Alexandra Hollywood is divorcing husband Paul after 15 years Bake Off judge allegedly had an affair with co-presenter of US show Couple met in Cyprus where he was a baker and she a diving instructor His wife reveals how she was the one to put him in front of a camera The first time Alexandra Hollywood set eyes on her future husband 17 years ago, it was one of life's lightning bolt "wow" moments. Tanned, handsome and slim, Paul Hollywood pitched up one morning for a lesson at the scuba-diving school in Paphos, Cyprus, where Alexandra was an instructor. Paul, then aged 30, was head baker at the resort's luxury five-star Annabelle hotel, and arrived bearing gifts of bread and pastries for the dive school staff. A Hollywood story: Alexandra and Paul are pictured in Paphos, Cyprus in 1997, where the soon-to-be divorced couple met and fell in love He was a fantastic looking guy. He was absolutely lovely with piercing blue eyes and I thought: "Wow!,"" says Alexandra, who was 32 at the time. I didn't even look at the bread. Alexandra would like to think it was a "wow" moment for Paul, too. Certainly, after that first excursion, he would turn up every morning to dive with Alexandra, wooing her with pastries filled with champagne chocolate ganache. We fell in love very quickly. Two weeks was all it took - we both knew. Paul was lovely, he made me the most wonderful pastries for breakfast. Show me a woman who doesn't like chocolate! The couple married two years later in Cyprus, before returning to Britain in 1999, where their son, Joshua, was born in October 2001. Theirs was a strong, happy marriage built on teamwork. Paul, now 47, is a brilliant baker, but it was Alexandra - his wife and business partner - who had the vision, working behind the scenes to help turn him into the household name he is today. Love crash: Alexandra, who announced her divorce from Paul on Saturday, reveals that she was the one who first put her husband in front of a camera She never doubted for a second that her talented husband would one day be a massive TV star. As a judge on the Great British Bake Off, Hollywood became the George Clooney of baking; a man capable of making the words "soggy bottom" and "crumb structure" sound positively sexy. Variously described as a "silver fox," a "perfectly cooked stud muffin" and the "crumpet-making woman's crumpet," in interviews he modestly dismissed such comparisons and said his wife found them "hilarious." And so she did, at the time. But not now. On Saturday, in an exclusive interview with the Mail, Alexandra revealed that she is divorcing her husband of 15 years on the grounds of his adultery, which he is not contesting. Their separation at Easter followed Paul's return from the U.S., where he had spent almost five weeks filming the American version of Bake Off. Reports emerged that he had grown "very close" to 34-year-old Californian pastry chef Marcela Valladolid, his co-judge on The American Baking Competition. The speed with which her marriage disintegrated has left Alexandra bewildered and heartbroken. She still has feelings for Paul, but can't make any sense of what's happened. There is no chance of reconciliation and Alexandra - starting a new life as a single mother - says there is no going back. Close: The divorce is said to be a result of Paul's relationship with Marcela Valladolid - his co-host on The American Baking Competition As she talks for the first time about her estranged husband's meteoric rise and the instrumental role she played in his success, she can't help but cry when she remembers how happy they once were. Twice a year they returned to Cyprus - where they fell in love - to see all their old friends, but this year Alexandra will be going alone with her son, Joshua. Life was good for us in Cyprus. We lived in a beautiful villa with a pool, and Paul would roar around on his big motorbike, while I had my moped. We were incredibly happy together and shared a passion for food. That's what brought us together," says Alexandra, now 49. Paul was the baker, and a brilliant one at that, but I was the cook, and together we'd seek out all the best places to eat. Until she met Paul, Alexandra had been a free spirit, too busy enjoying travelling and adventure to want to settle down. Born in Kent and educated at a private Ursuline convent, she was the middle of three children born to Michael and Gloria Moores. Her father, who died 20 years ago from a heart attack, was an executive in the construction industry, while her mother - who is half-French, half-Norwegian - worked on the international newsdesk of the BBC. It was she who taught her daughter to cook - using intuition and common sense rather than scales, timers and a slavish adherence to recipes. "My mother was desperately keen for me to go off to university, but I had other ideas," says Alexandra. After school, I did a secretarial course, just to please her, because she hoped that I'd go on to marry a nice diplomat, doctor or dentist, but I'm afraid that I took off travelling instead. In between her trips, Alexandra worked in London doing PR for luxury goods firm Loewe and Nicole Farhi. She also cooked for private dinner parties and every winter headed off to France to work as a chalet girl. It was her older brother, Simon, who put Alexandra in touch with a friend who ran a diving school in Cyprus. Before I met Paul I was very independent. People were always saying, my mother in particular: "You should be married." My grandmother would say "You'll be the only can left on the shelf," but I wasn't bothered," says Alexandra. They all found it very funny when I finally told them I was marrying a Liverpudlian baker. Paul Hollywood was born to be a baker. His great-great-grandfather was the head baker at Liverpool's Adelphi Hotel, and his father ran a family bakery. Silver fox: Paul Hollywood shot to fame, and into the hearts of British women, after he appeared as a judge on Great British Bake Off with baking legend Mary Berry Determined to do something different, Paul went to the local art college to train to be a sculptor, but at 17 he joined the firm. He once said his father had told him: "Look, son, I'll give you £500 if you quit college, cut your hair and join the family bakery." He did as he was asked, but his talent took him out of Liverpool and into some top establishments. Alexandra recalls: "Paul is an absolutely brilliant baker. He is passionate about it. He can't understand why bread is relegated to a side plate when it should be centre table. In Cyprus, a meal isn't a proper meal unless you have a fork in one hand and bread in the other. "One day I saw a newspaper article about Jamie Oliver after The Naked Chef had started on TV and I said to Paul: "You could do that." I just knew that one day he would end up as big as the celebrity chefs. Always, always I knew it. I believed in him completely because he was so good. He's a very hard worker and when he puts his mind to something, nothing can stop him. Alexandra was working with Paul at the Annabelle hotel - she was guest relations manager - when a British TV production crew arrived to make a programme about Cypriot food, cooking and baking. They asked Alexandra if she could put them in touch with some local people who could help them. Single mother: Alexandra has said she will focus on her own career and her son Joshua "I said: "No, no, no. The person you need to see is Paul. Because Paul is so gregarious, he knows everything. If there's a good place to eat, he will know it. Even our Cypriot friends would say: "How does he know this? He knows things about Cyprus we don't know," " says Alexandra. So I set up a meeting with the TV company and they loved Paul. They put him in front of a camera and you could just see how brilliant he was. He dominated the screen. "After they had finished filming, the production team said to me: "He needs to go back to the UK and get an agent." Paul took to it like a duck to water. It was immediate. On their return to Britain in 1999, Paul became head baker at the renowned Cliveden hotel in Berkshire, found an agent and started making programmes for a satellite TV channel. The couple were also thrilled to discover Alexandra was pregnant. "We were so thrilled, incredibly so, because we wanted children, but unfortunately the pregnancy was ectopic," says Alexandra. "You think, "Ooh, isn't it wonderful, I'm pregnant," and then it all goes horribly wrong. We'd had this big move and it was all quite dreadful. We'd just got back to the UK and I felt so ill. I'd always been very healthy, but my skin looked like porridge. I started having these dreadful pains, but I kept telling myself: "Perhaps this is normal." You go into denial. You know something is wrong, but you don't want to acknowledge it because it should be such a happy time. "But one evening the pains were particularly bad, and I said to Paul: "I need to go to hospital now." He whizzed me into hospital and they discovered the pregnancy was developing in one of my fallopian tubes. I had to have emergency surgery, and it was such a huge thing to take on board. You think you have this wonderful, happy moment to look forward to - our first baby - and then it all goes pear-shaped. Not only that, but I had complications and was told I might find it very difficult to get pregnant again. My chances had been halved, but Paul was a huge support. He was always confident we would have children, and amazingly eight months later I fell pregnant with Joshua. When I did the pregnancy test, I waved the stick under Paul's nose and he was so pleased, incredibly so, big grin from ear to ear. I didn't mind what I had, as long as the baby was healthy, but Paul dreamed of having a son. The only challenge to the Hollywood marriage during this time was when Alexandra developed cravings for shop-bought, bright pink French fancies and broccoli stalks. For the first three months I felt sick all the time. It was like being locked on a ship in high seas. Overseas career: Alexandra says she was nothing but supportive of her husband going to the US to judge American Baking Competition "I was very anaemic with low blood sugar, so I would send out Paul to buy pink French fancies - disgusting things - so you can imagine how he felt about that," says Alexandra. "He used to say, "I will make you this, I will make you that" and I'd reply: "No, it has to be bright pink French fancies." I haven't touched them since. Paul was by Alexandra's side throughout her 18-hour labour. She couldn't eat, but he was popular with the medical staff, who polished off all the home-made cakes he brought into the hospital. Paul cried when Joshua was born. He was so happy and from day one he was a brilliant daddy. We would have liked more children, but sadly it just didn't happen," says Alexandra. The Hollywoods moved to Kent, where Paul set up his own artisan bakery, supplying Harrods and Waitrose. The couple adored village life, and the door to their home was always open, with friends and family dropping by to enjoy Alexandra's fabulous cooking and Paul's baking. When the idea for The Great British Bake-Off was mooted around five years ago, the BBC production team contacted the Hollywoods to let them know that Paul's name was an a list of candidates to join Mary Berry - the grande dame of baking - as a judge on the show. They came down to meet us and we did a big lunch for them. All the food was locally sourced. They loved Paul. They got him straight away, the type of person he was. "Paul feels so passionate about bread and all things British, and after a bit of to-ing and fro-ing we got the call to say he'd got it," says Alexandra. My goodness, we were so excited. I told Paul: "This is just what you want, this is perfect for you." It couldn't have been a better platform for him. I knew that given the chance, everyone would see what I could see. I knew that it could be massive. Paul was so excited about it and about working with Mary, who he'd met at a Live Food Show. There was a genuine affection between them. Alexandra was not surprised by the show's success, which turned her husband into the Simon Cowell of baking competitions. She was thrilled for him and never felt threatened by his elevation to "sex symbol." "It didn't happen overnight; it was gradual," says Alexandra. When we went out, more and more people started coming up to us. National treasure? Paul Hollywood became a sex-symbol and has been hailed the Simon Cowell of baking after his role as a judge on BBC's Great British Bake Off People were genuinely pleased to see him. There was so much goodwill. It was nice, and he appreciates the fans because they are letting him know they love the show, which he is so proud of, understandably. Paul's very good with people and always has time to chat to strangers. We didn't have female stalkers turning up on our doorstep with muffins for him to judge - fans would simply want to talk about things they'd baked. It was all very lovely. Fame didn't change Paul at all. He was the same person he always was, very grounded. When we went to the pub for Sunday lunch, no one batted an eyelid. On the back of his Bake Off success, Paul was offered his own BBC2 programme Paul Hollywood's Bread. Then, last October, he and Alexandra heard that the American network CBS was making a U.S. version of Bake Off and wanted to meet Paul. CBS loved the format and absolutely loved Paul. It shows how good he is that they chose him as a judge instead of an American," says Alexandra. I was so excited, and very proud of him. This was a big deal for us and seemed like a natural progression in his career. This was what we both wanted. I had no idea that when he came back from America everything would be different and our marriage would be over. With divorce looming, Alexandra has been forced to review her life. The adjustment from happily married wife and mum to single parent is hard for her, and the energy she once threw into supporting Paul's career is now spent creating a future for herself and Joshua. "I have no regrets about my marriage to Paul or supporting his career," says Alexandra. When you see things that come your way, you have to grab them. There is no such thing as luck - it's recognition of opportunity. You make your choices and you go with them. The choices we made as a couple were the right choices for us at the right time. I had a wonderful marriage, we both have Joshua. Our son is our life, the most important thing in the world to both of us. How could I regret any of that? For 15 years Paul and I were a great team. He was in front of camera, I was behind the scenes. Now I need to do something for me. Creditors who say he's let them down Bad bake: Paul Hollywood allegedly owes ex-business partners hundreds of thousands Paul Hollywood has been accused of owing hundreds of thousands of pounds to former business partners in unpaid debts. The Great British Bake Off star allegedly left a string of creditors out of pocket after his first bread company went bust a decade ago. Furious at seeing his celebrity status grow, they have now gone public in an attempt to force him finally to pay them back. Hollywood set up his first independent company, Hollywood Bread, in 1999. However, by the spring of 2003 liquidators had been appointed and, two years later, the business was dissolved with debts of £262,000. Bradleys bakers in Ashford, Kent, was owed £2,400. Managing director Graham Linkins said: "I saw him on the TV and said: "That b****** owes me money." Steve Foster, who was head baker at Hollywood Bread, said: "Paul was a fun-loving character and we got on well, but when his TV career took off, that took him away from the business more than it should. I have not kept in contact with him because I was owed £800. A spokesman for Paul Hollywood said: "I can confirm that in 2003 Hollywood Bread went into voluntary liquidation. This was not due to neglect - Paul had little TV work at that time - but rather the economic climate and a change in circumstances surrounding the location of the site involved.