The couple seemed to be going strong, where after landing her dream gig as a judge on MasterChef Australia, Melissa made special mention of her “awfully hot husbando” on Instagram for being “one of the best things to ever happen to me”.
However, Joe, who is a chef, bartender and owner of Melbourne cocktail bar Romeo Lane, later admitted that Melissa’s demanding filming schedule has taken a toll on their relationship.
While marking their third wedding anniversary, Joe wrote that he and Melissa were unlikely to “see a lot of each other today”.
“Mel is in the depths of one of the most challenging, defining career moves of her life,” Joe wrote in the post, explaining that her 6am call times, along with his work commitments, meant they were unlikely to celebrate the milestone together. Joe then added that things “aren’t always easy”.
“[B]ut I sort of believe the hard parts of your life overlapping and trying to dissolve your comfort is what living really is, and even if it gets heaps harder,” he concluded the post.
In another Instagram post, he also eluded to the fact that everything was not as perfect as it seemed by writing: “There’s been the best and worst times since then."
Adding further speculation to what could have caused their split, is when Melissa posted about their anniversary, where she described their life together as “a non-stop blockbuster of action” and “drama”.
The former couple eloped at Joshua Tree National Park in California in February 2017, after dating for only five months.
Just months before they parted ways, Melissa spoke to TV WEEK in June last year and revealed she and Joe first met at his bar, before meeting again at a function 18 months later and hitting it off.
They then got engaged after just three months of dating – and married two months after that.
“When you know you know,” she said at the time.
Melissa went public with her new boyfriend Rob Mason in September 2021.
You can read more about their relationship here.
Want a smoother path to love? Sign up for eHarmony today!