gbbo prue leith husband© Photo: Rex

Prue Leith refused to live with her husband for nine years – here's why

The Great British Bake Off host has only just moved in with her partner

Senior Health & Fitness Writer
November 3, 2020

Prue Leith met her husband John Playfair in 2011, but only nine years later have the couple decided to move in together.

The Great British Bake Off judge previously spoke out about the decision to live apart, albeit just a mile away from one another in the Cotswolds, explaining that it meant they could enjoy their relationship without Prue having to pick up the chores.

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"He does all his ironing and he cleans his shoes there and he keeps all his gear there," she told BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour.

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"And I tell you what, it's the ideal thing. What you want – and what I get – is him without his clobber and without the responsibility of looking after his laundry and sewing on his buttons."

© Photo: Getty Images

Prue Leith married John Playfair in 2016

She added: "He is a fantastic collector of books, and what I would call junk and he would call wonderful memorabilia and fantastic pictures. In his house, you have to walk through a sort of tunnel of books to get to the loo.

"He's got a lot of stuff and I'm rather anally neat and tidy and I don't want all that stuff in my house. And he doesn't want me tidying it up."

Nonetheless, Prue has finally succumbed to the idea, after officially putting her £10million property in the Cotswolds up for sale last month.

© Photo: Instagram

Prue's former kitchen at her Cotswolds home

In an interview with the Telegraph, she said, "John calls our new home our 'retirement home'. We have to face the fact that we're going to live together for the very first time. It just feels like the right time now."

And apparently Prue hasn't even had to take on all the housework. "He's pretty good all round," she quipped. "He doesn't do the cooking, but he makes me tea and sometimes cleans my shoes. In fact, he's so good at cleaning them that I've stopped doing it."

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