Jools Oliver's dark suspicion that her husband Jamie was having an affair brought an end to a "rut" in their marriage, according to the TV chef. The couple, who met as teenagers aged 17 and 18 and married in 2000, have five children together.
Fame and jealousy strain the relationship
Jamie, now 51, rose to fame with his show The Naked Chef, and the pair admitted that "jealousy" took over their relationship as he became a household name. Early on, Jools lived in Tokyo for three months, with Jamie sending her a letter or fax "every single day without fail."
Jools later became a stay-at-home mum, while Jamie admitted he became a "weekend dad," leaving their marriage in a rut. In 2005, he vowed to quit public life within three years, but by 2011 he was still working.
Bickering and checking his phone
In 2011, Jamie said: "I'm not a worrier but she is a worrier. I don't need that and she doesn't need that, so we're in a bit of a rut." Jools added: "We bicker all the time. A lot of my friends can't believe how much. He drives me mad because he never listens to me and I drive him mad because I can be horribly selfish."
Jools became paranoid Jamie was having an affair, telling The Telegraph: "I'll check his email. I'll check his Twitter. I'll check his phone. Everything seems fine. He says I'm a jealous girl, but I think I'm fairly laidback, considering."
Courgette season confession
Jamie had girls "throwing themselves at him," describing the ordeal as "slightly rock star-esque: random knickers and bras getting thrown at you." He admitted to Closer magazine in 2018: "My missus accused me of having an affair once, because I kept disappearing and coming back with green on my knees. It was courgette season and I was in the vegetable patch!"
After that, the pair became stronger, renewing their wedding vows in 2024 on a beach in the Maldives. Jamie told fans: "Yep, after 23 years together, we thought it would be a special moment to celebrate renewing our wedding vows before the kids all start leaving the nest. It was really special, funny and romantic with the words in the ceremony making more sense having come this far together."
He added: "It seems like a blink since the first wedding which we kept very private apart from the paparazzi at the village church we thought it would be a happy and joyful moment to share with you all this Easter. We've always dreamed of going to the Maldives and it was just as you would have dreamed, simply amazing."
