Great British Bake Off star Prue Leith, 83, released her autobiography, Relish, back in 2012 and, in it, she opened up about her life and career – including her secret 13-year affair.
Prue’s husband Rayne Kruger died in 2002 aged 80, but before the pair were married, they embarked on an illicit affair.
Prue wrote in her autobiography, which was updated in 2017: “I thought a lot about this, shall I put everything in, or shall I be discreet and careful?” She added she’s “not exactly proud” of the affair, but knew it was “important” to tell the whole story.
Great British Bake Off judge Prue Leith on her 13-year affair
Prue’s late husband, property developer and author Rayne, left his wife, the late South African actress Nan Munro, who was Prue’s mother’s best friend, to start a family with the GBBO star. Prue insists that she “never” asked Rayne to leave his first wife.
Now, speaking on an episode of Kate Thornton’s White Wine Time Podcast, Prue admitted: “I never asked him to leave his wife because I was very happy. I had none of the duties of life and all of the pleasures of somebody who loved me. I wasn’t pressing for marriage. We did have 13 secret years and nobody ever guessed because we were discreet.”
Prue added that they were very careful about their relationship. She explained: “But it was easier in a way because he was a family friend, chairman of my company, and he’d helped me enormously and everyone knew we were great friends. We didn’t go out to dinner or anything that would create any kind of suspicion. If people saw us together they thought it was because we worked together.”
Rayne’s wife was ‘amazingly forgiving’
Despite the affair, Prue said that Rayne’s wife, Nan, was “amazingly forgiving” to herself and Rayne, and they all remained close friends after she found out about the affair. Prue explained her husband was determined to “not let the affair destroy” the relationships they all had together.
She was amazingly forgiving. And an extraordinary woman.
Prue spoke highly of Nan on the podcast, explaining that she and Rayne would host her for weekends. “I remember one of her really famous actress friends said to her: ‘How can you go and have weekends and stay with Prue and Rayne? That woman, she’s a witch, she stole your husband.’ And Nan said: ‘Are you going to have me every weekend? Shall I come to you instead?’ She said: ‘They are my friends, I love them. Yes, it’s been hard, but Prue’s still Prue.’ She was amazingly forgiving. And an extraordinary woman.”
Prue married Rayne in 1974 and the pair remained married until his death in 2002. The pair had two children together, a son and a daughter.
In 2016, Prue married English fashion designer John Playfair. She admitted she initially “didn’t want anyone else” after the death of Rayne, but she “fell in love” again with John.
Read more: Why Bake Off’s Prue Leith ‘opposes’ statue of the Queen in Trafalgar Square
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