'Great British Baking Show' Judge Prue Leith Details Secret 13-Year Affair With First Husband

Great British Baking Show judge Prue Leith is speaking candidly about the 13-year affair she had with her first husband Rayne Kruger that ended with the two getting married. The chef and television personality, 83, opened up to host Kate Thornton on the White Wine Question Time podcast about the affair, which she first revealed in her 2012 autobiography, Relish: My Life on a Plate.

"If there are things in your life you're not exactly proud of, but they would be interesting to the reader, you should try to tackle them," Leith said. "I thought, you know, to skip it when Rayne was the most important person in my life... how could I not tell his whole story? So I did."

Leith and Kruger's affair began when he was married to South African actress Nan Munro, who happened to be Leith's mother's best friend. "I never asked him to leave his wife because I was very happy," Leith said of their relationship during the affair, noting that it gave her more time to focus on her own career. "I had none of the duties of life and all of the pleasures of somebody who loved me. I wasn't pressing for marriage," she noted. "We did have 13 secret years and nobody ever guessed because we were discreet." 

Leith explained that it was "easier in a way," as Kruger was a family friend and the chairman of her company, "and he'd helped me enormously and everyone knew we were great friends." The baking competition show personality and Kruger would go on to get married in 1974, and they were together until his death at age 80 in December 2002. In October 2016, Leith married John Playfair, and the two are still together today. 

Leith's candid reflection on her first marriage comes as The Great British Baking Show, known overseas as The Great British Bake Off, enters a new era with new host Alison Hammond, who is replacing actor Matt Lucas as a co-host alongside comedian Noel Fielding. In an official announcement from Channel 4, Hammond said, "Finally I can talk about it! I'm absolutely thrilled to be joining The Great British Bake Off and can't wait to meet this year's bakers. It's a huge honor to be back in the tent and I can't wait to get started." Leith will continue to judge alongside Paul Hollywood.