John Torode and Lisa Faulkner's love story started off with 'cowardly' letter

02 December 2023 , 10:42

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John Torode and Lisa Faulkner's love story started off with 'cowardly' letter

John Torode has said his relationship with wife Lisa Faulkner began with a "cowardly" letter he sent her.

The TV couple met when Lisa appeared on Celebrity MasterChef and initially sparked a friendship. The Australian-British chef is now happily married to Lisa and the pair have their own TV cookery show together, called John and Lisa's Weekend Kitchen.

Romance blossomed after they met on Celebrity MasterChef in 2010, with Lisa triumphing in the series. The pair started off as friends, with John married to Jessica, who he had been with since 2000. A year later, they had separated and he embarked on a relationship with Lisa, with them taking further steps in 2014 when John was divorced from Jessica.

John Torode and Lisa Faulkner on John and Lisa Weekend Kitchen

It started in a reasonably old-fashioned romantic way with John sending Lisa a letter asking for her to come on a date – a letter which the MasterChef judge has since described as "cowardly". Speaking about the first buds of romance between them, Lisa told the Daily Mail in 2013: "John and I were friends. Neither of us thought of it as anything else until...

"I don't know how things change, but something does. He asked me on a date. We went out for dinner. Then it was slightly different. I'm really, really happy. John and I are having such a nice time but we're taking things slowly. There are lots of other people to consider."

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Speaking himself about the letter that kicked off his relationship with Lisa, John admitted he didn't want to cause awkwardness between them as they had become close friends before taking a different path. John told the Daily Mail: "I'd separated from my wife [Jessica] which was awful, and I was reluctant to approach Lisa face to face as I didn't fancy the prospect of her saying no, so I wrote her a letter. If I'd got no response, it wouldn't matter. Cowardly? S***, yeah. I'm as cowardly as they get."

Lisa Faulkner and John Torode attend the ITV Palooza 2023 (Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images)

But things worked out in his favour and they began dating. The couple tied the knot in October 2019 and Lisa has admitted that their bond is unbreakable, saying: "We really like and fancy each other!"

Meanwhile, John has highlighted more practical reasons why their coupling works, saying in an interview: "A really well-made bed. You spend lots of time in it! Honestly, the bedroom – having that sanctuary of a place to go to, I think that's really important. And nice towels... Looking after yourself is as important as looking after each other."

James Brinsford