Greta Bjornson
·2 min read
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Alex Guarnaschelli and her fiancé, Michael Castellon, have split after five years together, PEOPLE can confirm.
The Food Network star and Castellon's breakup comes nearly two years after they got engaged in June 2020. At the time, Guarnaschelli, 49, told PEOPLE she and Castellon were in "no hurry" to get married, and were excited to plan a big celebration.
Guarnaschelli and Castellon had been together for four years before he proposed. She told PEOPLE shortly after her engagement that she and Castellon first met while she was visiting the restaurant where he worked as a chef.
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"I was out to dinner with a friend, and at a restaurant, and I knew the waiter, and I was eating dinner and I said, 'This steak is just so good,' " she recalled. "And the waiter, my friend, said, 'Oh my God, my best friend is the cook, the chef, here. He's amazing. You got to meet him.' "
She added, "I went in to meet him and tell him the steak was delicious and that was it."
The two dated for several years before Castellon proposed to her while the two were driving back from a trip to the grocery store. Guarnaschelli told PEOPLE that Castellon claimed he saw a baby deer on the side of the road and got out of the car to investigate, inviting her to do the same.
"He's like, 'Shh. Come see it. It's so cute.' And I'm like, 'We're going to have to do something. We're going to have to call the animal welfare.' I'm already rolodexing the situation," Guarnaschelli explained. "We tiptoe out, full-on tiptoe, and he goes, 'It's right around the windmill.' So I look and he's like, 'Do you see it?' And I'm like, 'No, where's the baby? You promised me a baby deer.'
"And he goes, 'There's no deer.' I turn, and I look and he's on one knee," the chef said. "And he said, 'There's no deer.' He's like, 'This is why I have to marry you because you just believe me every time.' He said, 'Will you marry me?' and he gave me the ring."
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Before getting engaged to Castellon, Guarnaschelli was previously married to ex-husband Brandon Clark. She and Clark share 14-year-old daughter Ava.
Closer Weekly first reported the news of Guarnaschelli and Castellon's split.
Castellon confirmed the end of their engagement to the outlet, and said in a statement, "Wishing her nothing but the best."
