What Really Happened With Paul Hollywood And Marcela Valladolid? The Rumors Explained

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As judge of the iconic U.K. cooking competition "The Great British Bake Off," chef Paul Hollywood has been in the spotlight since 2010. Since then, he's shared with the world everything from his favorite American baked goods to the type of pizza that best matches his personality. But there's one very private event he wishes hadn't been shared with the world — his alleged affair with fellow celebrity chef, Marcela Valladolid, in 2013.

That headline-spawning indiscretion fueled years of front page tabloid reports, and while it's far from the whole truth of Paul Hollywood's life, it quickly — and perhaps permanently — overshadowed the many successes he's had in his career.

But what really happened between Hollywood and Valladolid? Why did Hollywood consider their time together the worst mistake of his life? And how have those events more than a decade ago shaped not just their lives but the lives of their families in the years since? The answers lay at the heart of Hollywood and Valladolid's half-baked relationship.

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Paul Hollywood has been in the spotlight for so long now that you might think he was born into the role of celebrity chef — and you'd almost be right, as he was born to be a baker. His father, John F. Hollywood, was a successful baker who founded his own chain of popular bakeries called Bread Winner. Paul learned from his father, baking his first loaf of bread at age 8, and eventually joining his father's business as a teenager.

In the 1990s, Hollywood took a job at a hotel in Cyprus. It was there that he met his future wife, Alex Hollywood. It was a whirlwind romance, with Alex telling the Daily Mail that it was immediately apparent the relationship was going to be serious. "We fell in love very quickly," she said. "Two weeks was all it took — we both knew. Paul was lovely, he made me the most wonderful pastries for breakfast. Show me a woman who doesn't like chocolate!"

The couple married two years later, and in 2001, welcomed a son named Joshua. By that time, the couple had returned to England and Paul had begun his media career, co-hosting an online cooking show. His career took off, culminating in the 2010 debut of "The Great British Bake Off," which made Paul a star thanks in part to his on-screen chemistry with fellow judge Mary Berry. But it was his off-screen chemistry with another co-star which would prove to be his undoing.

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"The Great British Bake Off" proved to be a smash hit. And that, of course, meant one thing: time to franchise. In 2012, just two years after the show debuted, it was announced that there was an American version in development for CBS. They changed the name to "The American Baking Competition" and tapped Jeff Foxworthy as the new host. But one key ingredient remained the same: Paul Hollywood was invited across the pond for the show, unlike fellow "Great British Bake Off" judge Mary Berry.

That left the question open of who would be Hollywood's co-judge. The answer was Marcela Valladolid. Though she wasn't quite as famous at the time as Hollywood, Valladolid had also made a name for herself in the world of reality chefs. After hosting her own cooking show on Discovery en Español, she appeared as a contestant on "The Apprentice: Martha Stewart," and in 2010, began hosting "Mexican Made Easy" on Food Network.

Valladolid also had her own unique love story. In 2000, she married Mexican environmental activist and politician Fausto Gallardo. In 2004, she gave birth to their son, but that same year she and Gallardo called it quits. Years later, though, they reconciled, remarrying in 2012 – just in time for Valladolid to meet new co-star Hollywood on "The American Baking Competition."

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Filmed in early 2013, "The American Baking Competition" aired on CBS beginning in May of that year, running for seven episodes. But despite the pedigree of "The Great British Bake Off" and star judges Paul Hollywood and Marcela Valladolid, the show turned out to be a failure — which was especially surprising given that Hollywood and Valladolid reportedly had red hot chemistry behind the scenes.

"She and Paul clearly hit it off from day one," a behind-the-scenes source told the Daily Mail. "There was chemistry there, but sadly that chemistry didn't translate to the screen." The result was a show that fell flat with both critics and regular viewers alike. So it was no surprise when CBS decided to cancel the show after just one season The unnamed show insider told the Daily Mail, "Critics hated it and the ratings were abysmal. None of us are particularly surprised, to be honest. ... The viewing figures just weren't good enough for a prime-time show on a major network." But the second season wouldn't be the show's only casualty — Hollywood and Valladolid's marriages would both suffer as well.

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Before "The American Baking Competition" even aired its first episode, it had become a lightning rod for controversy after rumors began swirling that star Paul Hollywood had engaged in an affair with his fellow judge Marcela Valladolid. To that point, Hollywood had kept everything professional — in the press, at least, praising Valladolid in interviews. "Marcela was brilliant," he said (via Daily Record). "She trained in Paris in pastry, although she comes from a Mexican style of cuisine so she's very into her flavors. Her tastebuds are exceptional."

But tongues began wagging at the beginning of May, 2013 when Hollywood, who had just returned to England after the show finished filming, attended the BAFTAs by himself. Angry fans posted negative comments on the CBS message boards, and just four days after his lone appearance at the British award show, Hollywood's agent confirmed to the press that he and Alex Hollywood, his wife of 15 years, were separating.

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After 15 years of marriage, Paul and Alex Hollywood's relationship collapsed in a matter of just a few days. Following rumors that Paul had engaged in an affair with his "American Baking Competition" co-star Marcela Valladolid, the two separated, with further rumors claiming that Alex was filing for divorce.

"Marcela loved his Scouse charm and he thought she was gorgeous and talented — the perfect package," one of Paul's friends told The Sun (via Express). "During filming they got very close and count each other as close friends."

Too close for comfort as far as Alex was concerned. As part of the separation, Paul reportedly moved out of the family home, though other reports claimed it was Alex who moved out; but that may not have been the end of the affair, as Paul and Valladolid were photographed together in Mallorca in August, 2013. Alex later said of her husband's time in America filming "The Great American Baking Competition," "In the space of four weeks my life changed irrevocably. One minute I was happily married and the next I wasn't" (via The Times).

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After rumors of an affair between "The American Baking Competition" judges Paul Hollywood and Marcela Valladolid hit the tabloids, Hollywood and his wife, Alex Hollywood, separated. But their marriage wasn't the only one impacted by the alleged dalliance.

Less than a week after Hollywood's agent announced his separation, news outlets reported that Valladolid had also separated from her spouse, Mexican politician and activist Fausto Gallardo. The separation came just months after the couple had married for the second time, making it an even bigger shock.

"Her family were excited that this TV show was going to be her big break. But it's just been the break-up of her marriage," a family friend told The Sun (via HuffPost). "Some of the family knew they had been through a rocky period, but we thought that was past. They have kept it very quiet, and that may be for his and her career. They are both very driven people."

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The rumored affair between Paul Hollywood and Marcela Valladolid while filming "The American Baking Competition" took a serious toll on both of their marriages and helped contribute to the failure of the show after fan backlash. But were the rumors true?

Though Valladolid has never spoken publicly on the record about their relationship, Hollywood spoke to the press in October 2013, five months after the rumors began and two months after he and Valladolid were photographed together on vacation in Mallorca. And he was defiant.

"At the end of the day it was all conjecture, hearsay, alleged gossip. There was nothing ever there," he told The Times. "I'm not even going to talk about it. I never comment on private life." However, this promise only lasted 14 days. Just two weeks after his interview with The Times, Hollywood went on BBC Radio 5 Live and admitted to the affair. "I did have an affair in America with my co-judge," he said (via HuffPost). "It was the biggest mistake of my life because actually I still love my wife." So why did he decide to talk? Hollywood told BBC Radio 5 Live host Richard Bacon that he hoped by talking openly to the press about the affair they would stop hounding him with rumors and give him and his ex-wife, Alex Hollywood, privacy to work on their relationship — and a possible reconciliation.

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Following Paul and Alex Hollywood's separation in May 2013, Alex spoke to the media. She made it clear that while she was shocked and devastated by Paul's affair with fellow "American Baking Competition" judge Marcela Valladolid, she wasn't ready to necessarily shut the door on her marriage with Paul.

"I love my husband and I was and still am very proud of what he has achieved," she said (via the Mirror). "I don't know if he still loves me. I'd like to think there's always going to be some affection there. You can't share 15 years of marriage and not have anything left, but right now I just don't know."

Paul and Alex ultimately seemed to patch things up. In December 2013, reports emerged that the couple had been seen having dinner together and even kissing in public. By Christmas, the couple were back together, posting photos from a family vacation with their son Josh. Sadly, though, the reunion would prove to be a fairly short one. Four years later, at the end of 2017, Paul and Alex separated again, finalizing their divorce in 2019. The grounds for divorce: adultery — and not necessarily just Paul's fling with Valladolid.

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In 2022, Alex Hollywood fanned the flames of controversy with an Instagram post calling out her ex-husband, Paul Hollywood, for his extra-marital shenanigans. In the post, which was mostly about the joys of being single, she wrote, "My own marriage was too over seasoned with extra marital affairs for my taste and so I opted out and chose the single menu instead."

People noted the fact that she wrote "affairs" plural and not singular, referring to Paul's dalliance with fellow celebrity chef Marcela Valladolid. But the big question was whether or not Alex was also referring to Summer Monteys-Fullam, a woman 29 years Paul's junior whom he dated from 2017 until 2019. The pair met at a birthday party for Alex where Monteys-Fullam worked. The party took place prior to Alex and Paul's separation, and Paul and Monteys-Fullam weren't linked romantically until the end of the year, after Paul and Alex had called it quits. However, later reports implied that Alex may have felt the relationship began before the separation. In 2019, The Sun claimed that Alex and Monteys-Fullam had a nasty confrontation in a grocery store, with Alex verbally abusing the younger woman for the pain she felt Monteys-Fullam had caused her family.

Alex denied the accusations, but either way, Monteys-Fullam and Paul were done anyway. Apparently believing Monteys-Fullam was feeding stories to the press, Paul asked her to sign a non-disclosure agreement. Instead, they broke up. She later said in an Instagram Story (via the Mirror), "I'm not interested in the slightest in dating someone famous again. It was a disaster."

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While the dissolution of Paul and Alex Hollywood's marriage was making front page news in the United Kingdom, Marcela Valladolid was quietly creating a new life for herself. After rumors of her fling with Paul erupted in 2013, leading to the end of her marriage with her husband, Fausto Gallardo, there were even rumors that Paul was planning to move to Los Angeles to be with her.

That never happened. Instead, Valladolid embarked on a new romance with a man named Philip D. Button. In April 2015, Valladolid gave birth to their first child together, a son named David, and at the end of 2016, they welcomed a daughter named Anna. Whether or not they have ever gotten married is a bit of a mystery, though. In 2020, Valladolid revealed in a Facebook post that they got engaged in December 2015, but had not yet been married, and no wedding has been announced since.

Still, Valladolid seems to be as happy in her private life as she is in her professional life. The cancellation of "The American Baking Competition" was just a blip, as in 2014 she began a three-year stint as a co-host on "The Kitchen." While Marcela Valladolid struggled to find her voice at Food Network, she has continued to make numerous guest appearances on high-profile shows like "The Talk" and "Today." Now, she's even branched out to the world of online tutorials, joining sister Carina Valladolid as they co-host private cooking classes via Zoom.

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Following his many public relationship scandals, Paul Hollywood stepped back from the limelight. At least, as much as he could as the face of "The Great British Bake Off." In 2024, Hollywood told The Times that the man you see on "GBBO" is just a performance. "That's the guy on 'Bake Off.' That's not the guy at home. Very different," he said. "I'm an introvert. All my family will tell you that I'm quite shy. So it's weird that I'm doing this job, but it found me, I didn't hunt for it."

Now, he shares that home with his second wife, Melissa Spalding. The two began dating in 2019, shortly after his divorce from his ex-wife, Alex Hollywood, and his breakup with former girlfriend, Summer Monteys-Fullam. Paul and Spalding married in 2023 and moved to a rural farmhouse. The only fly in the ointment: Paul's son Joshua reportedly skipped the wedding, and has been estranged from his father since his parents separated in 2017.

Still, Paul revealed to The Times that he prefers his new quieter life, and it seems to be paying off. He released a new cookbook in 2025 called "Celebrate," and for New Years 2026, he posted an Instagram Story about his new dedication to getting and staying healthy. The celebrity chef also has no plans to leave "The Great British Bake Off," telling The Times that he considers the show to be his home away from home and that he hopes the series runs at least another 25 years.

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The truth about Alex Hollywood is that she refused to be known as the woman scorned following Paul Hollywood's affair with fellow "American Baking Competition" judge Marcela Valladolid. Instead, Alex became something of a celebrity chef in her own right, with multiple cookbooks and TV appearances to her name.

After Paul and Alex reconciled at the end of 2013, Alex penned two cookbooks. "My Busy Kitchen: A Lifetime of Family Recipes" was released in 2015, while "Cooking Tonight: Simple recipes to put the joy back into weekday suppers" came out in 2017. She also began cooking on television, making appearances on popular shows such as "Lorraine" and "This Morning." In 2019, she told GoodtoKnow, "I have more confidence than I used to, probably through being in the public eye since 2013. It's like being chucked into a tub of cold water and it takes your breath away at first. But then it's sink or swim. And I'm swimming."

As for her personal life, in 2022, Alex posted on Instagram that she's happier being single, having found the space to fall in love with herself after Paul's departure. That sounds like a truly happy ending.