Paula Deen is one of the most famous television chefs in history.
She married her husband, Michael Groover, in 2004, but most fans don't know a lot about
the man.
Here's the truth about Paula Deen's husband, finally revealed.
Before he retired, Groover worked as a tugboat captain in Savannah, Georgia, making him and
Deen a bit of an odd couple.
She worked for years in the public eye and loves attention, while he had a profession
that requires solitude and communicating with others only through a radio.
In spite of the different paths they were on in life, the way they came together was
something like serendipity.
The two were neighbors when Deen's beloved canine companions got loose from the yard,
where they led Deen to Groover's house.
The two got to talking, and Deen left with her dogs and a date with Groover for the next
day.
They went out on her new boat together and they made a true connection.
Many, many more dates followed, and the two got married just a couple years later at Bethesda
Academy in Savannah.
"I have met the man of my dreams, and he asked me to marry him.
And I said yes!"
Groover was born in 1956, making him nine years younger than Deen, who was born in 1947.
The age difference seems to have never bothered the pair, but it may be surprising to some.
It doesn't affect the couple in the slightest, and in fact, Groover might even be more suitable
to Deen because of this age difference, since she has always seemed quite lively.
The two have been enjoying each other's company for 15 years now, and don't look to be changing
their minds anytime soon.
In 2012, Deen was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.
This prompted her to make some huge lifestyle changes that included cutting down on carbs
and adding more vegetables to her diet.
"I've been making small changes in my life to take better care of myself and manage my
type 2 diabetes."
After her diagnosis, Deen's family decided to join her in her weight loss goals.
Her sons Jamie and Bobby lost 45 and 33 pounds respectively, and Paula herself lost 40.
And Groover lost an incredible 60 pounds in one year.
The key, Deen told People magazine, was not giving up the delicious Southern cooking,
but
"Moderation, moderation, moderation."
In July of 2018, Groover won the world-famous Hemingway Look-Alike Contest in Key West,
Florida.
It was the ninth try for Groover, who traveled each year to Sloppy Joe's Bar, the place where
Ernest Hemingway used to hang out with his fellow writers and other friends.
Groover took home the medal and the celebratory Hemingway bust on what would have been the
author's 119th birthday, beating out 150 other contestants from all over the world.
Groover has said that he can relate to Hemingway through their mutual love of hunting and fishing,
as well as writing.
In 2009, Groover penned a memoir titled My Delicious Life with Paula Deen, chock full
of details about his life with the famous chef.
Deen revealed to Good Housekeeping in a 2008 interview that Groover maintained that his
mom made the best pear crisp in the world, Deen said, "Well, I can do that."
She prepared the crisp, but Groover was unimpressed.
Deen said:
"The man doesn't have a lie in him.
And so he said, 'Well, it's just not nearly as good as my mama's.'"
Deen continued to try to make the perfect pear crisp, but you just can't beat a Southern
mama's cooking.
She said,
"I've tried it many times since, that darn pear crisp, and I still can't get that sucker
right!"
And even though Deen's cooking gets all the accolades from the public, Groover is actually
a pretty good cook in his own right.
In fact, he has even guest-starred on Deen's TV show, Paula's Best Dishes, where he cooked
a big seafood feast in recognition of his job as a tugboat captain.
"You guys eat so good on those boats, don't you?"
"Well, that's how I stay so thin."
He also shares a few of his favorite sea-themed recipes in his book, My Delicious Life with
Paula Deen, including Blue Water Banana Pudding and Captain's Deviled Crabs.
Launched in 2007, "Captain Michael's Coffee" offered eight different flavors of coffee
beans that included Captain's Choice, First Mate's Blend, The Lady's Double Chocolate
Cream, River Street Blues, Savannah Seduction, and Paula's Hazelnut Rum Cake.
Beans for Captain Michael's coffee were grown in Colombia, and were processed and prepared
in collaboration with a company close to Groover's heart, Savannah Coffee Roasters.
From what we can tell, Captain Michael's Coffee is no longer producing those delicious roasts,
but maybe in the future it will make a comeback.
The National Enquirer reported in 2013 that Groover was cheating on Deen with a friend
of the family, a brunette who lived close to them.
Supposedly he met with her once every week for more than a year, sometimes hanging out
at her home, sometimes going out for drinks together.
The tabloid reported that Deen confronted Groover about their meetings, and they had
a huge fight.
Groover reportedly "walked out," and when he later came back, the two talked again and
he, quote, "swore his innocence and allegiance to Deen."
According to a source who spoke with US Weekly,
"This story is absolutely not true.
They have never been closer.
Michael adores her and Paula adores him.
They are completely fine."
Two years later, in 2015, Deen gifted the deed to her and her husband's shared house
in Wilmington Island, Georgia, solely to Groover.
The Daily Mail reported that court documents showed transfer was "for and in consideration
of her natural love and affection for her husband."
But on April 8, 2016, she took it back.
Deen said that this transfer was a mistake and, quote, "delivered by error and [a] misunderstanding
between her and her husband."
She canceled the original deed transfer.
When this news broke, some assumed that it was evidence of a divorce stemming from Groover's
alleged cheating.
But the agreement was mutual and Groover signed the papers willingly and happily.
The couple celebrated their 15th wedding anniversary in 2019, and are seemingly looking forward
to many more years together.
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