‘I’ve never been away for more than a night’: MasterChef judge Jock Zonfrillo reveals his pain at being separated from his heavily pregnant wife due to lockdown on the cooking show
Jock Zonfrillo has revealed that he was forced to be apart from his wife for a number of weeks while in lockdown on the set of MasterChef Australia: Back To Win.
Speaking to New Idea this week, the judge says he had never been away from his third wife, Lauren Fried, for more than a day.
To make things more difficult, Lauren is currently heavily pregnant, with the couple’s second child due in September.
Close: In an interview with New Idea, Jock Zonfrillo has revealed that he was forced to be apart from his third wife, Lauren Fried, for a number of weeks while in lockdown on the set of MasterChef Australia: Back To Win in Melbourne. Both pictured
The 43-year-old told the publication: ‘We had to spend five weeks apart because I was in Melbourne filming MasterChef and she and the kids isolated at our place in Adelaide because it has acreage’.
Jock has two daughters, Ava, 19, and Sophia, 14, from previous relationships, and shares son Alfie, two, with Lauren, who he married in January 2017.
He added: ‘I’ve never been away from my wife for more than a night. I’ve never been happier to see everybody than when we got to reunite recently.’
Distance: To make things more difficult, Lauren is currently heavily pregnant, with the couple’s second child due in September. The couple married in January 2017
The 43-year-old told the publication: ‘We had to spend five weeks apart. I’ve never been away from my wife for more than a night. I’ve never been happier to see everybody than when we got to reunite recently’
The Scottish chef added that he relishes being a father, explaining: ‘I always wanted to be a dad. It’s a way of life. I couldn’t imagine life without kids.’
On Monday’s episode of MasterChef Jock explained that social distancing rules would be going into effect on the set of the cooking show due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
He told the cast: ‘Welcome to a brand new week and a whole new world. A lot has changed in recent days due to the coronavirus. None of us have ever experienced anything like this before. But we are all in this together.
Family: Jock shares son Alfie, two, with Lauren. Both pictured
‘Therefore, there’s a few rules that I wanna speak to you about. In and out of this kitchen. So we’re gonna do things a little bit differently from now on in here.’
He added: ‘You might notice we’re standing a little bit further apart. That’s the first new rule. You must keep a safe distance from each other at all times. Got it?’
The new measures include no farewell group hugs or high-fives, spacing between contestants, no cutlery or plates shared and additional sinks for washing hands.
MasterChef continues Tuesday at 7.30pm on Channel Ten
Loves of his life: Jock has two daughters, Ava, 19, and Sophia, 14, (pictured) from previous relationships, and says being a dad is, ‘a way of life. I couldn’t imagine life without kids’