'Hottie!': Masterchef judge's 'hot husband' turns heads

The new MasterChef judges are well and truly winning over the very loyal fanbase that followed Gary, Matt and George for almost a decade, and it looks like the love may be about to extend to one judge’s partner.

Fans were gobsmacked earlier this week when Melissa Leong gave the contestants and audience a sneak peek of her daily life with her husband, pastry chef Joe Jones.

The brief glimpse at the French-trained chef was enough to give viewers serious envy of the good looking pair, and even kick off something of a fan club for the 38-year-old’s ‘hot hubby’.

The heavily tattooed chef and bartender was seen in a couple of brief shots of Melissa’s ‘day on a plate’ segment on Sunday evening’s show.

He greeted viewers while Melissa introduced the couple’s ‘child’, their cat Ghost, and was spotted whipping up some Italian pasta in the pair’s kitchen.

The chef’s edgy looks and prowess in the kitchen didn’t escape fans’ notice.

“I wish I was Melissa's cat,” one fan wrote. “I can't stop thinking about it, what a cute family!”

Others didn’t beat around the bush.

Some still only had eyes for Melissa and her fabulous earrings.

Melissa herself weighed in on her hot hubby in an Instagram post thanking him for his brief appearance on her new, high profile gig.

“Shout outs to my awfully hot husbando @joeyromeolane for being a legend and agreeing to be on @masterchefau with me tonight,” she captioned a snap of the two.

“Not only is he a classically French-trained chef with a specialist focus in pastry, he’s also an award-winning bartender and bar owner and one of the best things to ever happen to me. Thanks bubba. The end.”

Her post did little to calm the frenzy around her partner.

“You had me at ‘specialist focus in pastry’,” one woman commented on the photo.

It comes as fans adjust to the new faces on the show after almost a decade

Shock announcement after exodus

Channel 10 confirmed new judges Jock, Melissa and Andy for the 2020 season last year, a somewhat shocking announcement after some big-name contenders previously voicing interest in the high profile gig.

Favourites included the likes of Nigella Lawson, Curtis Stone and Poh Ling Yeow, who told Yahoo Lifestyle at the time she’d be ‘thrilled’ to take on the job but has since returned to the show as a contestant.

The new line-up was announced after the original judges Matt Preston, Gary Mehigan and George Calombaris left the show in July last year.

So far fans have been divided but mostly positive about the new faces.

Many fans were pleasantly surprised at the relatively unknown judges’ first appearance, some even labelling them ‘the perfect fit’.

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