BAKE OFF STAR PAUL SPLITS FROM WIFE
TV judge tell of ‘sadness’ as he and Alex separate after 20 years
GREAT British Bake Off judge Paul Hollywood and his wife Alex have split after 20 years of marriage.
The separation comes five years after she forgave him for an affair.
In a joint statement released last night, the couple said their
focus would now be on their 16-year-old son, Joshua.
The statement read: “It is with sadness that we have decided to separate.
“Our focus continues to be the happiness of our son, and we would ask the press and public to allow us privacy as a family during this very difficult time.”
Paul and Alex, also a chef, married in 1998 after meeting in Cyprus.
They separated in 2013 when the TV chef admitted to having an affair with Marcela Valladolid, his co-star on the US version of Bake Off.
But Hollywood, 51, later called his fling “the biggest mistake of my life”. Speaking on TV to Jonathan Ross, he explained that he and Alex were working to rebuild their marriage.
“We’re just going to take things one step at a time but I still love her,” he declared.
The last time their marriage broke down, the split took its toll on Joshua, who was 11. Paul said: “My son got quite ill – and I don’t want to bring that back.”
Yesterday, Paul suggested the female stars of the Great British Bake Off “abandoned” the series when it moved from the BBC to Channel 4. Co-judge Mary Berry and presenters Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins chose not to go with the baking programme.
Hollywood told Radio Times magazine: “I stayed with Bake Off. The girls abandoned it. But I was the one put under siege.”