Melissa Leong debuts new romance on Instagram after split from husband last year

MasterChef judge Melissa Leong has debuted her new boyfriend on Instagram, after she announced her shock split from her husband last year.

MasterChef Australia judge Melissa Leong is officially off the market after her split late last year.

The 39-year-old food writer turned TV personality took to Instagram to gush over her new boyfriend, Melbourne hair care entrepreneur Rob Mason.

Posting a photo of the tattooed father-of-three, who founded the haircare brand Morris Motley, Leong said Mason was the “best part of my day”.

“Gratuitous hot dad post, a day late,” Leong wrote, referencing Father’s Day on Sunday. “Creator of world class cosmetics and the brains behind @morrismotley, brilliant father to a legendary babe squad and the best part of my day, nothing but love.”

The duo appeared in a photo together posted on Leong’s Instagram story at the weekend, as they FaceTime chatted with friends for a “lockdown double date”.

Melissa Leong seen in Instagram posts with her new boyfriend, Rob Mason. Picture: Instagram

Just last week, Mason shared a photo of Leong for the first time showing the TV star cooking in the kitchen, writing the caption: “Twas phenomenal”.

The pair have not previously commented on their relationship.

Rob Mason's Instagram post of Melissa Leong last week. Picture: Instagram/@therobmason

It comes after Leong’s shock split from her bar owner husband, Joe Jones, in December last year.

“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 said at the time.

“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. ⁣⁣”

Melissa Leong with her ex-husband Joe Jones. Picture: Christian Gilles

They were married in February 2017 after five months of dating.

It appears Leong met Mason fairly recently, telling the Sydney Morning Herald in June that she was “single and ready to mingle.”

“Yes, I’m currently single … and am I ready to mingle? I think so, yeah. Why not. Let’s say that,” she said.

Leong fronted Channel 10’s MasterChef for the first time in 2020, alongside new judges Jock Zonfrillo and Andy Allen.

The trio replaced original judges George Calombaris, Matt Preston and Gary Mehigan, who departed the show in 2019 after their contract negotiations broke down.