Thanks to his French accent and cooking talents, dreamy My Kitchen Rules judge and chef Manu Feildel has often had fans swooning over him.
But when the former SAS: Australia contender and Australia’s Got Talent judge met his now-wife Clarissa Weerasena at Sydney’s Ivy night club in 2011, she had a slightly different reaction.
Clarissa revealed to The Australian’s Women’s Weekly in 2016 that she had no idea who the famous chef was.
Smitten: Clarissa had no idea who the famous chef was when they first met in 2011. (Image: @manufeildelofficial/ Instagram)
“He comes up to me and says, ‘Your friend says that you can cook better than me,’ and I said, ‘I probably can,'” recalled Clarissa. “I thought, who the hell are you?”
Manu also shared his side of their fateful first meeting in an interview with TV WEEK.
“We met in a lift going to a nightclub in Sydney. She didn’t know who I was,” he explained.
“We didn’t see each other for three months after that, then we caught up for a drink. I was nervous, because three months had passed.”
The MKR judge continued: “We didn’t see each other for another three months, then had some lunch. The rest is history.”
But it was Clarissa’s talents in the kitchen that really sealed the deal for the chef, who is famous for his strong views on sauce accompanying meals.
After tasting one of her dishes, Manu had found The One.
“Clarissa ticked all the boxes – and that was the biggest box. I was like, thank God! She loves eating and she loves cooking – she’s perfect!” he told The Australian Women’s Weekly.
Head over heels in love, Manu popped the question to the jewellery designer in 2013 and the couple welcomed daughter Charlee in 2015.
Manu was also previously in a 12-year relationship with Ronnie Morshead and they share son Jonti together.
Manu proposed to Clarissa in 2013 and they tied the knot in January, 2018. (Image: @manufeildelofficial/ Instagram)
After a four-year engagement, the smitten pair finally tied the knot in what Manu described as a “beautiful intimate ceremony” in January 2018.
The celebrity chef announced the happy news on his Instagram account at the time.
“I’ve often said don’t believe what you read in the press but now you hear it from the horse’s mouth, yes it’s true I am married!” he wrote.
“Last week I married the love of my life Clarissa in a beautiful intimate ceremony. We had a wonderful day surrounded by family and friends and lots of love and laughter.”
Charlee is so grown up now! (Image: @manufeildelofficial/ Instagram)
And the fairytale romance doesn’t look set to end anytime soon! In March, Manu shared a sweet snap with his glamorous wife as they celebrated his 46th birthday.
“Happy B’day to me!!! 46 years young and going strong. Best wife, best son, best daughter, best life,” he gushed.
In an interview with Now To Love in 2021, the beloved chef revealed that their lasting romance comes down to a few simple things – one of which, to no surprise, is cooking.
“We cook every day and that’s what we love doing, we cook for each other, and my wife is a great cook,” he revealed.
Happy family! Manu with son Jonti, daughter Charlee and wife Clarissa. (Image: @manufeildelofficial/ Instagram)
Manu continued: “Spending time together and making sure you don’t take each other for granted.
“You know, sometimes when you’ve been together for too long, you kind of forget what the relationship started with.”
But when Manu and his wife can’t cook together, he is more than happy for Clarissa to be head chef.
“She’s Malaysian and Sri Lankan. Asians, in general love cooking, and they love sharing food with their families and friends,” Manu told New Idea in an exclusive interview.
“And Clarissa is a very good cook, and she can cook all different types of cuisines, so I’m happy to let her cook most of the time. I do about 30% and she does about 70%.”
“Clarissa is a very good cook, and she can cook all different types of cuisines.” (Image: @manufeildelofficial/ Instagram)
Manu also revealed what a special date night looks like for him and his wife, and surprisingly there is no cooking involved.
“If we have a date night, we just go out to be honest with you. We love going out, we love Japanese food, it’s one of our favourites.
“All our life is surrounded by food, that’s definite. Even when we go on holidays, we go where we can find some good restaurants,” said Manu.
Now he’s heading back to judge My Kitchen Rules, so there will be even more food to talk about with his wife – though she won’t be tasting it.
They look so in love! (Image: Getty)
