She knocks chicken parm outta the park. She crushes cake
and still looks amazing. She wipes Buddy's butt without batting an eye…uh,
almost. Keep watching for the truth about Cake Boss's wife, Lisa Valastro.
Buddy Valastro and his family have been a staple on TLC ever since their hit reality show,
"Cake Boss," made its debut back in 2009. The series gave fans a peek
behind the curtain about what it's really like running Carlo's Bakery,
as Buddy balanced his work and home life with his wife, kids, and four sisters.
The show initially ran from 2009 until 2017, and inspired several spinoffs,
including "Next Great Baker," "Bake You Rich," and "Buddy's Bakery Rescue." As Reality Blurred noted,
after a two-year hiatus, "Cake Boss" then moved to Discovery in 2019.
Over the years, fans have witnessed pretty much all the ins and outs of the Valastros' family
life, joining them on their fabulous travels from Italy to Disney World. But while cameras captured
the greatest moments for the family, they also revealed some of their lowest. Fans shared in
the family's sorrow when Buddy announced the death of his beloved mother, Mary, in 2017.
An icon of the bakery, she had been suffering from ALS. Viewers were also invited inside the
emotional journey behind Buddy's recovery after he suffered a near career-ending hand injury in 2020.
"Babe, I might need you in a sec, but I'll call you."
And the one person who was there with Buddy through it all — from the very
beginning — was his wife. As Buddy has noted more than once on the show,
Lisa is his rock, and the love of his life. He even once baked
a life-size replica cake for his number one lady, as a surprise for her birthday.
"I’m still trembling. I don't even know what to say. I really don't. I'm really proud of you."
The couple has been married since way back in 2001. And Lisa has been a star player on
"Cake Boss," working alongside Buddy and the bakery staff — including his sisters,
their husbands, and plenty of cousins. Lisa and Buddy share four children together; Sofia,
Buddy Jr, Marco, and Carlo.
The two have known each other for decades,
tying the knot long before fame ever became part of their story. Having first been family friends,
it was after they spent a fateful night out at a club together that their romance really blossomed.
She was 19 and he was 22. And as Buddy once teased to TLC,
"When Lisa came out that night, I teased her and said 'you were really after me,'
and she says I was really after her."
"Yeah, maybe by the second or third date, I definitely knew."
Lisa then supported Buddy as he hustled to turn Carlo's Bakery into a mainstream success.
She was so dedicated to helping her husband-to-be,
that they would even share their date nights at the bakery. As Buddy recalled to Delish,
"She would bring me food. We'd have a little bit of dinner
and then she'd just hang out and watch me decorate."
But while Lisa deftly holds down the fort behind the scenes when it comes to the Valastro family,
she's certainly no wallflower. She's even a successful entrepreneur in her
own right. Lisa showed off her skills in the kitchen when she hosted her cooking
show on Buddy's "Cakehouse" channel, called "Lisa's Home Cooking." There,
fans learned about her iconic chicken parm, as well as her deep abiding love of the garlic press.
"My favorite tool in the kitchen is the garlic press.
I use a garlic press for everything I make."
She's also a pro podcaster. And she hosts her show "What's Up Cuz?" with her cousin,
comedian Erica Spera. The show gets a little more personal than "Cake Boss,"
tackling a range of on-trend topics, including Lisa's hysterectomy and cyberbullying.
Lisa's clearly cooking up her own success in the media sphere. And with such a presence in
the reality TV world and on social media, it's probably not surprising to hear she's
very much in demand. Back in 2017, Lisa even appeared on "Dancing with the Stars" in Brazil.
And she's also discussed her life and cooking tips on a slew of other shows, including "Rachael
Ray," and "The Chew." Fans may have also spotted her in a 2019 episode of "The Real Housewives
of New Jersey" thanks to Lisa and Buddy's close friendship with Melissa and Joe Gorga.
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