Jamie Oliver was told by BBC bosses to pretend he was single when he launched his TV career.
The 42-year-old chef – who has children Poppy, 16, Daisy, 15, Petal, nine, Buddy, seven, and two-year-old River with wife Jools – met his partner when they were teenagers but he was advised by producers on his 1999 show ‘The Naked Chef’ not to mention her or have her seen on camera, but he doesn’t think that projected a "real" image.
He said: "They didn’t want Jools to exist in series one. I kind of get it, but I wouldn’t define that as good TV now because it’s not real."
The programme brought Jamie into the public eye around the world and he admitted the attention he received made him feel like he was in a boy band.
He recalled: "I was so young. I mean, I’m not quite Michael Jackson, I wasn’t five or six. But I’ve grown up on the telly.
"It exploded globally. I was being flown to New York to cook at Vanity Fair parties.
"And, because I was younger, it was like One Direction. It was nuts."
Despite the attention he received, the ‘Jamie Cooks Italy’ star insists it never fazed his wife.
He said: "She was surprisingly cool with it … I’ve never really talked to her about it. She’s always been good at being in the background."
The chef admitted he gets up at 4am just to be able to get some time to himself because his work and family life are always so hectic.
He added to Grazia magazine: "It’s quite hard, having five kids and a job and keeping the energy to do that.
"I had to take Buddy aside and say, ‘Look dude, you woke me up at three last night and I have to get up at four.
"[Why 4am?] It’s the only time that’s mine because the rest of my day is so scheduled."
Jamie Oliver: BBC ‘didn’t want wife to exist’ in Naked Chef
