What The Stars Of TLC's Cake Boss Look Like Now

When you walk into a bakery, you're greeted by the scents of fresh cookies and apple pie, the sight of beautifully decorated cakes, and ... the sounds of a family bickering behind the counter? From 2009 to 2020, TLC's reality TV show "Cake Boss" combined the art of pastry-making with the conflicts that come with working among family. 

The show followed the famous Carlo's Bakery in New Jersey and its Italian-American owners, Buddy Valastro and his sisters Lisa, Maddalena, Grace, and Mary, as well as several other employees such as Maddalena's husband Mauro, delivery boy "Cousin Anthony," "mule" Danny Dragone, and winners of the spinoff competition show "Next Great Baker," whose prize included an apprenticeship at Carlo's. While "Cake Boss" was not without its share of scandals, the family's close bond and relatable rapport won over viewers and inspired spinoffs such as "Bakery Boss" and the sequel show "Cake Dynasty," in which Valastro's teenage and adult children work alongside him.

But what have these eccentric employees been up to in the years since the original show's end? Though Valastro took a few years away from the spotlight to deal with a hand injury, he's made a triumphant return to television, while Maddalena, Mauro, Mary, and other family members continue to cook and make appearances at Carlo's Bakery. Below, read all about what your favorite "Cake Boss" famiglia looks like today.

Buddy Valastro, the titular Cake Boss, has stayed busy after his show ended, although a setback happened when he experienced a nightmare bowling injury to his hand. In addition to operating various Carlo's Bakery locations and vending machines, Valastro owns several restaurants in Vegas: Buddy V's Ristorante, PizzaCake, The Boss Café, and Buddy's Jersey Eats. That's not to say his career in television is over.

Since the ending of "Cake Boss," Valastro has stayed busy filming "Cake Dynasty," which continues to follow his family as they fulfill orders at Carlo's Bakery, and "Legends of the Fork," in which Valastro travels across the country and tries out new restaurants. "I want people to see that ... I am still the same guy that I was before 'Cake Boss,' that I still get up at five in the morning, that I'm still on my hands and knees scrubbing the floors, that I work hard, and I want them to see that, and I want them to be inspired to go do their own thing," Valastro said in an interview with Bonnie Laufer of why he's motivated to continue filming.

In June 2026, Valastro once again expanded his empire by opening a speakeasy called Dolce Notte inside his Vegas restaurant Buddy V's Ristorante. "I've always been intrigued by going to a speakeasy, like a secret door, hearing the stories, so we wanted to bring a little of that Old World vibe here to Las Vegas," Valastro said, per the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Outside of work, Valastro spends time with his wife, Lisa, and four children. The family is often featured on "Cake Dynasty," where Valastro celebrates professional and personal accomplishments. "My son Buddy is the first Buddy Valastro to ever graduate high school," Valastro gushed in Season 1, Episode 5 of the show (via Buddy Valastro & Family). This is an especially meaningful accomplishment, as Valastro left high school to work at the bakery.

Maddalena and Mauro Castano — Buddy Valastro's sister and brother-in-law, respectively — continue to celebrate cooking and their family on their joint Instagram account, where they post clips of themselves preparing meals like gnocchi and steak sandwiches. "[Mauro] started doing it a lot more during COVID 'cause we were home more, and I would be like, 'Get out of here. What are you doing?'" Maddalena told the "Mid-Life Mafia Podcast" in 2026. "He was always coming to me with the camera and he said, 'No, we're going to do some recipes. We're going to cook' ... We just started cooking and that was it. Me in my kitchen. No, you know, filter, no nothing."

The two are also still passionate about bringing their family together and spending time with their loved ones, often popping up in Carlo's Bakery videos on Instagram; Mauro also makes appearances on "Cake Dynasty," continuing to be Valastro's right-hand man when it comes to crafting cakes. "People really love that we all really do love each other. We get along. Every morning, we're on five-way on the phone, because we consider my brother's wife our sister. We say we're five sisters, not four," Maddalena said on the "Mid-Life Mafia Podcast". "The best part of cooking a meal is sharing it with the people you love, right, baby doll?" Mauro echoed in an Instagram Reel of him cooking.

Another of Buddy Valastro's sisters, Mary Sciarrone, was notorious for causing drama on the show. She scolded staff members, asked another baker to make her a birthday cake despite Valastro promising he'd make it, and was eventually fired by Valastro in Season 5 for mistreating other employees. "You're a liability to me; you're a liability to the company. You will never manage Carlo's Bakery ..." Valastro said at the time (via Facebook). However, Sciarrone was rehired later in the season, and she continues to work at Carlo's Bakery today.

In a video from December 2025, Sciarrone wrapped Christmas cookies at the bakery and reminisced about growing up working at Carlo's. "When I was younger, yes, I worked every Christmas ... We worked all holidays. The line would be out the door, but we didn't know any different, so it wasn't like it was a big deal," she said (via Instagram). "I couldn't imagine it any other way; that was our holiday. And we were all together, so it made it okay. We worked and that was it." 

When she's not at the bakery, Sciarrone celebrates the achievements of her children, Lucia and Joseph. After Lucia graduated from an Ohio college in May 2026, Sciarrone wrote on Instagram, "Watching you graduate was one of the proudest moments of me being a mom ... I'm so happy I get you back in NJ."

Buddy Valastro may have been the star of the show, co-managing his family and bringing opulent cake designs to life, but what about the woman who was by his side through it all? Valastro's wife, Lisa Valastro, initially struggled with the "Cake Boss" becoming famous, saying in an interview (via Renato Cardoso), "My husband being a celebrity is stressful in a way because I don't have him home as often as I like to, and I share him with millions of people, you know, when we got married it was just him and I." 

But in recent years, she's stepped into the spotlight in her own way, producing "Lisa's Home Cooking" from 2018 to 2019 and starting the "What's Up Cuz?" podcast with her cousin, Erica Spera, in 2020, where they interviewed "Cake Boss" frequent fliers like Maurizio Belgiovine and Mauro Castano.

Lisa and Valastro's four kids also frequently appear on "Cake Dynasty," which combines Lisa's goals of spending time with her children and showing off her cooking skills: "I'm hoping to do my own little cooking thing. Quick meals, basically what I do everyday at home," she told Celebrity Parents Magazine. "Even though I want to do something for myself, I still want to be a mom. That comes first to me; I still want to go to my kids' schools. I want to balance that, because my husband works so much. Balance is everything."

Buddy Valastro's youngest sister, also named Lisa, has found a new passion for beauty and skincare. She explained to the "Mid-Life Mafia Podcast" that while she felt lost in her 40s, she experienced a new wave of confidence and self-love in her 50s, in part because she learned how to create a makeup routine that brought out the best in her. 

After a Sephora employee showed her which products to use, Lisa said, "I started following all these mature makeup artists, influencers. I learned so much from them. And then I started getting more confident about myself because I was doing things different to myself. And that's where I had this new, like, I don't know, a new love for myself." She frequently reviews various products on her Instagram page alongside videos of her cooking. Given her family's business acumen, it seems in the cards that she'll become one of those celebs with successful beauty brands.

Lisa has also found love again after her ex-husband, Remy Gonzalez — who frequently appeared on the original run of "Cake Boss" — was embroiled in legal trouble and sentenced to prison in 2012 for assaulting a teenage girl. In 2021, Lisa married Anthony Torre; they enjoy posting videos of the meals they cook together, and in June 2026, Lisa wrote on Instagram of her husband, "I love the life we created. I love our blended family. You are loved and appreciated."

Danny Dragone, affectionately called "the Mule" because of his ability to handle any task, is a longtime family friend of the Valastros' and worked at Carlo's Bakery before Buddy Valastro was even born. Throughout the original run of "Cake Boss," Dragone became popular for his work ethic, his devotion to his family, and his famous mustache — which he shaved in 2017 for the Make-a-Wish Foundation. "Danny has had that mustache for over 30 years, so it was a big deal when he said he was willing to shave it off," Valastro said, per Patch. "He wanted to do it for Make-A-Wish, the kids."

Dragone decided to retire from working full-time at Carlo's in 2023 after 49 years, an announcement that was documented in the first season of "Cake Dynasty." The staff threw him a surprise retirement party attended by Dragone's daughters. "When I was young and with Buddy's father, it was fun, enjoyable. He taught me a lot of things, but 49 years in the company, give somebody else a chance," Dragone said in the episode (via Home.Made.Nation). "I'm gonna miss everybody, but I'm still gonna come and visit them." Although Dragone has kept a low profile since the show, he stated in his retirement episode that he was planning to move to Myrtle Beach with his brothers and sister-in-law.

Pastry chef Dana Herbert won the first season of "Next Great Baker," a competition series hosted by Buddy Valastro in which contestants vied for a cash prize and an apprenticeship at Carlo's Bakery. Herbert has gone on to start an empire of his own, running a business called Desserts by Dana, as well as a stall at the New Castle Farmers' Market and a stand-alone bakery, both in Delaware. "I went to work for Marriott and ... I started Desserts by Dana as this little side business because I didn't want to lose my pastry skills," Herbert told Nick Portillo on the "Titans of Food Service" podcast. "So I was doing both at the same time, and the bakery business just started growing."

In November 2025, Herbert appeared on Food Network's "Sweet Empire: Winter Wars," a holiday-themed dessert competition. Although he didn't make it to the finale, he told the University of Delaware Review, "I was excited to be back and doing part of what I love, which was in the competition world." "Being part of 'Sweet Empire' has been one of the most thrilling experiences of my career," Herbert added, per Delaware Today. "Every challenge pushed me to dig deeper — not just as a pastry artist, but as a storyteller. My goal was to bring beauty, boldness, and a touch of soul to every dessert I created."

Another "Next Great Baker" winner who went on to star in a holiday-themed Food Network competition was Ashley Holt, who won Season 3 of Buddy Valastro's cooking contest. Ashley went on to be featured in Season 6 of "Cake Boss" before leaving to start her own bakery. "My time at Carlo's has been incredible. I've learned so much about the business and especially about myself," she said in the season-six finale (via Discovery Plus). The risk paid off: She started Sugar Monster Sweets in Connecticut shortly afterward, where she has gotten to make cakes for celebrities like Drew Barrymore.

Ashley has continued to appear on TV; she participated in Netflix's "Bake Squad" from 2021 to 2023 alongside legendary baker Christina Tosi. "We had so much fun filming, and to work with three other wonderful people and an incredible host, Christina, we filmed, and we're like, 'All right, I think this is going to be something good,'" Ashley told the "She's a 10 times 5!" podcast. After "Bake Squad," Ashley competed on Food Network's "Tournament of Champions: All-Star Christmas," hosted by Guy Fieri, in 2025. Though she and teammate Jet Tila came in second place, she was grateful for the opportunity: "This has been an experience of a lifetime and I couldn't be happier to be in this crazy arena whipping up some delicious food," she wrote on Instagram.

Anthony Bellifemine, who was called "Cousin Anthony" on "Cake Boss" because he is Buddy Valastro's wife Lisa's cousin, started working at Carlo's Bakery in high school. His main role was delivering cakes, which led to some mishaps such as getting into a car accident with a cake in the trunk in Season 2 and dropping an elaborate cake in a stairwell in Season 1. Anthony has gone on to become a jack of all trades, dabbling in everything from DJing to engineering to Brazilian jiujitsu. "My title's analyst, but I would say that my skill set at this point is one of an engineer, a junior engineer," Anthony told the "Starting Nowhere" podcast.

Anthony moved from New Jersey to Tampa Bay, where he has pursued his passion for jiu-jitsu. In 2024, he shared a well-earned accomplishment on Instagram: "This black belt took me over 10 years to earn," he wrote. "Very few ever start and 90% will quit at blue belt (about 1 year in) ... You will never stand out by simply doing what everyone else does." He frequently shares videos of his workout routines on Instagram alongside flashback photos from his time on "Cake Boss."

Chad Durkin was a contestant on Season 3 of "Next Great Baker." Although he came in fifth place, Buddy Valastro was so impressed by Durkin's baking skills that he hired him to work at Carlo's Bakery, which was documented in Seasons 7 and 8 of "Cake Boss." Their professional relationship continued when Valastro hired Durkin to oversee research, development, and operations at the Carlo's location in Mohegan Sun. Today, Durkin has broken out on his own and made a name for himself in Philadelphia, where he has run the combo pastry and sandwich shop Small Oven Pastry Shop & Porcos Porchetteria since 2019.

"I wound up working for [Buddy] for a long time," Durkin told the "Food Farms & Chefs" podcast in 2024, explaining that he ended up in Philly after working there for a time and finding community there. "I love all the people that are around here. I've made friends with them. I've made colleagues. And so I said, you know, 'What does this area need? It's a food desert' ... I'm investing in this area." Later that year, he opened Breezy's Deli and Market, which was named a "Best of Philly" eatery by Philadelphia Magazine.