when I married her. She was a model and actress for 20 years but then invested in property, and now she’s a property queen.’

Aldo, who has three children with Nikki, 21 years his junior, adds: ‘I’m not romantic. I’m the kind of person who forgets anniversaries, birthdays, Valentine’s Day. I would book a job on her birthday, for example. I’ve done that before. But she forgives me — especially if there’s money involved.’