Sarah Todd didn’t expect to fall in love when she went back into the MasterChef kitchen for a third time. But, somewhere between the marinades and the mystery boxes, sparks flew with fellow contestant Declan Cleary and her life changed.

“It was such a beautiful thing to be distracted from the stress of filming,” Sarah, 38, tells TV WEEK. “We had the best time in the breaks, doing workouts and watching White Lotus. You don’t walk into something like MasterChef thinking that you’re going to meet your new partner. It was such a lucky thing to happen.”

Sarah and Declan, 27, are now living together in Melbourne. Their shared house is also home to Sarah’s 14-year-old son, Phoenix, and Declan’s dog, Sol, who has become Phoenix’s constant companion.

“Phoenix is totally obsessed with Sol,” Sarah laughs. “They’re playing until the moment they go to bed; it’s been really special for him. We’re one big family now.”

Sarah’s third appearance on MasterChef hasn’t just given her a new personal life, but it has also pushed her to show a more daring, creative version of herself.

“I started off a little bit too controlled,” Sarah admits. “But then I managed to relax into it and realise I’m here to enjoy the experience and show a side of myself I haven’t shown before.”

Yet, behind Sarah’s polished plating and kitchen control lies real pain. She watched Antares Restaurant & Beach Club – the restaurant she opened in Goa, India – burn down in a fire.

“It was like a horror film,” Sarah recalls. “I was running into the restaurant and  my staff were holding me back, saying  I couldn’t go in. The whole place was  up in flames, and I’d only been gone  25 minutes. It was the first big project I’d ever worked on. It was just devastating – it felt like losing a limb.”

Despite the trauma, she rebuilt the venue in just three months.

“There was a huge amount of people who had come to the restaurant from all over the world – and were shocked to discover what  had happened. They rallied around and supported us,” she reveals.

Sarah’s passion for Indian cuisine runs deep – not just for flavour, but for family.

“My son is half Indian, and I feel a big responsibility that when I make him a school lunchbox and it’s got a paratha in it, he feels proud to be able to eat that at school and not get bullied,” Sarah explains.

The motivation to be a strong role model is also what brought her back into the MasterChef kitchen.

“I know I’m the mother I am because I pushed myself in my career,” she says.

Now, with love in her home and fire in her belly, Sarah has one last goal in sight: “There will come a day when I have a Michelin star,” she says with a smile.

The post From heartbreak to healing, Sarah Todd’s third shot at MasterChef has brought new career fire and real-life romance appeared first on Now To Love.