Who Is Christina Pérez? All About Bobby Flay’s Ex-Girlfriend

Bobby Flay and Christina Pérez’s relationship has ended.

The Food Network star and Pérez were together for more than three years before PEOPLE reported their breakup in June 2024.

They first met through mutual friends and went public with their relationship in November 2021, after dating privately for about a year.

“She’s so lovely. I’m really happy to have met her,” Flay told PEOPLE in December 2021. “My life is so crazy hectic, and she’s always the light at the end of the day for me.”

Flay had been married three times before. He has a daughter, Sophie Flay, with his second wife, Kate Connelly, whom he was married to from 1995 to 1998. After his breakup with Pérez, Flay started dating fellow chef and Food Network collaborator, Brooke Williamson.

Now, who is Bobby Flay’s ex-girlfriend? Here’s some information about Christina Pérez.

She studied fashion and liberal arts in college

Originally from the Midwest, Pérez studied fashion design at the Fashion Institute of Technology and liberal arts at the New School for General Studies in New York City, according to her website.

She is a writer and former editor

Pérez was an editor at several fashion magazines, including Vogue, Glamour, Lucky, and PopSugar. She is now a freelance writer and has written for publications like Condé Nast Traveler, GQ, Architectural Digest, and Harper’s Bazaar, according to her LinkedIn profile.

Her writing focuses on “the intersection of travel, design, style, food, wellbeing, and intentional modern living.”

In addition to her work as a writer and editor, Pérez was also the Senior Director of Content and Creative at Miss Grass, a cannabis lifestyle brand that sells “sustainably grown and terpene-rich” THC and CBD products. The company also supports several causes and regularly donates a portion of its proceeds to charity. Pérez left her role at the company in April 2022 after two years.

She has traveled the world

Pérez is very well-traveled and has visited many different countries and travel spots. Before starting her career in the media industry, Pérez worked as a full-time model and would travel to Tokyo, Paris, and Milan for her job, according to her website. Now, she shares her travels through her writing and on social media.

She and Flay were introduced by mutual friends

The couple kept their relationship private when they first started seeing each other. They were introduced by mutual friends about a year before they made their relationship public at the 2021 Breeders’ Cup World Championships.

A month later, Flay spoke with PEOPLE about his relationship with Pérez. “We were at an art gallery opening, and I walked over to two friends, and I was like, ‘What are you guys talking about?’ They were like, ‘We’re talking about you! It’s so nice to see you so happy,” he said.

PEOPLE learned of her and Flay’s split in June 2024

According to several sources, Flay and Pérez decided to break up after being together for more than three years. PEOPLE found out about their split in June 2024.

The former model hinted at the breakup in the June 20 edition of her newsletter, A Friend Indeed. Pérez shared that she spent the summer solstice in London with “one of my favorite people” and picking roses for good luck.

“The plants you gather are meant to symbolize love; to call it in or keep it strong,” she wrote. “This year, I’ll be doing that same ritual, but I’ll be adding something, too: I’ll scatter last year’s petals to make space for the new.”

She likes to cook

The Iron Chef star wasn’t the only one in the relationship who enjoyed cooking. In December 2021, the former couple worked together to make Empanada Asturiana, a family recipe of Pérez’s. The writer shared the experience on her Instagram Stories.

In September 2023, Pérez made her first appearance on Flay’s TikTok account when they decided to make their own version of Carbone’s spicy rigatoni.

Flay valued her opinion

In May 2023, Flay told PEOPLE that his “special lady” had an impact on both the decor and menu at his new restaurant, Brasserie B, in Las Vegas.

“Christina has spectacular style and she’s just one of these people that just gets it. She understands style and class and if something doesn’t seem right to her, she’ll tell me,” he said at the time. “Christina’s definitely one of the first people that gets a peek at anything that I do in terms of a new restaurant.”

How did Bobby Flay become famous?

Bobby Flay has loved cooking since he was a child. When he was eight years old, he asked for an Easy-Bake Oven for Christmas. Not long after, Flay got his first jobs in food service. He dropped out of school at 17 and worked in a pizzeria and a Baskin-Robbins.

Flay’s father was a partner in Joe Allen’s, a restaurant in New York City’s East Village. At 17, Flay started working there as a cook. The restaurant owner, Joe Allen, noticed Flay’s cooking skills and paid for his tuition at the French Culinary Institute.

Flay graduated in 1984. He then worked at Buds and Jams, followed by becoming the executive chef at the Miracle Grill in the East Village. In 1991, he moved to Mesa Grill. In November 1993, Flay opened Bolo, a Spanish-style restaurant, in New York City’s Flatiron District.

Flay appeared on the Food Network for the first time in 1994. His first show, Grillin’ and Chillin’, aired in 1996. Since then, he has become famous for kitchen shows, hosting 16 different shows on the Food Network and the Cooking Channel. This doesn’t include his appearances on Iron Chef America and his roles as a judge on The Next Food Network Star, The Next Iron Chef, and Wickedly Perfect.

What is Bobby Flay’s net worth in 2025?

Bobby Flay’s net worth in 2025 is around $60 million. He has earned his wealth not only from his Food Network fame but also from owning restaurants and chains such as Amalfi, Mesa Grill, Bar Americain, Bobby’s Burgers, and Bobby’s Burger Palace. He has also earned money from his 14 cookbooks, his own cat food brand, and even horse racing.

“People ask me what I’m best at,” Flay told Thoroughbred Daily News. “Here it is: I know how to feed New Yorkers. I’m not sure I’d know how to feed people from Cincinnati. But I know what New Yorkers want to eat, and how they want to eat it, and I think that’s a big part of my success in the restaurant business here. I know my clientele.”

Flay is also skilled at feeding people in Las Vegas, where he owns several restaurants too!