Former MasterChef Australia judge Melissa Leong has opened up about her short-lived marriage, sharing a few lessons she’s learned along the way.
Speaking on this week’s episode of the Inherited podcast, the 43-year-old food writer spoke honestly about her four-year marriage to Melbourne bar owner Joe Jones.
Revealing the “red flag” she admits she ignored before they eloped in California back in 2017, Leong shared that she bought her own engagement ring.
“I bought it myself, which should have been the first red flag,” Leong said.
She explained she was swept up in their whirlwind romance and felt pressure to settle down before turning 35, a deadline she now looks back on with a new perspective.
“I rushed into something because I was 34 years old, and I’ve had conversations with many girlfriends of varying ages who have seen the number 35 – this arbitrary number – as somehow being symbolic of you needing to get your sh*t together, whatever that is for you,” she said.
For some, it meant buying a house, for her it meant tying the knot.
“I’m 34, I’ve just met this amazing human being, who’s just barrelled on into my life… so it was all very, ‘Let’s get married,’ within a three-month period of being together,” she recalled.
Though she now admits she wasn’t ready for that kind of commitment, she made it clear there were no hard feelings.
“I placed an invisible, unnecessary pressure on myself,” she shared.
The couple first crossed paths at Jones’ Melbourne bar, but didn’t start dating until late 2016. Within months, they were engaged, and soon after, they were saying “I do” in the Californian desert at Joshua Tree National Park.
“Over dinner Joe asked me, ‘So, how does eloping work exactly? Do you need to get engaged first?’” she shared in a previous interview with Vogue Australia.
“The all-knowing dice decided that our already planned trip to the US in three-ish months would be it, so we just went with it.”
At the time, Leong wore a short vintage dress with a ’60s rock’n’roll vibe.
“Joe and I share a common aesthetic for all things vintage and a bit rock’n’roll,” she said. “And I think eloping is a pretty rock’n’roll way to say ‘I do!’”
By late 2020, Leong announced their separation via Instagram, writing: “It has brought us such happiness to walk together, but the time has come for Joe and I to part ways and walk on, apart.”
These days, Leong is happily single and in charge of her own timeline.
“I’m great as I am,” she said, adding that she’s open to love again if she meets someone who truly “deserves” to be in her life.
Images: Inherited Podcast/ Instagram
