Inside Paul Hollywood’s family rift as it’s revealed Great British Bake Off star’s son, 21, ‘did not attend’ his father’s nuptials – but Prue Leith did
Great British Bake Off star Paul Hollywood was married on Wednesday to pub landlady Melissa Spalding.
Some 75 of his ‘closest’ friends and family – including fellow GBBO judge Prue Leith – cheered the couple on in their destination wedding at The Anassa hotel in Cyprus.
However it was not the occasion he might have dreamed of as his 21-year-old son Josh, by his first marriage to Alex, was not there. A friend confirms: ‘Josh did not go.’
Melissa’s family attended in force, with the family pub – The Chequers in Spalding, Kent – closed from September 16th to 26th so that they could all celebrate.
In 2019 Alex’s spokesman revealed that Josh had not seen or spoken to Hollywood since his father moved out of the marital home – and into a romance with young barmaid Summer Monteys-Fullam.
In 2020, Alex described herself as a ‘single mother’ during a podcast.
Married! Paul Hollywood married fiancée Melissa Spalding in a Byzantine style chapel set in the grounds of Cyprus’ most exclusive hotel in front of 75 friends and family – but his son Josh was not at the event (the couple pictured in 2021)
Star guestlist: Guests included close family members and celebrity pals such as Paul’s fellow show judge Prue Leith although Josh was absent
Paul lived in Cyprus in the 1990s and was head baker at the Anabelle Hotel where he met first wife Alex, who was working as a scuba driving instructor. The hotel where he got married this week is part of the same group.
The wedding took place at the Ayia Athanasia chapel in the Anassa hotel late on Wednesday afternoon. That was followed by a reception in the hotel.
Paul has been in a relationship with Melissa, 39, for the past three years and is said to have quietly proposed in the spring of 2022.
They confirmed their relationship in December 2019 after previously denying they had sparked up a romance.
The TV judge had repeatedly denied he was enjoying a romance after their friendship was revealed in August 2019 following his split from Summer. The two women knew each other as both worked at the pub.
However, after the couple spent Christmas Day at the pub, a spokesman for Paul told the Mail On Sunday: ‘They are very happily together.’
Spalding is a former publican who managed the Chequers Inn, located in the picturesque Kent village of Smarden, near Ashford, when she met Hollywood.
The quaint 14th century pub is understood to be owned by her parents, with its website stating: ‘The Spalding Family are the hospitable Innkeepers ready to welcome you to their historic building and garden.’
The Great British Bake Off star, 57 tied the knot with the pub landlady, 39, in the stunning Ayia Athanasia chapel which forms part of the luxury Anassa Hote
The hotel (pictured) is located on the north-west Akamas peninsula, one of the most unspoilt areas of the holiday island
Close to his heart: The owners also own the five-star Anabelle Hotel in Paphos, where Paul lived and worked as head baker for six years in the late 1990s
Ex: It was while working at the Anabelle that Paul met his ex-wife Alexandra to whom he was married for 19 years but they announced their split in 2017 (pictured together in 2015)
Spalding has been engaged twice before and at one time was set to marry Ashford based professional golfer Jason Barnes.
A Kent native, she was educated at Headcorn Primary School in Maidstone and the nearby Invicta Grammar School.
The pair embarked on a relationship four years ago after Bake Off star Hollywood, who lives in Kent, became a regular visitor to the Chequers.
While the TV personality initially denied the romance, her car was reportedly seen on the drive outside his nearby home, a £1million Grade II listed pile.
Spalding temporarily moved into his 18th Century four-bedroom farmhouse in April 2020, with the couple growing closer as Britain was plunged into national lockdown during the pandemic.
Friends later claimed they were living together on a permanent basis at the property, originally purchased while Hollywood was dating Monteys-Fullam.
A source told the Mail On Sunday: ‘Paul and Melissa spent a lot of time together in lockdown.
‘They bubbled up together and stayed at his house. Now she is there for good.’
Paul was married to Alex from 1998 to 2017.
It was said that he had met Summer when organising a birthday party for Alex near to the marital home in Kent.
Alex – who had taken him back after he admitted an affair with Marcela Valladolid, his co-host in an American GBBO spin off – was naturally devastated. She declined to comment yesterday.
The Great British Bake Off starts a new series this coming Tuesday on Channel 4.
Over: Following his marriage breakdown, Paul went public with his romance with Summer Monteys-Fullam, who he also took to Cyprus back in 2018. They announced their split in 2019
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