Paul Hollywood, the renowned judge of The Great British Bake Off, has expressed a heartfelt connection to Cyprus, calling the Mediterranean island his “second home” and hinting it could be where he chooses to retire.
In a candid interview with Woman’s Weekly, Hollywood shared details of a recent visit to Cyprus with his wife, Melissa Spalding. The island holds deep personal significance for the 59-year-old baker, who first discovered it in the mid-1990s during his role as a head baker at a Cypriot hotel.
During his time there in 1996, Paul met his first wife, Alex. The couple married on the island two years later, cementing Cyprus as a meaningful location in his life. After their marriage ended in 2019, Paul returned to Cyprus once again to wed Melissa in a ceremony that reaffirmed the island’s importance to him.
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“I consider it my second home,” he shared. “I might retire there — it will be somewhere that no one will ever find me because I know places in the mountains that no one knows. I can disappear in Cyprus really easily!”
Known for his sharp critiques and distinctive gaze on Bake Off, Hollywood unveiled a more contemplative side as he discussed the peace and solitude he finds in Cyprus’s quiet, remote spots, far removed from the public eye.
Hailing from Merseyside, Paul is no stranger to travel thanks to his extensive TV career. His adventures have taken him across the globe—from exploring Japanese cuisine to visiting Mexico. Additionally, he appeared on The Great American Baking Show, a spin-off of Bake Off.
One of his most memorable trips was to the Maldives, which combined his love for travel and diving. On Alan Carr’s Life’s a Beach podcast, he described the Maldives as a dream destination.
“Maldives was one of those places that, it was a dream destination for me, and I managed to get there a couple of years ago and I just fell in love with it,” he recalled. “I was on a beautiful island called Vakkaru and it was just a stunning island. The sea, I’m a scuba diver so I did a bit of scuba diving while I was there, and it was just stunning. The fish, the sharks, the rays, and the food.
“Everyone got bicycles, each villa got bicycles to get around the island on, it wasn’t very big, you could literally get around it in a minute, but I loved it. I fell in love with the place.”
With his strong ties to Cyprus and his passion for secluded getaways, it’s clear that Paul Hollywood values the quiet moments away from the limelight—and Cyprus may well be the perfect spot for many future years of peace and relaxation.