‘I married a celebrity chef – he binned my microwave | UK News

Picking up the newspaper left Tess Floyd with a acquainted pang of unhappiness, but she was not in the least stunned when she read that another celebrity chef’s marriage had ended.

It was 2012, and former MasterChef decide John Torode, 46, had moved out of his household home in London, leaving behind his second spouse Jessica and their two younger kids after just 4 years of marriage. It was hardly an remoted case, as the listing of celebrity cooks with damaged marriages appears to grow longer each day.

There’s been Marco Pierre White, Heston Blumenthal, Rick Stein, John Burton Race, Tom Aikens, and Antonio Carluccio. For those who have lived the life of a showbiz chef’s spouse, like Tess, it’s a heartbreakingly acquainted story.

Tess shared with MailOnline that she and ex-husband Keith Floyd first met in 1995 on the set of a TV advert. She was a 32-year-old food stylist, 18 years his junior, and he was already a culinary legend with three ex-wives and numerous tales behind him.

At the time, she admits not paying an excessive amount of consideration to the warning indicators. She thought the couple would “Live a normal life. I would have a house, dogs, and friends for dinner, and I would also go on holiday.” However, Tess later found the idea to be “wrong as she quickly learnt nothing is ever “regular” when you’re married to a celebrity chef. The first thing to go? Weekends.

In the restaurant world, Friday night is Monday morning. There’s no winding down at the end of the week, no lazy Sunday roasts, no Boxing Day leftovers. Christmas? Forget it.

Tess shared that when her husband had been spending time “serving up turkey dinners to tables of 40”, the last thing he wanted was one more Christmas cracker at home

She also shared that “not once in 13 years” did her ex rejoice her birthday as they have been always busy. We have been always on the transfer, filming someplace around the globe, and although that could appear glamorous for some, it was never once for leisure.

And while she could have had front-row seats to culinary genius, the price was steep. Keith, like many cooks, wouldn’t stroll in the door after a shift and loosen up. The adrenaline, the chaos of the kitchen, the late-night camaraderie—it all meant he wouldn’t be home until hours after service ended. 

Tess even misplaced her microwave within days of our marriage. Keith threw it out, declaring it the enemy of real food. In our home, comfort didn’t exist; only perfection did, often at the expense of all the pieces else.