Paul Hollywood is preparing to walk down the aisle for a second time after popping the question to his landlady girlfriend.
The Great British Bake Off judge is said to have secretly proposed to Melissa Spalding back in Easter, but the news has only come to light now.
TV star Paul, 56, has been dating the 38-year-old, who runs The Chequers Inn, in Smarten, Kent near his countryside home, since 2019.
The couple got together just weeks after his split from Summer Monteys-Fullam, who was just 23 when he left his wife of 20 years to be with her.
While that didn’t work out, it seems Paul might have finally got his happy ending after a tumultuous few years where his love life is concerned.
Here we look back on his secret affair, divorce and recent claims from his ex-wife Alex that he cheated more than once…
20-year marriage
Paul and ex-wife Alex Hollywood met in 1996 when they both living and working in Cyprus.
Alex was a diving instructor at the time, while Paul – who is the son of bakery proprietor John F Hollywood – was head baker at a five-star hotel.
The pair married on the island in 1998 and went on to have a son, Josh, who was born in October 2001 and is now 21.
After a move back to the UK, Paul’s fame grew as he became a judge on Great British Bake Off, something his former wife says ‘changed’ him.
When Paul appeared on a US version of the popular baking show, he got close to American chef Marcela Valladolid, now 44.
Secret affair with co-star
In July 2013 – just months after his affair with Marcela started – Paul confessed to the Mirror that it was all his fault his marriage was ending .
He was reportedly “dazzled” by his co-star, who described him as a “handsome devil”.
After returning to the UK, he promptly moved out of the family home and left Alex heartbroken.
Admitting it was the “biggest mistake” of his life, Paul said: “I did have an affair in America with my co-judge. It’s my fault. I am very sad about what has happened and what it brought on the family.”
At the time wife Alex vowed to divorce him saying there was “no going back”.
She shared: “I feel utterly bewildered and incredibly sad. Paul went to America and when he came back everything was different, everything had changed.”
Alex took him back in the October of that year for the sake of their son, but it didn’t take long for their marriage to hit the rocks once again.
Divorce
The couple’s marriage finally broke down in November 2017 and they released a joint statement announcing they were separating.
It said: “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.”
Alex, an accomplished chef herself, divorced Paul on the grounds of his adultery in a case that was said to have cost him £10 million.
She didn’t speak publicly about her marriage ending until two years later when she compared it to a fatal car crash.
‘Kiss’ with Bake Off winner
Following the breakdown of their marriage, Paul was linked to his GBBO protégé Candice Brown, who won the baking show in 2016.
He was snapped appearing to kiss her at the Pride of Britain Awards after party, while other pictures showed Candice stroking Paul’s ear.
The photos emerged just a day after she announced her engagement to long-term partner Liam Macaulay.
Both Paul and Candice denied anything untoward had happened, but just three weeks later Alex and Paul published their split statement.
Candice’s marriage to Liam didn’t work out as they announced their separation in 2020, but stated no one else was involved.
Relationship with Summer Monteys-Fullam
In 2017, barmaid Summer Monteys-Fullam came into the spotlight when it was first revealed she was dating Paul.
Summer was working as a bartender at The Duke William in Ickham, near Canterbury, when she met him.
She later quit her job after growing close to the celebrity chef and he showered his then 23-year-old girlfriend with gifts, including a £9,000 hot tub as a birthday present and exotic holidays, as well as spending thousands on her animals.
In February 2019 Paul splashed out on a £1million home in Kent to share with his young lover.
But the relationship only lasted a few more months as Summer reportedly moved out when Paul asked her to sign an NDA agreeing never to discuss their romance.
More extra marital affairs
Earlier this year, Paul’s ex-wife Alex accused him of sleeping with more women throughout their two-decade relationship.
Taking to Instagram, she dropped the bombshell their marriage was “over seasoned with extra marital affairs”.
Addressing her 22,000 followers, Alex wrote: “It’s taken me a while to get here and it hasn’t been easy, but I love the woman I am now.
“I know only too well that not every marriage/partnership is a recipe for happiness and success.
“My own marriage was too over seasoned with extra marital affairs for my taste and so I opted out and chose the single menu instead. It wasn’t easy and it took some getting used to.
“I wasn’t even sure I liked it much at first, but as I regained my confidence, my freedom and myself after so long, I discovered that it really isn’t a cliché to say happiness really does comes from within.”
Alex went on to say that she is now happy with the single life and has dismissed a number of offers of a relationship.
She continued: “I still get the occasional well-meaning comment — that I’ll get ‘snapped up soon’ rather like a supermarket meal deal. People don’t like to believe that a woman can be happier single.”