Paul Hollywood lavished TV baker 24 years his junior with £5k watch and gifts and sent string of flirty texts while still married to Alex
SILVER-haired smoothie Paul Hollywood lavished a TV baker with gifts — including a £5,000 designer watch.
The Great British Bake Off judge, 52, turned his attention to Channel 4 star Molly Robbins while still married to his wife, Alex.
They enjoyed expensive meals and she was showered with gifts, believed to include flowers and chocolates, pals said.
Molly has been pictured wearing a £5,000 Tag Heuer watch, understood to be the one given to her by Paul.
Paul and Molly — 24 years his junior — also exchanged a string of flirty secret messages from social media accounts set up under a false name.
Alex discovered the secret accounts and read their messages but only after she and Paul announced their divorce in 2017.
Paul and Molly met in 2014 at the BBC’s Good Food Show.
She is the daughter of Phoenix Nights star Ted Robbins, one of Paul’s good friends, and the cousin of I’m A Celebrity runner-up Emily Atack, 29.
In October 2014, almost two years before their friendship blossomed, Molly tweeted a photo of her and Paul, captioning it: “Of all the pictures I could have had with Paul, I can’t find one that doesn’t look like I’m touching him up! Dammit!”
The Sun revealed the pair had become close pals by 2016. And earlier this year it emerged talented baker Molly had landed her own 30-part TV series on Channel 4, Extreme Cake Makers, with Paul continuing to mentor her.
A friend said: “Paul and Molly grew close and had a real chemistry between them.
“They started texting and messaging regularly and things quickly escalated.
“Paul is a very warm and generous guy. Molly was delighted with the watch and proudly showed it to family members saying it was from Paul.
“Molly and Paul met up several times and struck up a close friendship. He gave her loads of presents — he was very thoughtful in that way.”
Alex, who spoke out this week about the couple’s marriage split, got wind of the friendship after they had broken up, another source claims.
The cookery writer, 54, is said to have been alerted to their flirty exchanges on Twitter and subsequently discovered their private messages.
An insider added: “Alex only found out her husband had befriended a younger woman once they had officially split.
“She was alerted to the fact they’d been flirting over Twitter by a friend and then she stumbled upon a couple of accounts set up on social media, using a different name.
“When she found them she was understandably confused.”
Millionaire Paul patched up his marriage to foodie Alex after a 2013 fling with US Bake Off host, Marcela Valladolid.
But the couple, who have a teenage son Josh, announced their split in November 2017 and she filed for divorce in August.
He is now dating former barmaid Summer Monteys-Fullam, who is nearly 30 years his junior.
Earlier this week, Alex spoke for the first time about how the Bake Off star’s cheating left her devastated. She said: “No one should underestimate how separation and divorce can hit you.
“I compare it to a moment where you’re driving along the motorway and then the next moment, something beyond your control happens and you’re driving in a completely different direction.
“You have to give yourself time to get your head round it.”
Paul and Molly grew close and had a real chemistry between them. They started texting and messaging regularly and things quickly escalated
Friend
Alex has previously accused Paul of cheating on her with Summer, 23, although he has claimed their relationship began only after his marriage had ended.
The couple have enjoyed exotic holidays and live together in Kent.
A statement announcing Paul and Alex’s split read: “It is with sadness that we have decided to separate. Our focus continues to be the happiness of our son, and we would ask the press and public to allow us privacy as a family during this very difficult time.”
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Meanwhile, tensions are said to have arisen between Paul and his former Bake Off co-star, Mary Berry, who left the show when it switched to Channel 4.
Last month, the 83-year-old reportedly refused to have pictures taken with Paul when he attended the Good Food Show with his new girlfriend Summer, 23.
Extreme Cake Makers followed Molly, who owns her own company Creative Cakes, and a group of elite bakers as they produced jaw-dropping sweet treats.
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