Former MasterChef star Melissa Leong reveals ‘red flag’ she ignored in whirlwind failed marriage
Former MasterChef judge Melissa Leong admits she rushed into marriage, while revealing the first “red flag” she chose to ignore.
Former MasterChef Australia judge Melissa Leong has made a candid admission about her failed marriage, which ended after a brief four years.
Speaking on this week’s episode of the Inherited podcast, the 43-year-old particularly recalled the “red flag” she chose to ignore in her relationship with Melbourne bar owner Joe Jones before they eloped in California in 2017.
The renowned food writer and critic revealed that she got caught up in their whirlwind romance and felt a lot of societal pressure at the time to settle down before her 35th birthday, so she bucked the trend and unconventionally bought her own engagement ring.
“I bought it myself, which should have been the first red flag,” Leong – who left MasterChef in 2023 after three years – told podcast host Ruby Hall.
“I rushed into something because I was 34 years old, and I’ve had conversations with many girlfriends of varying ages who have seen the number 35 – this arbitrary number – as somehow being symbolic of you needing to get your sh*t together, whatever that is for you.”
Leong said that for some friends it meant buying property by that age, but for herself age 35 was her deadline for settling down.
“I’m 34, I’ve just met this amazing human being, who’s just barrelled on into my life, and I wasn’t expecting it, so it was all very, ‘Let’s get married,’ within a three-month period of being together,” she recalled.
However, Leong said she was “in no way ready” for that level of commitment. But she doesn’t blame Jones for that as she was the one who “placed an invisible, unnecessary pressure” on herself to settle down.
Today, Leong is single and happy, but she is open to finding love again if she met someone who “deserved” to be in her life.
“I’m great as I am,” she said.
Leong and Jones first met at his bar in Melbourne but only started dating in late 2016, 18 months after that first meeting. They hit it off and within three months they got engaged, and they were married two months after that.
The couple eloped at Joshua Tree National Park in the Californian desert, revealing in a later interview with Vogue Australia that their engagement was decided during a casual conversation during dinner.
“Over dinner Joe asked me, ‘So, how does eloping work exactly? Do you need to get engaged first?’” she shared with the fashion mag.
“I told him I had about as much idea as he did (none), so instead, we decided to speculate on where we’d run away to, if we did decide to elope. The all-knowing dice decided that our already planned trip to the US in three-ish months would be it, so we just went with it.”
The bride wore a short vintage dress to the ceremony, which had a ’60s rock’n’roll feel.
“Joe and I share a common aesthetic for all things vintage and a bit rock’n’roll,” she explained. “And I think eloping is a pretty rock’n’roll way to say ‘I do!’”
Sadly, just four years later in late 2020, she would announce their separation on Instagram.
“It has brought us such happiness to walk together, but the time has come for Joe and I to part ways and walk on, apart,” she captioned a black-and-white snap of them on their wedding day.
“We ask for your kindness and consideration for our privacy, we will not be making any further comment as our private lives have, and will always remain exactly that. We wish you peace at the end of such a challenging year for all.”
Originally published as Former MasterChef star Melissa Leong reveals ‘red flag’ she ignored in whirlwind failed marriage
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