When Andy Allen took the title of MasterChef in 2012, the moment changed his life forever.
Not only did his career and professional life kick off, but the win also forged a path for the now-MasterChef judge to meet his future wife.
Alex Davey didn’t watch the show and had no idea who Andy was when they first met.
“When we met, she had no idea who I was,” Andy told TV WEEK in an exclusive interview. “We were both at a party just after I won and a few people were talking about it. She kept saying, ‘You won MasterChef?’ She thought it was a joke.”
While they didn’t start dating immediately after meeting, the former electrician from Newcastle said he never forgot about Alex. When their paths crossed again years later, the pair entered a relationship together.
Four years later, the couple realised they were ready to spend forever together and Andy popped the question in New Zealand.
Andy spilled details about his proposal to Alex with TV WEEK, sharing that the experience didn’t quite go to plan.
“I drove down to what I was told was a nice secluded beach,” Andy explains.
“But when we got there, there were more than 300 people on the beach, and the only free spot I could find was next to a couple of 16-year-olds violently pashing. It was the least romantic spot ever!”
Andy spotted a nearby headland and asked Alex to take a walk with him. Once they were finally alone, he got down on one knee.
“She was so shocked, she basically collapsed on my shoulder,” Andy recalls. “I pretty much had to ask her if it was a ‘yes’. She was very shocked.”
The couple officially tied the knot in October 2022 in a gorgeous ceremony at Terrara House in southern New South Wales.
After they said ‘I do’, Andy and Alex enjoyed a honeymoon in New Zealand, and have since continued to travel the world together.
And while they’ve seemingly enjoyed countless good times together, their relationship hasn’t been without its challenges.
Due to the nature of Andy’s job as a judge on MasterChef Australia, the couple have endured multiple stints of long-distance during their relationship.
“Alex is in Sydney and I’m in Melbourne for filming, so we had to talk about how we would make long distance work,” Andy told TV WEEK in 2020.
“But we were both so excited about the opportunity that we knew we could get through anything together.”
Former MasterChef judge Matt Preston was the one to give Andy advice about juggling work and prioritising his relationship.
“We met up earlier in the year and he said I have to make time for my relationship,” Andy says.
“He said it can be hard with filming, and to make sure I set aside days to have a long weekend with Alex and time away from the set.”
Now, the pair are living together under one roof, having moved to a home in Carlton in Melbourne.
“I always knew Alex and I were going to be together forever and it’s so nice for us to be finally living in the same location, and to actually have a home we can come to that’s just ours,” Andy said to The Australian Women’s Weekly.
“Neither of us thought anything would change after we married, but there’s definitely a deeper sense of being a family and building a life together,” Alex added.
