Despite Gordon Ramsay’s international fame as a renowned chef, he is also recognized as a devoted family man who has been in a 26-year-long marriage with his wife, Tana. However, their happy union was almost destroyed when a woman claiming to be his mistress made shocking allegations. Adding to the turmoil, Tana’s parents attempted to keep the couple apart and eventually disowned their daughter when she refused to comply with their wishes. According to the alleged mistress, she played a pivotal role in rescuing their relationship.
While many are aware that Gordon Ramsay is married and has five children with his wife Tana, the details of their relationship’s origins are not widely known. Specifically, the couple first crossed paths when Tana, then 18 years old, was in a relationship with someone close to Ramsay.
In his early twenties, Tim worked as a sous chef and was a close companion of the renowned chef. During this time, he was also a junior cook in Stratford-upon-Avon. One day, while visiting his friend to retrieve a motorbike that he had stored for him, Tim had the opportunity to meet Tana, and he described it as “love at first sight.”
Eventually, Tana, a Montessori nursery teacher back then, separated from Tim and started dating Ramsay. Still, it wasn’t easy due to his schedule as a rising star in London restaurants. He worked 16 hours a day, and they could only meet for a few hours. She is now known as a television broadcaster and author of several cooking books. She said:
“I would work, come home, sleep, and wake up again when Gordon finished work. We’d meet up in the small hours. That was the only way we could be together, and we really wanted to be together.”
Fortunately, despite the initial obstacles, Tim and Tana were able to sustain their relationship and eventually tied the knot in 1996 when Tana was 21 and Ramsay was 29. They have been together for more than 25 years and had four children together before the unexpected arrival of their youngest child in 2019.
The chef has previously referred to his wife as “the only woman who can turn me on” and “the person I want in my bed and in my arms every night.” This sentiment is undoubtedly genuine, as evidenced by the beautiful children they have welcomed into their family over the years.
The couple’s children include their daughter Megan, twins Jack and Holly, Matilda, and their youngest child, Oscar, who was born in 2019. Matilda has made appearances on various shows with Ramsay and has established herself as a budding chef. Notably, the birth of their youngest child was the first time the famous chef was present for a child’s delivery.
Surprisingly, his wife didn’t want him in the room with the others while giving birth. However, it was different for their fifth kid, but he “dropped to the floor and blacked out” during the delivery in October 2019. He called the process “scary,” adding:
“I [sat] there and Oscar popped out through the sunroof, and then they sort of throw you on him and he’s screaming and I fell back … the nurse grabbed me.”
However, Gordon Ramsay recuperated and was able to witness the birth of his son, which brought him immense joy. He later took to Instagram and shared a post with the following caption:
“After 3 Baftas and one Emmy… finally we have won an Oscar, please welcome Oscar James Ramsay, who touched down at 12:58 today for some lunch!”
The chef also celebrates his wife often on social media. On December 21, 2022, he posted several pictures to honor their wedding anniversary. He wrote, “26 years ago, 21/12/1996, we started this journey x so blessed and so lucky to share my life with you. Thank you for everything.” That’s why claims from his “mistress” are so difficult to believe.
Dealing with a Public Scandal from a “Professional Mistress”
A woman named Sarah Symonds told the press that she had been involved with the famous chef and was not the first or only woman he had cheated on his wife with. Ramsay’s camp quickly denied most of Symonds’s “exaggerated” claims.
She alleged that Ramsay was unhappy with his marriage to Tana, so she became the other woman and “soulmate.” Furthermore, their affair was cross-continental, as they often met in London and Los Angeles.
The chef also called her often, and they would meet for intimate rendezvous when they weren’t busy. However, it was reported that Ramsay told his wife that he had only met Symonds a few times.
But the woman who refers to herself as a “professional mistress” claimed over 18 encounters and hundreds of phone calls over seven years. She added that they didn’t meet more often because they were both busy.
Furthermore, Symonds claimed that Ramsay introduced her to his wife during a party and saved their marriage. She explained that a “mistress keeps a marriage going,” adding:
“His wife might be able to forgive him a one-off but I am far from a one-off.”
The self-proclaimed professional mistress authored a book advising women on how to capitalize on their extramarital affairs. She alleged that the chef had taken her to a party at the Connaught Hotel in October 2002, during which she had the opportunity to meet Tana. Despite their alleged affair, Symonds claimed that Tana was completely oblivious to the situation. The mistress was quoted as saying:
“I felt very awkward. At one point in the evening, I called Gordon ‘big boy’ because he is very well-endowed — and he told me to keep my voice down.”
Another Scandal Hits the Famous Chef and His Family
The problems with the professional mistress eventually disappeared, and Ramsay’s relationship with Tana didn’t seem affected in the least. However, they had to deal with another issue, and this time, it came from Hutcheson’s side.
The famous chef had to sue Tana’s family, including her father, mother, siblings, an in-law, and her father’s mistress. His claims against the family said that his father-in-law, Chris Hutcheson – former chief executive of Ramsay’s restaurant holdings – had hacked into personal and company files many times.
The lawsuit also said that Chris Hutcheson had used company funds because he was supporting a secret second family and paid his mistress over $5,000 a month. However, he also placed his official wife and son on the company payroll and wrongfully wrote several cheques to himself.
His brother-in-law, Adam, also used company funds to take a friend to Australia, and his father helped him hide the evidence. However, Ramsay only went through with this lawsuit because Tana’s family tried to make him look like a horrible boss who had fired them without cause.
Fortunately, Tana decided to be on her husband’s side during the entire feud, especially after learning that her father had hidden a secret second family, which included two half-siblings.
This happened because Tana’s family took the first shot against the chef, as her mother planned to sue Ramsay first. Her brother and nephew also claimed that the television personality unexpectedly fired them from his company. Her father was let go as well.
Ramsay tried to resolve things amicably first and seemed to be building a bridge with his mother-in-law, Greta Hutcheson, who had stayed away from the feud since it began. However, Tana’s mother came up with several claims, including unfair dismissal, failure to pay, breach of contract, etc.
Chris Hutcheson also accused the chef of “violent mood swings” and possible drug use, but Ramsay’s camp denied the vile accusations. Meanwhile, Greta sent Tana a letter in which she wrote:
“Tana, you are not welcome anywhere near our door. I cannot believe that you have done this to your father. Until you dispose of that man, you are not welcome back.”
It’s hard to believe that Ramsay and his wife’s marriage managed to survive such challenging times, but that might be because of the chef’s beautiful manners and actions during the feud. Ramsay wrote a public letter and published it nationally, begging Greta to see Tana.
The restaurateur penned that his wife was deeply hurt by the entire situation, and he added:
“I know how hard this must be for you, Greta, and I’m not expecting a birthday card today, but your punishment of your daughter and our four children, for all the wrong reasons, it’s so sad. She’s an amazing woman and you’ve been a fantastic mum, please don’t stop.”
Meanwhile, Ramsay hired a private detective to follow his father-in-law after suspicions about his company’s rising debt. The chef said that Hutcheson’s dealings when he was “away” “were rarely what I thought they were.”
In addition, he addressed Hutcheson’s allegations about his alleged violent behavior and substance use, which deeply saddened him. Ramsay elaborated:
“My God did that hurt. How dare he ever suggest this on the back of my frustration and dealings with my younger brother and his addiction?”
Meanwhile, his father-in-law called the chef more than a violent man. He had later added that Ramsay was a “monster” and suggested that he knew certain secrets about the restaurateur that he could reveal at any moment.
Furthermore, Chris Hutcheson alleged he knew about Ramsay’s professional mistress, Symonds, for a long time. He said that the chef knew how to get himself out of trouble quickly, which was the only reason Tana had decided to stay with her husband.
However, it’s ironic that Hutcheson tried to place blame on the chef, recalling his alleged mistress when he had a mistress and a second secret family himself. No one knew about his dealings until the illegitimate children were already grown ups.
After hiring a private detective, Gordon found out about the second family but decided to keep it from his wife to protect her while they dealt with the feud. However, Symonds claimed he didn’t tell Tana anything because Chris Hutcheson knew Ramsay had a mistress, too.
The chef said that everything Tana’s family “threw at her” only strengthened their relationship. Dealing with families is complicated, but it’s even worse when fights involve money because the Hutchesons took over $1.6 million from Ramsay’s business.
Before this scandal and feud, Ramsay, his father-in-law, and the rest of Tana’s family were incredibly close. The chef said they had similar personalities and were “as alike as two wings on a plane.”
They had hobbies such as squash and marathons in common, and when stories about his affair with Sarah Symonds surfaced, Chris Hutcheson said he would fully support his son-in-law. In hindsight, that wasn’t a good thing.
However, Ramsay discovered too much about his father-in-law after hiring a private investigator due to the global financial crisis and after noting some concerns with his company’s records. The rest of Tana’s family took Hutcheson’s side and spied on the chef for him.
Eventually, the chef had to pay around $2.3 million in a settlement to cut all ties with Tana’s family and not extend the matter any longer. It’s hard to say if he and the Hutchesons recovered after that feud, but he and Tana are stronger than ever and focused solely on their nuclear family.
