In Paul Hollywood’s family rift, it has been revealed the Great British Bake Off star’s son, 21, ‘didn’t attend’ his dad’s nuptials – but Prue Leith did

Britain’s Bake Off star Paul Hollywood married pub landlady Melissa Spalding on Wednesday.

Some 75 of his “closest” friends and family – including GBBO judge Prue Leith – cheered the couple on at their destination wedding at the Anassa Hotel in Cyprus.

However, it wasn’t the occasion he could have dreamed of as his son Josh, 21, from his first marriage to Alex, wasn’t there. A friend confirms: “Josh didn’t go.

Melissa’s family were there in force, with the family pub – The Checkers in Spalding, Kent – closed from September 16 to 26 so they could all celebrate.

In 2019, Alex’s rep revealed that Josh hadn’t seen or spoken to Hollywood since his father left home – and began a romantic relationship with young bartender Summer Monteys-Fullam.

In 2020, Alex described herself as a “single mother” during a podcast.

Star guest list: Guests included close family and famous friends such as Prue Leith, the judge on Paul’s show, although Josh was absent.

Paul lived in Cyprus in the 1990s and was head baker at the Anabelle Hotel where he met his first wife Alex, who worked as a diving driving instructor. The hotel where he got married this week is part of the same group.

The wedding took place at the Ayia Athanasia Chapel of the Anassa Hotel on Wednesday afternoon. This was followed by a reception at the hotel.

Paul has been in a relationship with Melissa, 39, for three years and is said to have quietly proposed in spring 2022.

They confirmed their relationship in December 2019 after denying they sparked a romance.

The TV judge had repeatedly denied he was in a romantic relationship after their friendship was revealed in August 2019 following his split from Summer. The two women knew each other because they both worked at the pub.

However, after the couple spent Christmas Day at the pub, a spokesperson for Paul told the Mail On Sunday: “They are very happy together.”

Spalding is a former publican who was running the Checkers Inn, in the picturesque Kent village of Smarden, near Ashford, when she met Hollywood.

The quaint 14th century pub appears to be owned by its parents, with its website stating: “The Spalding family are hospitable innkeepers ready to welcome you to their historic building and garden.

The Great British Bake Off star, 57, tied the knot with the pub landlady, 39, at the stunning Ayia Athanasia Chapel which is part of the luxury Anassa Hote.

The hotel (pictured) is located in the northwest of the Akamas Peninsula, one of the most unspoiled areas of the holiday island.

Close to his heart: The owners also own the five-star Anabelle Hotel in Paphos, where Paul lived and worked as head baker for six years in the late 1990s.

Ex: It was while working at Anabelle that Paul met his ex-wife Alexandra with whom he was married for 19 years but they announced their separation in 2017 (photographed together in 2015)

Spalding has previously been engaged twice and was at one point set to marry Ashford-based professional golfer Jason Barnes.

Originally from Kent, she was educated at Headcorn Primary School in Maidstone and nearby Invicta Secondary School.

The couple began a relationship four years ago after the Bake Off Hollywood star, who lives in Kent, became a regular visitor to the Checkers.

While the TV personality initially denied the romance, her car was reportedly seen while outside her neighboring house, a £1 million Grade II listed pile.

Spalding temporarily moved into his four-bedroom 18th-century farmhouse in April 2020, with the couple moving closer as Britain was plunged into a national lockdown during the pandemic.

Friends later claimed they lived together permanently at the property, originally purchased while Hollywood was dating Monteys-Fullam.

A source told the Mail On Sunday: “Paul and Melissa have been spending a lot of time together during lockdown.

“They lived together and stayed at his house. Now she’s here for good.

Paul was married to Alex from 1998 to 2017.

He was said to have met Summer while throwing a birthday party for Alex near their marital home in Kent.

Alex – who took it back after confessing to an affair with Marcela Valladolid, his co-host in a US spin-off of GBBO – was understandably devastated. She declined to comment yesterday.

The Great British Bake Off launches a new series next Tuesday on Channel 4.

Ending: After the breakdown of his marriage, Paul went public with his relationship with Summer Monteys-Fullam, whom he also took to Cyprus in 2018. They announced their separation in 2019.