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Colin Fassnidge is the Irish-born celebrity chef who has truly stolen everyone’s hearts on My Kitchen Rules and now, Better Homes and Gardens.
But who has captured his heart? His wife and the mother of his two daughters, Jane Hyland.
The couple met in 2000 in a famous Sydney restaurant where Colin was working and Jane was the venue’s assistant manager at the time.
“We were both here on a working holiday at the time. It was just prior to the Olympics, so it was a good time to be in Sydney,” Jane exclusively told New Idea in 2020.
“I don’t know what Colin’s first impressions of me were, but I thought he talked a lot!”
As for Colin’s first impression of his now-wife, he thought “she was tough.”
“Not a good thing when you’re trying to chat her up, but I was born on knockbacks,” he admitted to our sister site, the Australian Women’s Weekly in 2019.
While Colin believes Jane was instantly in-love with his “good looks and charm,” it was actually their boss who set them up on a date.
After the first date, their relationship moved quickly. Colin told New Idea it “became serious within about six months.”
On January 6, 2006, they exchanged vows in a stunning ceremony overlooking Watson’s Bay.
Roughly three years after their marriage in 2009, Colin and Jane welcomed their first daughter Lily who is now 14 years old.
Their youngest daughter, Maeve, 13, was born just two years later.
In an exclusive interview with our sister site TV WEEK, Colin shared his thoughts on fatherhood.
“I love being a dad,” he says. “I think it calmed me down. When I had kids, I was like, ‘You know what? It’s not all about you.’ Especially in my house. Nothing is about me.”
“The ad [for MKR] comes on the other night, and I’m like, ‘That’s me!’ My kids just walk by it, going, ‘Pffft! Whatever.’
“And then it was the ad where I cried and my daughter’s like, ‘Oh, cringe.’ They keep you in check.”
Overall, Colin keeps his family close to his heart. But he isn’t opposed to sharing crazy photos or videos on Instagram including exploring theme parks in the rain, pulling pranks and even just all-around teasing each other.
