The world first fell in love with the warm, chaotic charm of Poh Ling Yeow when she appeared on the debut season of MasterChef Australia in 2009; and despite being the runner-up to winner Julie Goodwin that year, she went on to have huge success in her career.
In the last 16 years, Yeow has published four bestselling cookbooks, hosted hundreds of cooking shows and she even became a permanent judge on the cooking show that catapulted her to stardom in 2024.
Although the 52-year-old has enjoyed huge professional success in that time, her personal life has been less straightforward, with her second marriage to Jonathan Bennett ending in divorce in 2021. However, in typical Yeow fashion, she has taken it in her stride and remains close friends with both Bennett and her first husband, Matt Phipps.
Here’s a closer look at the amicable divorces (yes, they exist) and Yeow’s current relationship status:
Inside Poh Ling Yeow’s first marriage
You could write a movie based on Yeow’s life; I mean, she’s a Malaysian-Australian ex-Mormon turned reality star. You don’t hear those stories everyday!
Deeply embedded into their Mormon community, the chef married her first husband, Matt Phipps, in 1989 at just 16-years-old. Understandably, the relationship didn’t stand the test of time and the couple separated after nine years together. However, they remain super close to this day. They even run a business together!
In another straight-out-of-a-movie turn of events, Phipps then went on to marry Yeow’s best friend, Sarah Rich. Although they broke the generally unspoken rule to never date your friend’s exes, Yeow is happy for them.
Speaking about the situation on the I Don’t Know How She Does It podcast in 2017, Yeow said: “He’s my ex-husband. She’s my best friend. And when we broke up, they got together and it’s all dandy. It’s actually really good.”
“Everyone tries to complicate it for us,” she said. “From the outside in, they’re all like ‘love triangle!’ and I’m like ‘no!’ he’s like my brother now and I think … people are never interested in the backstory. They want everything to be sordid.”
Poh Ling Yeow’s second marriage
2009 was a big year for Yeow. She made her MasterChef debut and met her second husband, Jonathan Bennett.
Despite hitting it off straight away, the couple had to wait until after filming to begin dating. Now with this forbidden fruit trope, she really is a living blockbuster!
The couple tied the knot after six years together, and announced their decision to split six years later, in early 2021. However, much like her first relationship, the exes remain close friends to this day.
“Jono and I broke up … but [we] still work together and are the best of friends,” Poh told The Weekend Australian in the wake of their breakup. “It’s been the most untraumatic breakup possible, and I’m single again after 12 years,” she reflected simply.
“I work with husband numbers one and two. Life is stranger than fiction.”
Poh Ling Yeow’s current relationship status
As of 2026, Yeow is currently single, or potentially just keeping her personal life out of the public eye. Fair enough too as she has given the world her fair share of telenovela-level drama!
The last comment Poh has made on her love life was ahead of season sixteen’s premiere, where she told new.com.au: “I think it’s very sensible to maintain a sense of individuality because so much of what is toxic about relationships is that merging [which is] often what we think is the right thing to do.”
Too right Yeow! We can’t wait to see more of this icon on our screens on April 19 at 7pm when MasterChef Australia season 18 airs.
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