John Torode's quickie divorce and 'cowardly' letter to wife Lisa Faulkner

03 January 2024 , 10:56

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John Torode's quickie divorce and 'cowardly' letter to wife Lisa Faulkner

Television chef John Torode 'petrified' his wife Lisa Faulkner when she starred on Celebrity MasterChef - but he managed to woo her later down the line.

Fans of the celebrity couple will be familiar with their popular cooking show, John and Lisa's Weekend Kitchen on ITV - but might not know how the showbiz duo actually met. The pair have MasterChef to thank for bringing them together in 2010, when contestant Lisa had to serve her dishes to judge John.

With both of them in other relationships, they formed a friendship and Lisa insisted there was nothing romantic between them. But a few years later, when they were both single, John asked Lisa out on a date and they realised they had undeniable chemistry. In 2019, they tied the knot and the rest is history.

John and Lisa met for the first time on Celebrity MasterChef and stayed friends (Getty Images)

Now the celebrity couple are besotted with each other and have a cooking show together (WireImage)

Both John, 58, and Lisa, 51, were married before, with actress Lisa previously wed to Chris Coghill, who played Tony King in EastEnders. The couple adopted a daughter together named Billie. Meanwhile, Australian-British chef John tied the knot with a woman named Jessica in 2000, and they went on to have two children together, a son and a daughter. John and Jessica separated in 2011 but they didn't initially divorce until 2014, when their union was reportedly dissolved in a matter of seconds at the High Court.

In 2010, John met Lisa when she was a contestant on the show and they hit it off immediately, remaining friends after filming. "He was a judge on a show I loved and I was petrified of him. He was brilliant and gave us all tips so you didn't want to let him down," Lisa previously said. "All I could think was, 'That sauce hasn't worked'. I didn't see anything but food for three months. After I won, we did The Good Food Show and stuff. John and I always got on, but I never thought about me and him."

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Revealing how they eventually got together, Lisa told the Daily Mail in 2013 that everything changed after John wrote her a letter and asked her out to dinner. "John and I were friends. Neither of us thought of it as anything else until..." she said. "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."

John Torode admitted he felt 'cowardly' sending Lisa Faulkner a letter to ask her out on a date (ITV)

John has since confessed that his letter for Lisa was "cowardly" but it meant that there would be no awkwardness for him if she didn't want to date him. He 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."

But things worked out in his favour and they began dating before tying the knot. John previously shared the secret to a happy marriage, insisting that it is a properly made bed. Asked what makes their marriage work, John said: "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."

Although it probably helps that the pair still have a spark - as Lisa said in an interview: "We really like and fancy each other!" And Lisa has most recently shared how proud she is of her husband, who in February accepted his MBE from the Prince of Wales at Buckingham Palace, before celebrating with a fancy meal. "I was really proud of John," she told OK Magazine. "It's an amazing achievement and the fact he got to meet Prince William! Out of everybody in the royal family, that's who I'd have liked to have met!"

Nia Dalton