- EXCLUSIVE: Friends of the couple say Davina and their children are ‘heartbroken’
- Straker married Davina Pownall in a church ceremony in Wiltshire in 2015
- Chef was pictured leaving Princess Maria Olympia of Greece’s home in London
The wife of celebrity chef Thomas Straker has kicked him out of their marital home after being told he was having an affair with Princess Maria Olympia of Greece.
Friends of Straker and his wife Davina who have two daughters aged four and two, said she was ‘devastated’ to be told of his infidelity in October.
The cookery star who has 4.5 million social media followers was photographed with King Charles’ goddaughter, known as Olympia, when they emerged from her home earlier this month.
The pair were seen together just days after Olympia’s aristocratic ex-boyfriend Peregrine Pearson was pictured kissing A-lister and Game of Thrones star Sophie Turner in Paris.
Tousle-haired Straker, 33, who is famed for posting 15 to 30 second videos of his culinary creations, particularly his butter recipes, married actress Davina Pownall in a church ceremony in Wiltshire in 2015.
A friend of Davina and Straker, said: ‘This is not just a story about some lovely budding romance for a heartbroken Princess.
‘There are actually three other people who are heartbroken. They are his wife and two daughters who have not been mentioned so far.’
Another friend of the couple said: ‘She found out about her husband’s affair nearly a month ago after she was told about it by mutual friends who knew her and Olympia.
‘A lot of people knew what was going on and were asking Tom to tell Davina, but he obviously didn’t, so they did.
‘I don’t think he denied it. He is a married man with two young children and Davina deserves better than this.
‘She asked him to leave the house in north London which they had fairly recently bought together and were doing up. This all happened before Tom was photographed with the princess.
‘I know Davina is devastated. It is obviously not what she wanted.
‘During their marriage, she looked after their children and supported Tom with his career taking precedence over the last eight years.
‘With the hours that he works, she has not been able to pursue her own thing for quite some time which is one of the reasons I am so infuriated by his behaviour.’
Olympia, 27, who is the only daughter of Crown Prince Pavlos of Greece and his wife, Marie-Chantal Miller, split from Peregrine, son and heir of the 4th Viscount Cowdray, in September after three years together.
Peregrine, 29, whose family has a reputed £224million fortune and who’s been dubbed Britain’s most eligible bachelor, was snapped passionately kissing Sophie outside the Gare du Nord station in Paris.
The couple went off in separate cars, but met up again at the Stade de France where Sophie unveiled the Web Ellis trophy before the Rugby World Cup Final match between New Zealand and South Africa.
Their public clinch happened less than two months after Sophie’s musician and actor husband Joe Jonas filed for divorce following reports that their four year marriage was in trouble.
Straker grew up hunting, foraging and fishing around his parents’ smallholding in Herefordshire before working at the Dorchester, Elystan Street and Dinner by Heston Blumenthal, and opened his own restaurant Straker’s in Notting Hill in September last year.
He started making cooking videos in March 2020 when Covid struck, and now has a huge social media presence with 1.9million followers on Instagram, 2.3million on TikTok, 266,000 on YouTube and 76,000 on Facebook.
Straker made his name online by blending ingredients into butter to create quirky flavours that can elevate anything from a piece of toast to a dinner party dish, and he was credited for starting the #ButterTok trend.
He this week launched his own range of organic butter called All Things Butter, sold in flavours including garlic & herb and chilli
Straker was embroiled in controversy in July this year after posting two pictures of his team of seven all-white male chefs outside his eponymous restaurant in west London.
Critics questioned why the line-up did not include any women or ethnic minority kitchen staff, and he was accused of perpetuating the idea that top restaurants were ‘a white boys’ club’.
Others claimed the line up was ‘totally unrepresentative’ of multi-cultural Britain and showed ‘no consideration for women’.
Some critics said the pictures were particularly out of place as Straker’s restaurant is in the diverse area of Goldborne Road in Notting Hill.
As scores of people continued to post negative comments, Straker, , responded with his own comment, saying: ‘Honestly people need to calm down.
‘Firstly there is a shortage of chefs / hospitality workers. Secondly if you feel so passionately please go and gather CV’s of any chefs you think we’re missing in the team. Solutions not problems.’
But his comment served simply to stoke the flames, by attracting other complaints about him not doing enough to have a diverse workforce.
The protests led to Straker sharing an apology via his Instagram Story where he appeared to back down and insist that he was committed to ‘ensuring diversity’ in his businesses.
He wrote: ‘On Friday night, I put up a post of my chef team and many rightly pointed out the lack of diversity in it. I am very sorry for my initial response, where some queried whether I take this issue seriously.
‘I am absolutely committed to ensuring diversity in my restaurants, unfortunately we aren’t achieving this in my kitchens currently and this is an area I know I need to improve on, making sure it is seen as a welcoming and approachable environment for all. Tom x.’
Davina declined to comment when approached by MailOnline.
William Turner is a seasoned U.K. correspondent with a deep understanding of domestic affairs. With a passion for British politics and culture, he provides insightful analysis and comprehensive coverage of events within the United Kingdom.
