Paul Hollywood’s ex-girlfriend has admitted she was “besotted” with the celebrity baker, and insisted she was never bothered by their 29-year age gap.
Summer Monteys-Fullam, 24, began dating The Great British Bake Off judge, 53, shortly after he separated from his wife of nearly two decades in 2017.
They split last year in acrimonious fashion, amid rows and legal threats. Speaking to The Sun, Monteys-Fullam has now opened up on the relationship.
She told the newspaper: “The age gap for me wasn’t a problem. I didn’t really care about it because if you love someone, then age is nothing but a number.”
Monteys-Fullam had known Hollywood for years and worked as a barmaid at his local pub in Kent, and said the baker was her first serious relationship.
She admitted to having no idea how much interest their relationship would attract, and was stunned to see paparazzi camped outside her family home.
“It was a sink-or-swim situation, so I chose to swim,” she said. “From the bottom of my heart all the way up, I loved him.”
She added: “It did move quickly and, yes, I was besotted at the beginning.”
Monteys-Fullam and Hollywood broke up amid claims he had asked her to sign a non-disclosure agreement.
She then threatened to sue him over what she claimed were “highly defamatory statements”.
Following her heartbreak over the split, Monteys-Fullam, who has amassed more than 30,000 followers on Instagram, is keen to see what career opportunities are now open to her.
She said: “I didn’t ask for this. I didn’t ask for these doors to be opened, the world sucked me into it — in a good way, a really good way — and now I want to see what my options are.”