Prue Leith reveals how she kept 13-year-long affair with family friend 'secret'

Prue Leith has shared her secret to keeping her 13-year-long affair with her late husband, revealing 'nobody ever guessed' they were dating. 

The Great British Bake Off judge didn't hold back whilst discussing her relationship with Rayne Kruger in a recent interview, which famously began when the late South African property developer was married to another woman. 

Prue, 83, first disclosed the affair in her 2012 autobiography, Relish, and has since publicly addressed the matter on multiple occasions. 

When asked by Kate Thornton on the White Wine Question Time podcast about her decision to include the experience in the book, the culinary expert said, "If there are things in your life you’re not exactly proud of, but they would be interesting to the reader, you should try to tackle them." 

Prue, who was married to Rayne from 1974 until his death at the age of 80 in 2002, first met the author through family connections. Rayne's first wife, actress Nan Munro, had been business partners with Prue's mother, Margaret 'Peggy' Inglis, while his daughter had also been close friends with the future TV star. 

Despite an age gap of nearly two decades, Prue and Rayne fell in love and embarked on an affair that lasted 13 years. Their decision to stay together after their relationship became known to their respective families was admittedly 'very difficult' initially, but has never been one of regret for the renowned restaurateur. 

"I thought, ‘You know, to skip it when Rayne was the most important person in my life ... how could I not tell his whole story?’ So I did," Prue went on. 

As for how she and Rayne kept their romance hidden for so long, Prue credits her realistic expectations and pre-existing friendship as two key factors.  

"I never asked him to leave his wife because I was very happy," she added. 

"I had none of the duties of life and all of the pleasures of somebody who loved me. I wasn’t pressing for marriage. We did have 13 secret years and nobody ever guessed because we were discreet."

"But it was easier in a way because he was a family friend, chairman of my company, and he’d helped me enormously and everyone knew we were great friends." 

After Rayne's death, Prue found love again in her current husband, English fashion designer John Playfair. The successful couple were married in Scotland in 2016 and currently live together in the idyllic Northern Cotswolds.