Recipe for romance! Lisa says yes to TV chef John
THEY struck up a romance after meeting in the Celebrity MasterChef kitchen.
Now John Torode, 53, and EastEnders actress Lisa Faulkner, 46, are to marry after the Australian chef proposed on Christmas Day.
Miss Faulkner shared a photo of her diamond engagement ring on Instagram, revealing that they had waited until after their festive break in Goa to reveal the news. She captioned the post: ‘My gorgeous John completely surprised me on Christmas Day and asked me to marry him! After waiting to tell our family when we got home, we then had a few days just grinning at each other!
‘I’m so very happy to share our lovely news with you. Happy 2019.’
Miss Faulkner met Torode on the 2010 series of the BBC cooking competition, which she won. At the time they were both married to other people.
The actress ended her sixyear marriage to actor Chris Coghill in 2011, while Torode split from wife Jessica that same year and finalised his divorce in 2014.
Torode and Miss Faulkner went public with their romance in 2012. She has an adopted daughter, 12, with her former husband, while Torode has two children from his marriage and two from a previous relationship.
The couple say they did not become involved until after the cookery show had finished.
Miss Faulkner told the Daily Mail in 2013: ‘John and I always got on but I never thought about me and him. I don’t know how things change, but something does.’