‘Great British Bake Off’ Judge Paul Hollywood And Wife Split

The Great British Bake Off judge Paul Hollywood and his wife, Alex, have split after twenty years of marriage. Hollywood, a professional pastry chef, issued a statement saying that the couple has split once again, and this time for good, according to PageSix.

“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 Hollywood, the expert judge of The Great British Bake Off and Alex Hollywood married in Cyprus in 1998, and together they have a son, Joshua, who was born in 2001. Paul Hollywood and Alex, who is also a chef, have separated before, back in 2013 when Paul Hollywood admitted to having an affair with his American Bake Off co-host Marcela Valladolid.

When Paul Hollywood’s affair with Valladolid was revealed, he called it the “biggest mistake of my life,” adding that he still loved his wife according to the Daily Mail.

Paul Hollywood was surprised that news of his affair with his Bake Off co-host hit the media.

“[I] was shocked about the whole thing kicking off the way it did… but I deserved it and I’ve taken it. It was my punishment.”

Recently, Paul Hollywood was photographed kissing the latest winner of The Great British Bake Off, Candice Brown, and some sources believe that this is what triggered the final split between Alex and Paul Hollywood. Paul Hollywood and Candice Brown were at the Pride of Britain Awards in London, representing The Great British Bake Off, and Brown was seated with Hollywood, “toying with Paul’s ear.”

When they were leaving, Paul Hollywood “cupped” the back of Brown’s head to kiss her goodbye. Witnesses called it an intimate kiss, but a rep for Hollywood called it a peck, “an innocent kiss on the cheek.” The Hollywood kiss was photographed by several sources and posted online.

The Great British Bake Off moved from BBC to Channel 4 over the last year and Paul Hollywood has acknowledged that the move was very stressful for him, as he was the only cast member who made the switch away from BBC. Hollywood claims that his Great British Bake Off co-host and fellow judge Mary Berry along with comic relief Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins “abandoned” the show according to Radio Times, after the move to Channel 4.

“I stayed with Bake Off. The girls abandoned it. But I was the one put under siege.”

Many Great British Bake Off fans called Paul Hollywood disloyal, and he said it triggered a lot of anger.

“I became the most hated man in the country! It’s not fun for someone that doesn’t like being in the limelight. I didn’t set out to be on the telly, I set out to be a good baker. And I didn’t want this…”

On the new version of The Great British Bake Off, Paul Hollywood is working with a new co-host and judge, Prue Leith, and the two have been unable to recreate the chemistry he had with judge Mary Berry.

[Featured Image by Anthony Harvey/Getty Images]