MasterChef judge Melissa Leong announces a separation from her husband Joe Jones

MasterChef judge Melissa Leong has announced her separation from her husband Joe Jones, after nearly four years of marriage.

The 38-year-old shared the breaking news through her Instagram page Sunday night.

‘It was such a pleasure to walk together, but it’s time for Joe and I to part ways and walk on, apart,’ she began.

‘We ask for your kindness and consideration for our privacy, we do not give any other opinion as our life is private, and we always will.’

‘We wish you peace at the end of such a challenging year for all. ‘

In June, Melissa revealed that she married the owner of the tattooed bar owner in February 2017 after dating for just five months, because ‘when you know, you know’.

‘I met him shortly before at his bar in Melbourne, Romeo Lane,’ Melissa told TV Week at the time.

‘Then we met again right about 18 months later at an event. We started talking there and we’ve never stopped since. It’s pretty cool. ‘

The two were dating for just three months when they decided to get involved. They then fled after Melissa filmed The Chef’s Line at SBS, just two months later.

‘When that wrapped up, we went to Joshua Tree in California and fled. It was a lot of fun, ‘said the foodie-Turn-TV judge.

Joe was a huge success with viewers of MasterChef: Back to Win when he appeared on the show in April.

After the show, Melissa shared a sweet compliment for her husband to Instagram, thanking him for appearing with her on the show.

‘Call out to my husband who is incredibly hot for being a myth and agrees to be on MasterChef with me,’ she wrote.

‘Not only is he a French-trained classical chef with a special focus in pastry, and one of the best things I’ve ever met,’ says Melissa.

Although the reasoning behind their separation was not disclosed, Joe wrote a big compliment to his wife in February to mark their third wedding year – where he disrupted her busy filming schedule that may have it affects their relationship.

‘Mel is in the depths of one of life’s most challenging career trends,’ he began.

He then said that getting married is not ‘always easy’, and that her agenda meant that the pair were unlikely to ‘see much of each other today’.

“The feeling behind my feelings is that most things worth doing are not always easy and that they have the potential to be dramatic and stressful at certain times,” he said.

‘But I think the hard parts of your life are overflowing and trying to spread your comfort to what is really alive, and even though it gets harder – I still happy to do with you. ‘

Melissa had also posted about the pair’s marriage on her own Instagram page, describing it as ‘her non-stop action blockbuster’ and ‘drama’.