My Kitchen Rules star Manu Feildel has opened up about a deeply personal chapter of his life during the new season of Who Do You Think You Are?
The French-born chef, 50, took a poignant journey back to his roots, reuniting with his estranged father after years of separation.
Raised by a resilient single mother in Nantes, Manu’s childhood was marked by his father’s departure when he was just four years old.
This left his family in a precarious situation, which saw his mother Evelyne struggling to bring up her children alone.
‘That’s what’s so sad – because the reason why I left (home) so young is because I wanted to distance myself from him not being there, and seeing my mum struggling all the time,’ Manu revealed.
My Kitchen Rules star Manu Feildel has opened up about a deeply personal chapter of his life during the new season of Who Do You Think You Are?
‘I wanted to distance myself to the negativity and I wanted to go away, make something of myself and come back and help’, he explained.
This resolve propelled Manu’s journey across the globe, eventually establishing him as a leading figure in ‘s culinary scene.
In 1999, Manu moved to , where his career flourished, particularly after opening Bilsons in Sydney’s Radisson Hotel, which rapidly gained critical acclaim.
The French-born chef, 50, took a poignant journey back to his roots, reuniting with his estranged father after years of separation
‘That’s what’s so sad – because the reason why I left (home) so young is because I wanted to distance myself from him not being there, and seeing my mum struggling all the time,’ Manu revealed
As his fame grew, Manu never forgot his roots nor the sacrifices made by his mother, even paying off her home in France after she faced early stages of breast cancer in 2020.
Despite the geographic and emotional distance that defined his relationship with his father for years, the reunion brought both men to tears.
Manu described their relationship as one of periodic connections and disconnections, admitting, ‘It’s been funny because pretty much all of my life we disconnected then reconnected very slightly and disconnected again, and so on.’
This resolve propelled Manu’s journey across the globe, eventually establishing him as a leading figure in ‘s culinary scene
The turning point came during the filming of the show last year.
Manu revealed that his father had become a changed man, frequently seeking forgiveness, to which Manu consistently responded, ‘You’ve done nothing, mate.’
The culmination of their reunion was simple yet profound, sharing beers and dinner without dwelling on the past. ‘This time around, when we caught up, after filming, we spent a day together – and there was nothing mentioned,’ he explained.
Who Do You Think You Are? premieres Tuesday at 7.30pm on SBS and SBS On Demand.
The turning point came during the filming of the show last year. (Pictured with his partner Clarissa Weerasena and their daughter)