Paul Hollywood's rollercoaster love life from sad divorce to young new wife

29 December 2023 , 22:30

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Paul Hollywood has made the Honours list (Image: Getty Images)

There is nothing better than a handshake from Paul Hollywood and now the honour is being returned.

The Great British Bake Off judge has been awarded MBE in the New Years Honours list for his services to baking and broadcasting. The 57-year-old has been a firm favourite on TV screens after rising to stardom as a head baker for a string of top hotels before showcasing his talents on the BBC.

He is known for his love of bread, but Hollywood, with his silver hair and piercing blue eyes, also has a reputation for being a heartthrob. Away from the cameras, the baker has had an interesting love life...

Paul and Alexandra's love blossomed in Cyprus (WireImage)

Alexandra and Paul divorced in 2017 (Ken McKay/ITV/REX)

Just a few months back, Paul reportedly tied the knot with partner Melissa Spalding in a lavish ceremony attended by more than 75 of their closest family and friends, including Prue Leith. The wedding is said to have taken place in Cyprus, as per Hello!, with the couple saying 'I do' in the Ayia Athanasia chapel, on the grounds of the luxury Anassa Hotel.

But this of course wasn't his first walk down the aisle, as it followed a split from his first wife. Paul met Alexandra Hollywood while he was working as head baker at the swish five-star Annabelle Hotel in Paphos, Cyprus, back in 1996. Alexandra had been working as a diving instructor at the resort at the time, and sparks flew when Paul turned up with delicious baked goods as gifts for the dive school staff

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During an interview with the Mail Online in 2013, Alexandra recalled: "He was a fantastic-looking guy. He was absolutely lovely with piercing blue eyes and I thought: 'Wow!' I didn't even look at the bread." Their courtship got off to a sweet start, with Paul turning up for daily morning dives with Alexandra, treating his then-new love to opulent champagne chocolate ganache pastries.

Alexandra added: "We fell in love very quickly. Two weeks was all it took - we both knew. Paul was lovely, he made me the most wonderful pastries for breakfast. Show me a woman who doesn't like chocolate!" The lovebirds got married two years later in Cyprus, and returned to the UK in 1999.

Paul's affair with a TV co-host made headlines in 2013 (Mirror Screen Grab)

In 2001, they welcomed their son, Josh. In 2013, the Hollywoods hit the headlines after Paul cheated on Alexandra with chef Marcela Valladolid, then 34 when he was 47, whom he worked with on US cooking show The American Baking Competition. The affair ultimately led to Paul and Alexandra calling it quits, and plenty of regret on Paul's part.

In a candid interview with Radio 5 Live presenter Richard Bacon, he confessed: "I did have an affair in America with my co-judge and it was something which... it was the biggest mistake of my life, because actually I still love my wife."

They eventually reunited but split again in 2017 and Paul moved on with barmaid Summer Monteys-Fulham, then 23. However, the new couple split soon after his divorce from Alex was finalised.

Paul and Melissa first locked eyes in her family's historic pub (PA)

It's understood that Paul met new wife Melissa, 39, at the Chequers Inn, a 14th-century pub located in the pretty Kent village of Smarden, owned by Melissa's family. In November 2022, a source told The Sun: "Paul proposed some months ago, but they have been keeping it very quiet since then. It's only in the past month that she has begun wearing her engagement ring out in public and sharing their news with friends."

Following their recent overseas wedding, another source close to the couple told the Mail Online described the ceremony as being "very tasteful and stylish", with hotel staff pulling out "all the stops to make it a memorable day". They continued: "There was a very lively party with loud music and lots of drinking that went on until late into the night. Paul is very close to the hotel owners and they made sure that everybody had a great time. He loves Cyprus and it was a wonderful setting for what was a beautiful occasion."

Julia Banim