Gino D'Acampo has revealed the secret to his happy marriage with wife Jessica - and it is so simple. The This Morning chef, who has been married for 20 years, revealed he and his wife avoid the pleasure of date nights and milestone anniversaries since every day together is "special".
During an exclusive chat with HELLO!, the 45-year-old opened up about the longevity of his marriage - and how after almost three decades with his wife, life is good as it is.
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"We don't do date nights. Date night is for teenagers," he revealed. "I think that date night is for people who want to prove something. My wife always says to me, actually, she said this last week. She said, 'We've been together now for 27 years and married for 20 years… I have to say after 27 years, you make me feel that every day is a 'date' day.'
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"Because you know sometimes we have this [pressure] to do a date night or we have to buy flowers or buy the chocolate. I'm not the kind of guy who does that. I don't do it because I have to, I do it because I want to."
Gino and Jessica met when he was just 19 and working in Sylvester Stallone's Mambo King restaurant in Marbella. They were married in 2002 when Gino was 24 and went on to welcome three children; Luciano, 19, Rocco, 16, and eight-year-old daughter Mia.
Gino and Jessica share three children
Despite two decades of marriage, milestone anniversaries are not celebrated in the D'Acampo household. "I don't do anything on anniversaries because I'm not the kind of guy who buys a card or flowers or anything like that for the anniversary - I do that anyway," he explained.
"But clearly when you wake up your anniversary, we have a special hug in the morning and we just get on with [life]."
Asked whether the children help with the cooking at home, Gino confirmed that it's certainly a family affair. However, he and his wife Jessica avoid partnering up in the kitchen as it can lead to some disagreements.
The couple have been together for nearly three decades
"Me and my children cook together but it doesn't happen often because you can imagine our life is so hectic," he divulged. "I don't know, most of the time I have no idea when I'm coming back home so I never have the chance to cook with my kids as much as I would like to do it.
"But whenever I get the chance, yes. There is always someone in the kitchen with me but not my wife though. Not my wife because we argue in the kitchen. She says that she knows best but I say that I know best. So it's always one or the other."
Although the couple are very passionate about their cuisine, Gino was full of praise for his wife. "She's a great cook," he added. "I would say 80 per cent of the time it's done by her and 20 per cent of the time it's done by me because I come home late."
Inside Luciano at ME Hotel London
Meanwhile, over the past few weeks, proud dad Gino has been helping his eldest son Luciano make his name in the world of cuisine. The TV star has launched Gino D'Acampo Hotels & Leisure, including his new restaurant aptly called Luciano.
"My son now works for me, we work in the same company and he looks after all the different things that I do," he said. "I wanted to give him some kind of big responsibility at a young age because that's what I did when I was younger.
"I mean, to be honest with you, I opened my first restaurant when I was 21. He actually opened his first restaurant at 19 so he started two years earlier than me.
"I just wanted to give him a big responsibility and see how he would deal with it and I was very impressed, I have to say."
The TV chef has created a delicious seafood linguine
The new London restaurant, Luciano, is located at the ME London hotel in Covent Garden. The impressive à-la-carte menu, designed by Gino and Executive Head Chef Lorenzo Minini, is fitting for its location.
Signature dishes include braised beef cannelloni, spaghetti lobster, and rose veal cutlet Milanese. An extensive dessert menu provides the perfect finish, including Gino's own personal favourite, tiramisù.
Of his latest opening, Gino remarked: "I wanted to do a beautiful Italian restaurant with fresh ingredients, simply cooked, honestly priced and accessible to everybody - that is always what I wanted to do in the centre of London."
Gino's warm flourless chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream
He continued: "We have this great partnership with ME Hotel and they already asked us to do another four or five restaurants worldwide as well. So everybody was quite impressed and it's definitely on the cards.
"I have to say I don't want to put too much pressure on my son because he's still 19 years old. But at some point, I'm going to have to take that on my shoulder."
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