Bobby Flay and new girlfriend Christina Perez in Rome, Italy

‘Delicious And Sparkly’ Bobby Flay Birthday Tribute From New Girlfriend

Home / Stars / ‘Delicious And Sparkly’ Bobby Flay Birthday Tribute From New Girlfriend

By Kristin Myers on December 11, 2021 at 8:16 AM EST

Happy birthday Bobby Flay!

The “Food Network” star turned 57 years old on Friday, December 10, 2021. Flay was born Robert William Flay in New York City and went on to become a celebrity chef, restauranteur, and TV personality.

Believe it or not, Flay actually dropped out of high school at age 17 to start working at a pizza parlor and a Baskin-Robbins. From there, he went on to study at the French Culinary Institute and was a member of its first graduating class in 1984.

Since then, he’s opened several successful restaurants, like the Amalfi in Las Vegas and the Bobby’s Burger Place franchise, although he had to close two of his restaurants in 2021 after the restaurant was hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic.

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He has also appeared on several Food Network Television series, including “Iron Chef America,” “Beat Bobby Flay,” and the “Great Chefs” series.

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Flay’s New Girlfriend Pay Sweet Birthday Tribute In Instagram Video

Flay has had quite a few ladies in his life! Flay was married to his first wife, Debra Ponzek, from 1991-1993. He married Kate Connelly in 1995 until they divorced in 1998. He was married to “Law & Order” star Stephanie March from 2005 to 2015. The couple had one child together: a daughter named Sophie. Their turbulent break-up made headlines when March sued Flay to try to get the episodes they appeared in together pulled from Food Network, but she was unsuccessful.

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Flay has since moved on to Christina Perez, the Senior Content and Creative Director at Miss Grass, a company that sells products containing CBD and THC. She is also a writer, whose works have appeared in Harper’s Bazaar, Vogue, Elle, GQ, and Glamour. She is also an avid traveler, and she was recently spotted having a great time with Flay in Rome, Italy.

In a sweet birthday tribute, Christina Perez wrote, “happy birthday to the man who keeps me laughing and makes my life more delicious and sparkly than I could ever have imagined — love you x million @bobbyflay.” She posted the caption alongside a 2 second-clip of the couple smiling for the camera before Perez reaches over and plants a kiss on his cheek.

His daughter, Sophie, commented, “I love this” next to four heart-eye emojis.

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Bobby Flay Thanks Fans For Birthday Well-Wishes

In an Instagram post, Flay thanked fans for the birthday wishes, writing, "I want to thank every single person that sent me the loveliest bday wishes today. 364 days a year I use my know how around a stove to show my love and adoration to the people that are special to me (you all know exactly who you are)."

He added, "Today, I’ll let someone else do the cooking in the company of my spectacular lady @christinalperez As an added bonus for today I’m posting a #BTS shot of me on what I thought was the last day of #beatbobbyflay. To say thank you to the amazing team and my production partner Kim Martin I changed into my maroon, velour @adidas track suit."

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He concluded his message with, "It reminds me of my childhood when this was my uniform before I started donning chef whites. So on a day when I turn another chapter in the pages of life this photo reminds me of the kid I was and the kid I’ll always be. Love you all… bf."

Flay made headlines earlier this year when he and the Food Network parted ways over a $100 million dollar contract. After the network refused to serve up such a large sum, Flay reportedly walked away from his 27-year history with the network.

However, Flay and the Food Network seemed to reach a new agreement, as Flay signed a new three-year contract with the network once his current contract expired at the end of 2021.

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