Kate Connelly is the ex-wife of Bobby Flay, the American television personality, restaurateur, celebrity chef, and businessman. She is a 59 year-old TV personality, journalist, ex-model, celebrity chef, and more.
Following in her father’s footsteps, Kate studied journalism at St. Michael’s College but before then, she was already experimenting with modeling. She went on to score a gig as a co-host on Robin Leach Talking Food – an interesting TV show aired on Television Food Network. After she got married to Bobby Flay, she joined efforts with her husband to float some restaurants. She also dabbled into acting with a few acting credits under her belt.
Summary of Kate Connelly’s Biography
- Full Name: Kate Connelly
- Gender: Female
- Date of Birth: January 21st, 1966
- Kate Connelly’s Age: 59 years old
- Ethnicity: White
- Nationality: American
- Zodiac Sign: Aquarius
- Sexual Orientation: Straight
- Religion: Christianity
- Marital Status: Divorced
- Kate Connelly’s Husband (Wife): Bobby Flay (ex-husband – 1995 to 1998))
- Kate Connelly’s Children: Two
- Kate Connelly’s’s Height in Inches: 5 feet 5 inches
- Kate Connelly’s Height in Centimetres: 166 cm
- Kate Connelly’s Weight: 58 kg
- Body measurements in Inches: 36-28-36
- Body measurements in Centimetres: 91-71-91
- Kate Connelly’s Net Worth: $2.5 million
- Famous For: Being the ex-wife of Bobby Flay
- Kate Connelly’s Instagram: @k8rdx
How Old Is Kate Connelly and Where Was She Born?
Kate Connelly is 59 years old and was born and brought up in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States, January 21st, 1966. This is a sure indication of her American nationality, and she is said to be of White ethnic background.
Though the identities of her parents are not known, the Minneapolis native is said to be the daughter of a journalist father while her mum stayed back to take care of the home front while her husband went to work.
Nothing much is known about the Connelly family except that they are Christians and ran a Christian household. If Kate Connelly has siblings, that particular fact must have eluded the media as nothing has been said about her siblings to date.
Connelly Went to School in Minneapolis, Minnesota
While spending her childhood in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Kate Connelly went to school in the locality. According to reports, she is an alum of a Minneapolis-based high school, though the name of her academic institution has remained undisclosed to date.
Connelly completed high school in her late teens, and seeking to go for further studies, she chose to join St. Michael’s College in pursuit of a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism. St. Michael’s College is listed as a Colchester Vermont-based private college belonging to the Catholic Church.
Kate’s days as a student of the prestigious Catholic school were said to be quite memorable as she ventured into multiple aspects of the media, including news reporting storytelling techniques, precision journalism, and more
Bobby Flay and Kate Connelly Met on a Show on Food Network
It was while Kate Connelly was still displaying her culinary expertise on the set of “Talking Food with Robin Leach” on Food Network that she first crossed paths with the man who would become her husband.
In 1994, Bobby Flay appeared on the Food Network show as a guest. At that point in their lives, Kate was already a single mum, juggling her professional life and raising her child from a previous relationship. Bobby, on the other hand, just divorced his first wife and was living in an apartment all alone.
Reports said it was love at first sight for Bobby and Lee as the duo obviously felt a strong connection at their first meeting. While Kate couldn’t get enough of Bobby’s sense of humor, the restaurateur was captivated by her then status as a single mother who had to work to earn a living.
Noticing that Kate Connelly and Bobby were highly engrossed with each other, Robin Leach warned his co-host to be very careful but the warning fell on deaf ears, as she chose not to heed his advice.
Kate and Bobby eventually went on their first date at Monkey Bar inside the Manhattan-based Hotel Elysee. According to Kate, their first outing was quite successful and is counted among her best dates. The couple found it easy to talk to one each other and they discussed a lot of things.
She Became Bobby Flay’s Wife After Dating for a Short While
As they continued going steady, Kate and Bobby’s relationship began to look promising, and before long, the restaurateur popped the big question to his love interest, and needless to say, she gave a positive answer.
The couple eventually tied the knot on October 1st, 1995, and their wedding reception was hosted at one of the restaurants that Bobby owned in New York. According to reports, Kate Connelly’s wedding with Bobby Flay was a lavish affair with over 100 guests in attendance. The guest list did not just sport family and friends, it alsohad some A-list celebrity chefs, including Mario Batali, Tom Valenti, and more.
At their wedding, all the consumables came from Bobby’s own restaurants as against his first wedding when he hired the services of another kitchen to do the cooking.
During the ceremony, Flay was quizzed about his feelings about becoming a stepfather to Kate’s son, Johnathan. His reply was that the situation was a bit complicated with the odds against them but that’s exactly what makes it great. Bobby then went on to adopt Kate’s son and started training him as his own.
Kate Connelly and Bobby Flay Divorced After Three Years of Marriage
The union between Kate Connelly and her first husband, Bobby Flay, was far from enduring. According to reports, all seemed to be going smoothly for the couple, thus, it came as a shock when they announced the end of their marriage in 1998.
To date, the two celebrity chefs never bothered to reveal the issues that led to their separation and divorce, though many think that Bobby may well be the culprit since he has been divorced before and it was the first time for Kate. Fay’s first marriage to Debra Ponzek didn’t last very long neither did his third union with movie and TV actress, Stephanie March.
It’s important to note that the couple didn’t deem it necessary to disclose the details of their divorce settlements. Besides, fans were really eager to know what happened to the restaurants they jointly established and whether Kate got her fair share at the end of the day.
Bobby Flay’s Ex-wife Has Explored Several Career Endeavors
After she graduated from St. Michael’s College with a Journalism degree, one would expect Kate to face a career in the mass media as a journalist, however, she did much more than that. Connelly has a multi-faceted career as she is listed as a journalist, celebrity chef, writer, restaurateur, and more.
She Once Worked as a Model
Modeling was Connelly’s first port of call. According to reports, she had always harbored the dreams of walking and working for big fashion and cosmetics brands as a growing child, thus, she started from her days in high school
While the details of her modeling gigs are not known, it is common knowledge that she did fulfill her childhood dreams and modeled for some Minneapolis-based fashion brands. Kate also dabbled into beauty pageantry at a point in her career life but the details have remained undisclosed.
She Had a Career in TV Hosting
It soon dawned on Kate Connelly that modeling was never her strong point, thus, she decided to give up the runway and went in pursuit of other endeavors. This time around, her journalism certificate came to play and she was lucky to land a spot as the co-host of Robin Leach Talking Food – an interesting TV show aired on Television Food Network
Kate has always had a vibrant personality that was activated as a show host while demonstrating her stellar culinary skills on set. The celebrity chef’s cooking escapades made the show a unique one watch as it was suffused with a lot of comical mishaps – she may decide to operate the blender without the lid today and tomorrow, the she may get the corkscrew of the Champaign flying high in the air; all these add some drama and humor to the show.
However, Kate’s ability to get situations under control won millions of hearts across the globe. While co-hosting the show, she welcomed a lot of guests, including restaurateurs, sommeliers, chefs, and people from all walks of life. We must also mention that the end of Robin Leach Talking Food also marked Kate’s exit from television hosting and she never returned to date.
It was even rumored that she was developing another program in collaboration with Robin Leach (a British entertainment reporter), however, the show never came to fruition and the details have remained undisclosed to date.
Kate Connelly is a Celebrity Chef
The major reason why Kate Connelly was chosen to host Robin Leach Talking Food TV show is because she is a qualified chef. Reports said she started nurturing her culinary skills from a tender age, learning under the watch of her mum who is said to be an excellent cook.
Her upbringing notwithstanding, Kate was said to be fueled by a natural love for cooking and thus, decided to train to become a professional chef. Following her training, the culinary expert went to work experimenting with different flavors which led to the development of her own recipes.
Kat Co-owns Restaurants with her Ex-husband
With the growth of her culinary expertise, Kate decided to broaden her horizon by collaborating with her then-husband, Bobby Flay to establish some restaurants in New York that went on to become quite successful.
She soon started using these establishments as platforms through which she further displayed her culinary expertise to a wider audience. With this addition to her career endeavors, we would not be totally wrong to describe Kate as a shrewd businesswoman.
Kate Connelly also Dabbled into Acting
Kate’s multi-faceted career notwithstanding, she still made out time to experiment with acting roles. She started building her acting skills by participating in stage plays.
Not limiting her acting prowess to the stage, Kate Connelly went on to record a few appearances on the big screen. She was seen in the movie entitled, Blaze where she shared the screen with the likes of Chris Hemsworth. She also played a cameo in the film Burn Your Maps and may still grace the screen in other productions.
Kate’s Ex-Husband is a Man of Many Hats
Born on December 10th, 1964, Kate Connelly’s former husband, Robert “Bobby” William Flay, is renowned as an American television personality, restaurateur, celebrity chef, and more.
Before he first crossed paths with his second wife, Kate, Bobby was a resident of New York where he worked and earned a living at Miracle Grill. He went on to become a partner at Mesa Grill.
The year 1993 saw Bobby establish his own eatery dubbed, “Bolo Bar & Restaurant” and in 2004, he launched another branch of Mesa Grill in Nevada Las Vegas. Another Mesa Grill is currently operating in the Bahamas under Bobby’s watch.
Bobby’s other businesses include the Brasserie “Bar Americain, Bolo in Manhattan, and Bobby Flay Steak. The restaurateur is also the owner of Bobby’s Burger Palace.
Following his union with Kate Connelly, Bobby and joined efforts with her in launching more restaurants and eateries. He also lectured at his alma mater, the French Culinary Institute. Bobby has played starring roles and guest roles in a lot of cooking shows on TV.
Obviously, Bobby’s contribution to the culinary field has not gone unnoticed as he has won his fair share of awards and accolades.
How Many Children does Kate Connelly Have?
Kate Connelly is a mother of two. Before she tied the nuptial knot with Bobby Flay, she was already a first-time mother to her first child who is called Johnathan. However, the identity of the boy’s biological father has never been revealed to date. Bobby Flay adopted Johnathan after their marriage and helped in raising him.
After their wedding, Bobby and Kate welcomed the only child of their union, Sophie Flay. Sophia was born on April 16th, 1996, barely one year into their marriage.
Kate’s daughter is all grown up and followed her mother into journalism; she majored in broadcast and digital journalism. In 2019, she scored a job at ABC7 where she functions as one of its community Journalists. A University of Southern California alum, Sophia is also a journalism lecturer at the academic institution.
As the only child of Bobby Flay, the journalist and university lecturer is also involved in her family business. She joins effort with her dad on Food Network in co-hosting food shows. The father/daughter show is entitled, The Flay List where they go hunting for the best local restaurants that Los Angeles has to offer.
Kate Connelly’s daughter and ex-husband also co-host Always Hungry with Bobby Flay and Sophie Flay on iHeart Radio. On the show, the father/daughter duo talk about both food and the process of cooking while Sophia shares her ideas on cuisine trends and drifts for the younger, hipper set.
Where is Kate Connelly Now?
After she got divorced from her ex-husband Bobby Lee, Kate Connelly started keeping a low profile making it hard to know her current preoccupation. However, from the social media posts Sophia shares, fans got to know that her parents are still on good terms. The ex-couple even attended their daughter’s graduation from USC in 2018 together and posed for photographs.
