Gregg Wallace has had his name in the headlines more than usual this past week – and not in a good way.
The former Masterchef judge has had to step down from his BBC role following an investigation into his alleged inappropriate behaviour. He faces complaints of misconduct from 13 individuals who have worked with him during his career.
Gregg then appeared to make matters worse by dismissing the allegations as having come from 'a handful of middle class women of a certain age'. His comments were met with widespread criticism, including from Downing Street, where a spokesperson for the prime minister described them as 'completely inappropriate and misogynistic'.
Meanwhile, Philippa Childs, the head of the Bectu Union, which represents more than 40,000 staff, contract and freelance workers in the media and entertainment industries, says 'misogyny, intimidation, ageism and sexual harassment should have no place' in modern workplaces.
It's not the first time Gregg has found himself in hot water either. In February, Gregg's 'My Saturday' interview with The Telegraph where he gave readers an hour-by-hour run through of his typical Saturday went viral.
The presenter revealed that he wakes up at 5am, goes to the gym, journals, pops into the Harvester for breakfast with his PA and returns home at 12pm to find lunch 'ready on the table' made by his wife. He then spends an hour and a half with his non-verbal autistic son, admitting 'another child isn't something I'd have chosen at my age', before spending two hours alone playing Total War Saga: Thrones of Britannia.
The article was widely mocked online with Gregg compared to Steve Coogan's notoriously tactless character, Alan Partridge.
All of which has prompted an unprecedented interest in Gregg's home life and indeed his wife, Anne-Marie Sterpini, who is better known as Anna.
Who is Gregg Wallace's wife, Anne-Marie Sterpini?
Anna Sterpini is Gregg's fourth wife. She works as a caterer and is the mother of Gregg's youngest child, a five-year-old son called Sid.
The presenter said he felt like he had 'won the lottery' by meeting her. In January he told Good Morning Britain, 'That young woman has revolutionised my life, there's a 22-year age gap, we have been together ten years and have a son, Sid, and I want to be there for them.'
How old is Anne-Marie Sterpini?
Anna is 38 years old and Gregg is 60. The couple live with their son, as well as Anna's parents Rina and Massimo. In an interview with the Daily Mail in 2020, Gregg revealed that he was happy to have another child if Anna agreed to in-house help. Her parents then moved into their home in Kent.
'I said: "Yes, I’m willing to have a baby with you, but a couple of provisos ... I’m not willing to swap my fun, sexy girlfriend for an exhausted mum. We make enough money, I’d like you to get help in the house." Anna said "What about my mum?" That was perfect,' Gregg explained.
He later joked that he is closer in age to Anna's mother, Rina, and that they have a lot in common. 'I love Rina - we have such a giggle,' he told The Sun. 'We are roughly the same age. Me and Rina remember the same TV shows and sing the same 1970s pop songs. Anna doesn’t know what we are talking about. We were singing Boney M at breakfast this morning and Anna has no idea.'
When did Anne-Marie Sterpini and Gregg Wallace meet?
The couple met on Twitter in 2013 when Anna queried whether rhubarb went with duck in one of Gregg's recipes. He then said he looked at her picture and thought, 'wow, she's pretty' and asked to take her for dinner.
Gregg then sent her his phone number and they met up for dinner in London. Three years later they got married at Hever Castle and Gregg's Masterchef co-star, John Torode, was the best man. Other guests included John's wife Lisa Faulkner, Marcus Wareing, and Monica Galetti.
How long have Gregg Wallace and Anne-Marie Sterpini been together?
Gregg and Anna have been together for 11 years and welcomed their son Sid in 2019. He also has two children with his second wife, pastry chef Denise – Tom, 30, and Libby, 27.
The presenter has never been shy to sing his fourth wife's praises. 'Meeting Anna has brought me what I think I've always been searching for – that big, warm family dynamic and there's real strength in that,' he said when they got engaged.
'I'm very conscious of people thinking I just do this willy-nilly. But we haven't rushed into this – we've been together for three years and I truly have never met anyone like Anna.' Gregg went on to say she is his 'dream girl' and is 'beautiful inside and out'.
Who else has Gregg Wallace been married to?
In 1991 Gregg was married to Christine Wallace, who is a recipe developer and appeared on series four of the Great British Bake Off. The pair met while working in a green grocer's shop and divorced after six weeks of marriage.
In 1999, he married pastry chef Denise Lovall with whom he shares two children, and they later got divorced in 2004 after Gregg's alleged affair with one of his employees. Denise died in 2017 after a battle with alcoholism.
In 2011, Gregg married biology teacher Heidi Brown, who he also met on Twitter, but they divorced the following year. 'The third one was a huge mistake,' the presenter once said of his marriage to the biology teacher. 'Probably the unhappiest I have ever been in my life,' he added before revealing their separation was followed by a series of brief romances with 'beautiful women'.
Nikki Peach is a writer at Grazia UK, working across pop culture, TV and news. She has also written for the i, i-D and the New Statesman Media Group and covers all things TV for Grazia (treating high and lowbrow shows with equal respect).