Celebrity Chefs Who Were Involved In Shady Relationships
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Celebrity chefs are basically rockstars these days. They have the tattoos, fiery attitudes, and scandalous headlines usually associated with the bad boys and girls of the music world, so why not the dysfunctional relationships as well? Logging everything from cheating allegations to violent altercations, the relationships of some of these culinary legends could make Charlie Sheen look like Pa Walton by comparison. Here are the celebrity chefs with shady relationships.
Anthony Bourdain
The late Anthony Bourdain became an overnight celebrity in 2000 after he published Kitchen Confidential, his memoir about his 25-year career in high-end New York restaurants — that also came with a big side of drugs and sex. After transitioning to TV stardom, his first marriage to high school sweetheart, Nancy Putkoski, ended in divorce in 2005. Bourdain described their relationship to The New Yorker as "That kind of love and codependency and sense of adventure — we were criminals together," adding that the relationship was built on "seriously knuckleheaded s**t," that they did together while using narcotics.
Bourdain's second marriage, to mixed martial artist Ottavia Busia, ended in September of 2016. In a statement to People, Busia said that she and Bourdain basically lived separate lives, "because of professional decisions we both have made." Bourdain agreed, telling the outlet, "There's no drama here." He added, "I'm in no rush to even think about that honestly," when asked if he planned to start dating.
But just two months later, while shooting the "Rome" episode of his CNN series Parts Unknown, Bourdain met Italian actress Asia Argento, who he later described as "truly magnificent." By February of 2017, People confirmed Bourdain and Argento were dating, and did so until his death in June 2018.
Granted, Bourdain's second marriage sounded like it was over for a long time — Bourdain also told The New Yorker he was relieved they "no longer needed to pretend" — the timing of that new romance didn't look great.
Bobby Flay
Bobby Flay is a successful chef and restaurateur who has also made a name for himself in the arena of cooking challenge style shows like Iron Chef, Throwdown with Bobby Flay, and Beat Bobby Flay. And apparently his preference for combat extends outside the kitchen since Flay has flambeed three marriages as of this writing. The first two each ended within the span of three years, with People noting at the time of the second marriage's demise that Flay "has a reputation as a man-about-town." But it was his third marriage to actress Stephanie March where the shadiness reached a rolling boil.
According to The Daily Beast's breakdown of Flay and March's marital problems, their ugly divorce proceedings played out in the tabloids with March flinging increasingly shocking accusations at Flay. In her legal docs, March said Flay abandoned her when she had appendix surgery, cut off her credit cards, ignored their 10 year anniversary, and cheated on her with multiple women.
That list of women includes January Jones, who really caused a problem for Flay when she mysteriously called him for help after an alleged DUI accident, despite the fact that the two had only supposedly met two times before that. Flay, claiming he didn't know why she called him — even though he then physically showed up at the scene to help her — explained that the reason she had his number in the first place was that Jones "asked for his number because she wanted to redo her kitchen and give his number to her designer." Something smells real fishy there and it has nothing to do with his Spice-Crusted Salmon recipe.
Giada De Laurentiis
Giada De Laurentiis is a fellow Food Network star to Bobby Flay, and while rumors about the two of them hooking up have swirled for years, there has never been any substantial proof. Besides, De Laurentiis had enough dirt going on in her actual, provable love life that there was no need to toss in a Flay fantasy. According to Page Six, the gorgeous gourmet ditched her husband of 11 years, designer Todd Thompson, in December of 2014 then promptly moved on with TV producer Shane Farley. The pair went public with their relationship in November of 2015, admitting that they had been seeing each other since August. So, what's wrong with that? Glad you asked.
Again, according to Page Six, an insider reported witnessing Farley's ex-wife, Jennifer Giamo, having a "teary b***hfest" with none other than Stephanie March — yep, Bobby Flay's ex — over the alleged perception that De Laurentiis had a hand in breaking up both of their marriages. The pair were allegedly discussing whether or not Giamo was going to drag De Laurentiis into Giamo's divorce proceedings, even though ultimately, that did not happen. But Giamo definitely had concerns that Farley had started seeing De Laurentiis prior to their marriage falling apart, since the two knew each other through a failed TV show Farley was producing that starred De Laurentiis and Flay. That was back in 2012. So, were the seeds of that romance planted back then? And can those seeds even grow in such shade?
Nigella Lawson
Nigella Lawson's ex-husband, multi-millionaire art collector Charles Saatchi, announced that he was divorcing her in the wake of a scandal involving the now infamous photographs of him grabbing her by the neck at a London restaurant. According to Today, Saatchi initially claimed he wanted the split because Lawson refused to publicly defend the photos, which he said happened during "a playful tiff," that was misinterpreted by the media, since he "abhors violence of any kind against women, and have never abused her physically in any way." But a fraud case a few months later would prompt the notoriously private Lawson into finally opening up about the truth behind both the photos and her ugly marriage to Saatchi.
In response to allegations leveled by both her former assistants and Saatchi that she was addicted to cocaine and marijuana, Lawson admitted to occasional drug use which she claimed was, in part, due to being "subjected to acts of intimate terrorism by Mr. Saatchi," according to People. Lawson described her ex-husband as "a brilliant but brutal man," who emotionally abused her over the years. She also finally broke her silence about the alleged abuse photos, saying, "What actually happened was that somebody walked by with a very cute baby in a stroller, and I said, 'I am so looking forward to having grandchildren.' And he grabbed me by the throat and said, 'I am the only person you should be concerned with. I am the only person who should give you pleasure.'" So, maybe "shady" isn't exactly the right adjective to describe Lawson's marriage. "Terrifying" might be more appropriate here.
Gina and Pat Neely
Gina and Pat Neely hosted the wildly popular Food Network show, Down Home with The Neelys, for six years. The show mostly featured chef Pat Neely cooking his family recipes with Gina at his side as his charismatic assistant. A big part of the success of the show was their endearing affection for one another, as they frequently complimented each other, stole kisses, and generally exuded the cutesy flirtation reserved for newlyweds. But it was all basically for show. When Gina filed for divorce in 2014, fans were shocked since the comfort food-slinging couple had shown no signs of "growing apart over the years," as they cited as the reason for their split.
But two years after their divorce, Gina opened up on Where Are They Now? (via People) and admitted that their marriage had been on the rocks since the first episode. "Pat is not a bad guy, he's just not for me. I didn't want to divorce my husband but it became necessary do it in order for me to be my best self," she said. Not only that, but TMZ claimed they "hated each other the whole time," and that their divorce documents showed that TV's most love-up cooks were actually separated for two years while they continued shooting the show.
Of course, we're not saying that they should have been throwing pots and pans at each other on the air, but the fans probably would have appreciated a little more transparency. In the end, the real truth was tucked neatly into their joint statement about the divorce. "Together we have built a strong brand as The Neely's. Moving forward our focus will be on our individual brands and we are optimistic about our respective futures." Seriously, who pimps their brand right in their divorce announcement?
Cat Cora
Food Network and Bravo star, Cat Cora, ended her 17-year relationship with her wife Jennifer in November of 2015. And while their divorce drama escalated into an ugly custody battle, it's within Cat's new love life where the shadiness lies. Specifically in her fling with outspoken reality star Brandi Glanville.
Glanville and Cora co-star on the show My Kitchen Rules, which is a cooking competition that reality star pairings against one another in a "dinner party battle royale," according to The Hollywood Reporter. Glanville amplified the shade factor of the show by not only pairing up with Dean Sheremet — the ex-husband of Glanville's ex-husband's new wife — but also hooking up with one of the celebrity chefs who judge the competition. Yep, you guessed it: Cat Cora.
On an episode of Watch What Happens Live, Glanville dished about their approximately month-long fling by saying, "She's hot, she's talented, why not?" When asked by host Andy Cohen if she considered settling down with Cora, or any woman for that matter, Glanville said, "I did actually think that, because she's so cool and talented and wonderful, and then I saw a hot guy walk by and thought 'Oh wait.'" Granted, while the rules for co-worker hookups are much more relaxed in the entertainment world, it's still not a great look for Cora to be connected to Glanville, who has a long and shady history of blabbing about her personal hookups.
Paul Hollywood
Paul Hollywood, chef and judge on The Great British Baking show, famously admitted to having an affair with his co-star and fellow chef, Marcela Valladolid, in 2013. "I did have an affair with my co-judge. It's something which was the biggest mistake of my life because, actually, I still love my wife," Hollywood told the BBC (via The Daily Mail). But Hollywood's wife of 15 years, Alexandra, wasn't buying his remorse. "I love my husband and I was and still am very proud of what he has achieved, but there is no going back and I just want this finished with and to move on," she told The Daily Mail.
But somehow they reconnected and were back together in less than a year. Alexandra, using her newfound albeit unflattering fame, turned herself into a culinary celebrity. She wrote a cookbook and began "appearing on breakfast television," according to The Sun. Not only that, but Paul tapped her to run his company, Paul Hollywood Ltd., which manages his assets. Of their blissful reunion, Paul told The Daily Mail, "Our love of food is the key to it all. The way to every woman's heart is through her stomach." Alex echoed the sentiment by saying, "You've just got to get on with life, haven't you? I'm an eternal optimist, he's an optimist. We're having a good time. The most romantic thing he did was bake chocolate croissants on a Sunday morning. That was a lovely thing to do."
So let that be a lesson to any other famous chefs who are thinking of cheating. If you do, make sure to apologize with chocolate croissants, then step aside while your wife becomes a bigger star than you, and hand her the ability to ruin you financially whenever you screw up again. Simple as that!
Marco Pierre White
Like Paul Hollywood, Marco Pierre White may be less known to American audiences, but he is a huge celebrity chef in England, having the distinction of being the youngest chef to ever earn two Michelin stars, as well as having starred on Hell's Kitchen and MasterChef Australia. Off screen, he's also led a colorful life, especially when it comes to marriages, of which he's been in three. According to The Daily Mail, his first marriage ended because of his career ambitions. His second ended "by the time they embarked on their honeymoon," and his third, to Mati Conejero, has been a constant disaster of violent fights and financial feuds. After announcing they would divorce in 2007, the dirt on the tumultuous marriage started hitting the headlines with stories of Conejero assaulting employees of White's restaurants, destroying his Range Rover by smashing it with their child's scooter, smearing the walls of his house with nail polish and blood, and much more.
Amazingly, as of this writing Conejero and White are still married. In 2011, they called off the divorce for the sake of their children, but others have alleged that the legal bills, which at that point had allegedly already topped £3 million, had just gotten too costly. So their separation has definitely moved solidly into "estrangement" territory, but they remain married. Combine that with the fact that between 2012 and 2016 White was in a relationship with actress Emilia Fox, and you get possibly the shadiest marriage of all time. We understand not wanting to pay outrageous lawyer bills, but at what point do you just come across looking like you'll do anything for money, including staying in an obviously broken marriage?