Mary Berry's former lovers, US airport arrest, family tragedy and net ...

We all know her as the charming baker from our television screens, but Mary Berry has a colourful history behind her sweet exterior. She is back on our screens on Wednesday, December 18, for a Christmas special, Mary Makes Christmas, airing at 8pm.

The 89-year-old baking sensation opened up to her former Bake Off colleague Sue Perkins about her romantic escapades before settling down with her husband. On Sue Perkins' podcast, 'An Hour or So With', recorded in October, 2019, Mary cheekily confessed that she was seeing several men at the same time during the period she was courting her now-husband, Paul Hunnings.

Despite now being happily married for an impressive 55 years, Mary faced some hurdles before saying 'I do'. She revealed: "Paul was a friend of my brother's. And I met him and we sort of did things together." But Mary also had another beau in Bath, while Paul was based in London. She admitted: "Paul was the London one and I had a Bath one, actually there were several in Bath. You keep your options open."

Her journey to the altar wasn't straightforward; Paul proposed three times before Mary accepted, reports Hull Live. At the time, he worked for Harvey's of Bristol, a sherry brand, and later sold antique books.

Recalling the first proposal, Mary told Paul: "I do remember the first proposal and I think you were drunk." To which Paul responded: "Well I might have been. It's a big step. You don't go into something like that without a bit of fortification."

Mary said: "I think you had too much and I can remember telling you you were drunk and thinking, 'I'm not going to have anything to do with this man'. But you came back."

She eventually gave in to Paul's third proposal when he put it plainly: "I said 'I'm getting on in age, so either it's yes or no.'" The pair tied the knot at Charlcombe Church close to her parents' home in Bath, Mary's birthplace.

She reminisced about her frugal wedding attire, claiming her dress cost a mere five pounds and, naturally, she baked her own wedding cake. The couple have endured together for over fifty years, their unity strengthened even amidst heart-wrenching moments, such as the untimely death of their son William at 19 in a car crash.

"It was a glorious January day and it was sort of 1 o'clock and he wasn't home," Mary recounted in the documentary, 'The Mary Berry Story'. "The doorbell rang and there was a policeman there, and immediately then I knew why. And he said, 'There's been an accident and I'm sorry to say your son is dead'."

Mary and Paul rushed to the hospital. "He just looked so beautiful and so lovely, his little cold face and it was nice to say farewell," she reflected.

The Berrys are also parents to Thomas, born in 1968, and Annabel, born in 1972, and they cherish making memories with their five grandchildren. In a successful family business venture, Annabel paired up with her mum in the '90s to produce salad dressings, chutneys, and sauces - a venture that resulted in a lucrative sale of £2.5 million in 2015.

With a career spanning more than six decades, Mary has published more than 75 cookbooks, including her most recent, Mary Makes It Easy. The Express has reported that Mary's net worth is a whopping £18.6 million.

Mary was born in Bath in 1935, is the daughter of Alleyne, a surveyor who served as Mayor of Bath in 1952. At the age of 13, Mary contracted polio and was hospitalised for three months in isolation. The illness left her with a twisted spine, a weaker left hand, and a thinner left arm. Despite her physical challenges, she considers herself to have been "let off very lightly" under the circumstances.

"Everybody thinks I've got arthritis," she said. "I look a bit funny when I'm rolling pastry, but I have no other difficulties whatsoever."

In an unexpected turn of events, Mary found herself arrested at an American airport in the early 1990s. "I was asked to go to America to do cookery demonstrations, and I'm very particular at getting everything right," she explained to Graham Norton in 2018. To ensure she was prepared, Mary had all her ingredients weighed out in small bags, ready for her cooking demonstration. However, these suspicious-looking packets caught the attention of airport sniffer dogs.

"Suddenly the airport became empty," Mary recalled. She was subsequently placed in a cell, where an officer questioned her about her intentions with the "white packets". Unfazed, Mary responded: "Oh, I do, and my fee has already been agreed." For the latest TV & Showbiz news, sign up to our newsletter.