Gino D’Acampo has recently come under fire following allegations of sexual misconduct and intimidating behaviour spanning over a decade. Dozens of people have detailed experiences described variously as “unacceptable,” “distressing” and “horrendous” while working with him.
Prior to these allegations, Gino, who was once crowned King of the Jungle, had openly discussed the dynamics of his 22-year marriage to Jessica Morrison. Speaking to OK! Magazine, Gino discussed the importance of spending time apart.
The chef said he often lives “the single life” while working away from home. He mentioned that during these periods, he and his wife would communicate for only “20 minutes a day,” suggesting that this distance contributed to the strength of their relationship.
He added: “There is a time where the family is together, when I’m with my wife and everybody to celebrate holidays and everything like that. But there has to also be a time when I do things by myself and when she does things by herself.
“So, we take a lot of holidays by ourselves with our own friends, separately. We have a lot of dinners and lunches with our friends. It’s important to have your own life. You can’t be part of a couple’s life if you don’t have your own.”
Gino met Jessica when he was 18 and working at Sylvester Stallone’s Mambo King restaurant in Marbella, where she was a waitress. The couple married seven years later. Gino says that seeing less of each other means there is more to discuss when they are reunited.
“I can be away for a month and I will talk to my wife once a week for about 20 minutes. Then, when I come back, we can talk about it all,” he says. “Some of my friends talk with their wives for an hour and I’m thinking, ‘What the hell are you going to say to your wife every day for an hour that you can’t say when you’re in person?’”
The TV chef – who has appeared on the likes of ITV’s Family Fortunes and Gino and Fred: Emission Impossible – faces accusations dating back over ten years. Individuals are said to have been fearful of any consequences if they ever spoke of their alleged encounters with the 48-year-old.
Gino has “firmly denied” the allegations made by “dozens” of people”, adding that they were “deeply upsetting”. One woman, who has been named as Hannah to protect her identity, has claimed she was on the receiving end of vulgar comments from Gino in 2011.
She claims Gino said he would “like to turn me over and f*** me up the a*** against the kitchen counter.” The woman claims that there were laughs from crew members after he made the comment. But she says she saw the “shock” and “horror”, claiming his alleged behaviour made her feel “very, very, very small.”
Speaking to ITV News Correspondent Sejal Karia, Hannah added: “I definitely saw it as some kind of power play. The very act of what he said was aggressive. He did not think that was an inappropriate thing to say to me.”
In response, Gino’s legal representatives told the outlet: “This allegation from almost 15 years ago has never, until now via a media request for comment, been raised or put to Mr D’Acampo. He does not recall it, nor accept that this happened. Mr D’Acampo is horrified to be accused of ‘power play’ and an ‘aggressive act’. He emphatically and unequivocally denies these allegations.”
In response to all allegations, Gino told ITV News: “I have been told by ITN news that allegations have been made about me acting inappropriately, some dating back over ten years ago. I have never been made aware of these matters previously and the allegations are firmly denied. I would not do anything that I thought would upset or distress anyone. This is simply not in my nature. I do not recognise the version of events being put to me.
“Not only have these allegations never been raised with me before, I have been repeatedly supported by executives at the highest level and was commissioned on prime-time programmes during the period in which it is now suggested I was acting inappropriately. I am a father, husband and have worked with well over 1,500 people on around 80 productions in my career, which I have been so proud of. I take such matters extremely seriously and the suggestion that I have acted in an improper way against is deeply upsetting.”
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