As Lisa Faulkner’s claims about Gregg Wallace’s ‘rude jokes’ on set resurface, the Mirror takes a look at her marriage to John Torode – and the ‘cowardly’ letter John once sent his other half
Foodie couple John Torode and Lisa Faulkner went through a few bumps in the road before their love blossomed.
Their happily ever after hasn’t come easily, with John himself previously opening up about the ‘cowardly’ letter he sent his now-wife in the early days of their romance.
The co-hosts first met in 2010, during Lisa’s very successful run on Celebrity MasterChef. Not only did the Holby City emerge victorious from the cooking competition, she also won John’s heart.
The pair were then both in relationships and so initially formed a platonic rather than romantic bond. A few years down the line, however, once they were both single, John decided to make his feelings known.
MasterChef brought the now-couple, who tied the knot in 2019, together, and Lisa has now opened up about her experiences on the show working with John’s fellow judge Gregg Wallace, who has recently stepped back from the show amid a BBC probe into misconduct allegations.
According to Lisa, Gregg, 60, made ‘rude joke after rude joke’ during her time on the cooking series. Last month, as she promoted their new cookbook, John and Lisa’s Kitchen, at the Cheltenham Literature Festival, Lisa shared a crude jibe Gregg allegedly told, admitting, “I’m probably not allowed to say this”.
As reported by the Daily Mail, Lisa told the audience: “Gregg just told rude joke after rude joke to the crew. You’re just sitting there, and if you’re on the front bench just chopping away thinking, ‘I’ve got ten minutes left’, and he’s saying, ‘So this girl walked into a bar… And I’m going, ‘Please, I don’t want to hear this joke'”.
John has so far ignored the drama surrounding his co-presenter, posting gym selfies on his social media after news of the allegations emerged. But his comments about his relationship with Gregg have since resurfaced, as he previously revealed that the pair aren’t friends outside of the hit BBC show.
Both John, 59, and Lisa, 52, were married before, with actress Lisa previously wedded to Chris Coghill, who played Tony King in EastEnders. The couple adopted a daughter together named Billie. Meanwhile, Australian-British chef John tied the knot with a woman named Jessica in 2000. They went on to have two children together, a son and a daughter, before separating in 2011. However, they didn’t divorce until 2014, when their union was reportedly dissolved in a matter of seconds at the High Court.
In 2010, John met Lisa when she was a contestant on the show and they hit it off immediately, remaining friends after filming. “He was a judge on a show I loved, and I was petrified of him. He was brilliant and gave us all tips, so you didn’t want to let him down,” Lisa previously said. “All I could think was, ‘That sauce hasn’t worked’. I didn’t see anything but food for three months. After I won, we did The Good Food Show and stuff. John and I always got on, but I never thought about me and him.”
Revealing how they eventually got together, Lisa told the Daily Mail in 2013 that everything changed after John wrote her a letter and asked her out to dinner. “John and I were friends. Neither of us thought of it as anything else until…” she said. “I don’t know how things change, but something does. He asked me on a date. We went out for dinner. Then it was slightly different. I’m really, really happy. John and I are having such a nice time, but we’re taking things slowly. There are lots of other people to consider.”
John has since confessed that his letter to Lisa was “cowardly”, but it meant that there would be no awkwardness for him if she didn’t want to date him. He told the Daily Mail: “I’d separated from my wife [Jessica] which was awful, and I was reluctant to approach Lisa face to face as I didn’t fancy the prospect of her saying no, so I wrote her a letter. If I’d got no response, it wouldn’t matter. Cowardly? S***, yeah. I’m as cowardly as they get.”
But things worked out in his favour, and they began dating before tying the knot. John previously shared the secret to a happy marriage, insisting that it is a properly made bed. Asked what makes their marriage work, John said: “A really well-made bed. You spend lots of time in it! Honestly, the bedroom – having that sanctuary of a place to go to, I think that’s really important. And nice towels… Looking after yourself is as important as looking after each other.”
Although it probably helps that the pair still have a spark – as Lisa said in an interview: “We really like and fancy each other!” And Lisa has most recently shared how proud she is of her husband, who in February accepted his MBE from the Prince of Wales at Buckingham Palace, before celebrating with a fancy meal. “I was really proud of John,” she told OK Magazine. “It’s an amazing achievement, and the fact he got to meet Prince William! Out of everybody in the royal family, that’s who I’d have liked to have met!”
Do you have a story to share? Email me at julia.banim@reachplc.com. Follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok , Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , YouTube and Threads
