After being eliminated from MasterChef and narrowly missing the top three, Annabel Lloyd has finally come clean about those “secret romance” rumours she sparked earlier in the season — rumours that had us fans searching high and low for clues on who they could be about.
In case you missed it, when former contestants and new parents Declan Cleary and Sarah Todd joined the season as one-off guest judges, Annabel hinted that there was a love story brewing among the current cast, not all that dissimilar to what Declan and Sarah found when they competed in their Back to Win season.
“This is wild that they both were on Back to Win and met and fell in love and have twins,” Annabel said on the show. “Like that is the cutest thing, that’s the most beautiful story I’ve ever heard in my life.
“Is there anyone in our comp that could be future Sarah and Declan? I’m not allowed to say.”
While this comment initially put the spotlight on her and Vinnie’s friendship as fans claimed they were the couple, these rumours were quickly denied (Vinnie has a long-term girlfriend), causing fans to lean towards Petro and Alyona instead, with one extra-long hug fanning the flames further.
In search of answers, WHO spoke to Alyona about the rumours, and she didn’t completely deny the accusations. Petro’s roommate during the season, Luke, also responded to the rumours, saying he “wouldn’t know anything about it”, but not shutting it down.
Now, with a chance to set the record straight, Annabel spoke to WHO about what was really going through her head when she said that comment, and who exactly she was referring to.
Annabel’s hilarious reaction to fan frenzy
Annabel revealed that the comment was sparked by her connection to Declan, whom she met in 2020 when they both applied and went through the casting process for the show.
While Declan was successful and made it on the show, Annabel didn’t quite make the cut.
It was in this context that Annabel made the romance comment.
“I’m very cheeky in my nature,” Annabel said. “And so people who obviously don’t know me probably take what I say to heart. So when I put up that Instagram post and I was like ‘1 like and I’ll drop my tell-all on the secret MasterChef romances’, it was just a tongue-in-cheek joke!
“But no, there’s no Declan and Sarah [this season]. When I made that comment [on the show], I think it was more aimed at just how special it would be [if there was a similar romance].”
While Annabel apologised for starting the rumours, she confessed that she is right there with us, hoping that love stories continue to come from the show.
“I wish there was,” Annabel admitted. “It would be so cute if they kept pumping Declan and Sarah’s out.
“It would be really fun to have a hot couple romance, I mean, Luke sort of said the same thing as well, but he and Petro were probably the biggest romance.”
So, there you have it. There’s no secret romance after all.
“Sorry to put it to bed,” Annabel said.
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