Paul Hollywood. The silver-haired judge with the piercing blue eyes and the "handshake" everyone wants. You've probably seen him a thousand times on The Great British Bake Off, coolly judging a soggy bottom or a poorly proved loaf. But behind the scenes, specifically back in 2013, things got pretty messy for the king of bread. People are still searching for the answer to one specific question: who did Paul Hollywood have an affair with?
It wasn’t just a rumor. It was a massive, public scandal that shook the foundations of his long-term marriage and left fans of the show feeling a bit, well, disappointed.
The answer is Marcela Valladolid.
The American Adventure That Went Wrong
In 2013, Paul Hollywood crossed the Atlantic. He was set to judge The American Baking Competition, a spin-off of the UK hit. That is where he met Marcela, a talented chef and his co-judge. Honestly, the chemistry must have been high-octane because it didn't take long for the tabloids to start buzzing.
Paul eventually admitted to the affair, famously calling it the "biggest mistake of my life."
It’s easy to forget now, but at the time, this was front-page news for weeks. He was the "bad boy" of the kitchen. His wife, Alexandra Hollywood, was understandably devastated. She had been with him since 1996—long before the fame, the books, and the flashy cars. They met in Cyprus where he was a baker and she was a diving instructor. It was a classic love story that hit a very public brick wall.
Why Marcela Valladolid?
Marcela was already a star in her own right. She’s an American chef who specialized in Mexican cuisine and had her own show, Mexican Made Easy. When she and Paul worked together, they were both at the top of their game professionally.
Insiders at the time said they hit it off immediately.
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After the news broke, the US show was canceled after just one season. Whether that was due to low ratings or the fallout from the scandal is still debated, but it definitely didn't help. Paul eventually returned to the UK to face the music. He tried to patch things up with Alexandra, and for a while, it actually worked. They reconciled. They stayed together for several more years, trying to move past the "hiccup," as some called it.
The Second Split and Summer Monteys-Fullam
While the Marcela Valladolid situation is the answer to the "affair" question, Paul's romantic life didn't exactly settle down after that. By 2017, the marriage with Alexandra was finally over for good.
Shortly after, Paul began dating Summer Monteys-Fullam, a barmaid who was about 30 years younger than him.
The timeline here is what gets people fired up. Alexandra claimed there was overlap. Paul and Summer denied it, insisting they only got together after the marriage was officially done. This relationship was just as high-profile as the affair, mostly because of the age gap and the dramatic way it ended. Summer eventually walked out after Paul reportedly asked her to sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) that would have prevented her from talking about their life together.
She wasn't having it.
Where Things Stand Now
If you’re looking for a happy ending, Paul seems to have found one. In September 2023, he married Melissa Spalding, a pub landlady. They had been together for about three years before tying the knot. Interestingly, they got married in Cyprus—the same island where he met his first wife decades ago.
So, what can we take away from all this?
Celebrity relationships are complicated, and when you add international fame and TV cameras into the mix, things get explosive. Paul Hollywood’s affair with Marcela Valladolid remains the most significant scandal of his career because it was the first time the "family man" image was cracked.
What to do if you’re following this story:
- Check the dates: Much of the drama happened over a decade ago; don't confuse the 2013 affair with his 2017 divorce.
- Watch the originals: If you want to see the "chemistry" for yourself, clips of the short-lived US show are still floating around YouTube.
- Respect the privacy of the families: While Paul is a public figure, his son and ex-wife have largely moved on to private lives.
Basically, the "affair" was a one-time event with a co-star that changed the trajectory of his personal life forever. He’s moved on, married again, and is still handing out handshakes on Channel 4.
The bread continues to rise, even if the personal life had a few collapses along the way.