Michael Wynn-Jones, the journalist, author and businessman who saved Norwich City Football Club, has died at the age of 85. He was the husband of legendary cook Delia Smith, to whom he was married for 55 years.
A 55-year marriage without children
The couple tied the knot in 1971 and never had children, though the TV chef was "never really bothered" by the notion. Speaking on the How To Fail with Elizabeth Day podcast in 2022, Delia said: "Although I don't have children, it's never really bothered me, and I have great doubts about whether I would have been a good parent. I really have doubts about that."
Asked if she ever felt the need to provide some sort of contribution in her work, as she didn't have children, Delia replied: "That isn't something that's ever been a problem. And if I had [that] problem, I would go and adopt an unwanted baby. I wouldn't mind doing that now, but I'm too old."
Delia added: "Somebody who shall be nameless said that one of the things that was missing was that because I hadn't had children, I didn't understand how to feed children. Not at all, my cookery course was in the school curriculum."
How they met
Delia and Michael first crossed paths in 1969, when she was asked to come up with recipes for the Daily Mirror's new colour magazine, of which Michael was Deputy Editor. "I remember my cookery column, and I think it was for kipper pate, beef braised in beer and five-minute cheesecake," the chef recalled. "I used to deliver my handwritten copy, and Michael used to put it into English."
Asked if it was love at first sight for them, Delia said: "I don't think it was, but obviously he liked food a lot, and I liked food, and that was something that drew us together."
Life in Suffolk
After tying the knot in 1971, Delia and Michael moved to a cottage in Stowmarket in Suffolk. Speaking with The Guardian in 2022, Delia noted how lucky they were to have such a lovely home. "The pandemic has been terrible for so many people, but it wasn't a hardship for us. We're older, and we live in a beautiful place," she said. "I have an office at the bottom of the garden, and I was there every day from 9:30."
Delia added that Michael would often take charge of the cooking. "When he retired, he got really interested in it. He wanted to do more and more, and I let him do more and more, though I do still love cooking and, of course, food. You've got to be greedy to love cooking, and I always have been. The first thing I do in the morning when I get up is think: what are we going to eat today? And I'm lucky to be married to someone who feels the same way. But cooking is the one time when I know I'm 80: all that standing, getting a backache."
