Jamie Oliver sent fans into a frenzy when he unearthed an incredible photograph of himself and wife Jools from their very first holiday together.
The celebrity chef, 51, took a trip down memory lane on Saturday, sharing the snap from a sun-soaked getaway to Crete’s Spinalonga peninsula more than three decades ago.
The childhood sweethearts looked almost unrecognisable in the photograph, with Jamie sporting tousled blond hair beneath a backwards baseball cap, round sunglasses and a checked shirt.
Jools, meanwhile, looked effortlessly cool in a cropped checked shirt worn over a black bikini top, tiny shorts and matching backwards cap as she wrapped an arm around her future husband.
“Throwback! Look at this photo of @joolsoliver and me on our very first holiday together all those years ago in Crete on Peninsula Spinalogkas… We haven’t changed a bit, right?” Jamie joked.
Jamie and Jools Oliver compared to David and Victoria Beckham
It wasn’t long before fans noticed something familiar about the couple’s distinctly ’90s look. “OMG. David and Victoria vibes,” one follower commented, comparing the young couple to David and Victoria Beckham, who began dating later that decade.
Others couldn’t get over how young the pair looked, with one fan joking: “You look a bit like Jonny Flynn in this lol,” while another simply responded to Jamie’s claim they hadn’t changed: “Not at all.”
© WireImageThe nostalgic photograph is particularly poignant given Jamie and Jools’ extraordinary history together. The pair first fell in love as teenagers, years before Jamie found fame as The Naked Chef, and married in July 2000 at All Saints Church in Rickling, Essex. They celebrated their 26th wedding anniversary this summer.
Jamie Oliver on growing up with Jools
Jamie has previously reflected on how important it was that his relationship with Jools was already firmly established before his career propelled him into the spotlight.
“We went to London with nothing but dreams and aspirations,” he recalled of their early years together. “Luckily, we were able to solidify our relationship before it all kicked off. Then we did it together. It was exciting.”
More than three decades after they first got together, the couple are parents to five children: Poppy, 24, Daisy, 23, Petal, 17, Buddy, 15, and River, ten. Their family is now entering another exciting chapter, with eldest daughter Poppy announcing her engagement to her longtime boyfriend Ben Newman last month.
© GC ImagesJamie has credited Jools with helping to keep their family grounded despite his global fame, and has admitted that raising their children in the public eye hasn’t always been straightforward.
“It’s not easy being us,” he told People while discussing the impact of his fame on their children, explaining that some had found the attention embarrassing during their teenage years. He also credited Jools with much of the success of their parenting partnership.
Jamie and Jools Oliver’s romantic vow renewals
After more than two decades of marriage, Jamie and Jools decided to say “I do” all over again in 2023, renewing their vows in an intimate ceremony in the Maldives with all five of their children present.
“After 23 years together, we thought it would be a special moment to celebrate renewing our wedding vows before the kids all start leaving the nest,” Jamie explained at the time.
He described the occasion as “really special, funny and romantic,” adding that the vows had taken on an entirely different significance after everything they had experienced together.
© InstagramJools was equally emotional, calling the celebration an “incredible memory to treasure” and saying that seeing their children’s faces made the ceremony particularly special.
The couple then renewed their vows for a second time in Las Vegas in 2024, with an Elvis impersonator playing a starring role in proceedings, a fitting touch given Jools’ lifelong love of the King.
And while Jamie’s latest photograph proves that plenty has changed since their first romantic holiday, his affection for the woman he met long before fame arrived clearly hasn’t. As Jools once wrote of her husband: “You get me like NO other!”
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