As Kardea Brown prepares to host the Food Network’s highly anticipated new series, Baking Championship: Next Gen, there’s one person firmly in her corner: her husband, Bryon Smith.
The cookbook author has never been shy about celebrating Bryon, whom she first met in 2016 and married in 2025.
The ultra-private brand manager makes occasional appearances on Kardea’s social media, with the chef praising him as her biggest supporter and best friend.
Join us as we discover more about Kardea’s husband, Bryon Smith, and their fairytale love story.
© InstagramMeet cute
Kardea and Bryon first met back in September 2016 and dated on-and-off again until they went their separate ways. The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 saw both of them move home to Atlanta to be with their families, and Kardea’s mother prompted her to contact him.
“My mom mentioned him and said, ‘Hey, that guy you used to date, how’s he doing?'” she told People, adding that they rekindled their romance in March of that year.
© InstagramA deep connection
The duo works in close quarters every day, with Bryon being Kardea’s brand manager. The TV personality explained that they complemented each other well in the workplace.
“You kind of have to like someone a lot to be with them all the time,” she told TV Insider. “We really are best friends. I tell everyone he calms my nervous system. He is like the best person to have around. I’m very happy to do life with him.”
© InstagramPopping the question
Bryon popped the question to Kardea at midnight on New Year’s Day in 2023. The celebrity chef shared a video of the special moment, which saw Kardea dancing and counting down to the New Year while Bryon kneeled down behind her with a ring in hand. She then turned around and began crying after seeing her partner’s proposal.
“And this is how I brought the New Year in……Cousins I’M GETTING MARRIED!!!!! The best night of my life,” she captioned the clip. “To the love of my life…I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you #engaged #happynewyear #2023.”
© InstagramTying the knot
Kardea and Bryon married in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, on March 8, 2025, surrounded by “lots of love and lots of family”, as the Daytime Emmy winner told People.
She wore a custom wedding gown designed by Project Runway contestant Laurie Underwood, which was inspired by one of Adele’s concert looks.
Kardea shared that she had never considered walking down the aisle until she fell for Bryon.
“It wasn’t until I met Bryon where I thought, ‘Oh my gosh, this is the man of my dreams. I would love to be a bride. I would love to be a wife,'” she explained.
“It was meeting him that kind of gave me that inspiration to be a wife. I’ve always wanted it, but it wasn’t until him that I really felt like, ‘Oh my gosh, this is what I want. I want the white picket fence. I want the dog. I want the kids, and all of that that comes with it.'”
© InstagramMarried life
Kardea and Bryon are thriving following their March nuptials, as she told TV Insider.
“I married my best friend,” she said. “So, it has been absolutely amazing. I feel like we’re still newlyweds. We got married back in March, [so] we’re still in the newlywed phase. It has been really great.”
The 38-year-old added that they were excited for their relationship to grow and change in this new life stage.
“Once you love someone to the degree that Bryon and I love one another, I think the idea of marriage, it’s just something that we now are very excited about taking on that title,” she told People.
“I think our love will definitely grow, but it’s just the level of responsibility that we are just excited to take on.”
Read the full article here
