and Lisa Faulkner have been delighting fans on screen with their popular cooking show, John and Lisa’s Weekend Kitchen on ITV for years.
But while fans definitely see them withstanding the heat every weekend, little is known about their lives out of the kitchen.
The pair’s love story began a few years after they first crossed paths on 2010’s MasterChef, where Lisa, a contestant, served her dishes to John, one of the judges.
Despite their chemistry, which fans pointed out at the time, both were in other relationships. Lisa was previously married to actor Chris Coghill, and they share an adopted daughter, Billie.
John was married to a woman named Jessica in 2000, and they shared a son and a daughter. John and Jessica separated in 2011 but didn’t officially split until 2014 in a quickie divorce.
John Torode and Lisa Faulkner’s relationship timeline (Image: Getty)
“He was a judge on a show I loved, and I was petrified of him,” Lisa, now 51, admitted. Despite the sparks flying, she insisted, “I didn’t see anything but food for three months.”
Australian-British John asked Lisa out in 2013, when they were both single, but so did in an old school, and unconventional way — by writing her a letter. Reflecting on that, Lisa, who told the Daily Mail: “
“John and I were friends. Neither of us thought of it as anything else until… I don’t know how things change, but something does. He asked me on a date, and then it was slightly different.”
Lisa recalls how John’s letter asking her out was a pivotal moment. John himself has admitted it wasn’t the boldest move.
“Cowardly? S***, yeah. I’m as cowardly as they get,” he told The Daily Mail. But it worked, and the couple began dating before tying the knot in 2019.
When asked by the publication what the secret to their marriage is, he replied: “A really well-made bed,” he said. “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.”
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Lisa (c) met John (bottom L) on 2010’s Celebrity MasterChef (Image: BBC)
Lisa has also gushed about how they still “really like and fancy each other.” And she couldn’t have been prouder when John received his MBE from at Buckingham Palace earlier this year.
“I was really proud of John,” she told OK! Magazine. “It’s an amazing achievement, and the fact he got to meet ! Out of everybody in the royal family, that’s who I’d have liked to have met!”
Lisa also recently addressed what it’s like to be the “third” person in her marriage to , as his bromance with continues to blossom.
Reflecting on the hosts’ long-standing friendship, Lisa, 52, believes the “telepathic” pair share same thoughts and mannerisms due to their 20-plus years of working together. Recalling a moment she noticed on the cooking show, she shared: “When someone messes up a sauce, the way they look at each other!
“And if a contestant is slow getting their plates out, they both twitch in exactly the same way. I honestly think they are one of the great TV couples.
“They look at each other and their thoughts are synchronised. I’m not even sure we have that. Hopefully we have something else.” Reassuring his wife, John, 59, said what he has with Lisa is “a totally different relationship” adding: “For a start, I fancy you more.”