Instagram Kevin Gillespie and wife Valerie
Valerie Combs Gillespie has been married to Top Chef All-Stars contestant Kevin Gillespie since 2011. He first competed in season 6 of the reality TV competition in Las Vegas and finished in second place.
Gillespie battled cancer in 2018. He told Bravo ahead of the premiere that he was inspired to come back to the show as a way to say thank you to his supporters. “It took me getting sick to realize there are a lot of folks who found inspiration from what I did, who followed what I did and appreciated that I tried to be very true to my blue-collar upbringing, to just showcase the fact that it doesn’t always have to be the fanciest food to be really great.”
Here’s what you need to know about Gillespie’s wife.
1. Valerie Combs Gillespie Works As a Real Estate Attorney
Valerie Combs Gillespie
Valerie Combs is a licensed attorney. She earned her law degree from the University of Alabama and was admitted to the State Bar of Georgia in 2007. Her first job was in Atlanta for a firm called Troutman Sanders, where she worked as an associate for seven years.
In 2014, Combs’ shifted her legal practice to focus on real estate. According to her LinkedIn profile, she is a Vice President and Corporate Counsel at PGIM Real Estate Finance, a subsidiary of Prudential Financial. She wrote on the page that she focuses on the “representation of lenders, investors, and users of commercial real estate, including the financing, development, leasing and sale of shopping centers, office buildings and mixed use developments.”
2. Valerie Combs Gillespie Put In an Offer On Their Buckhead Home Without Showing It to Kevin
Chef Kevin Gillespie and wife Valerie Combs at the 142nd Kentucky Derby on May 7, 2016.
Valerie Combs Gillespie and Kevin Gillespie live in the Buckhead district of Atlanta, Georgia. Combs found what she thought would be their dream home online in 2016.
It was a midcentury modern house designed by the architecture firm Cooper Carry, Atlanta Magazine reported. It was built in 1968 and had never been remodeled. Combs decided to put in an offer on the house without looping in her husband because “she immediately knew they’d both love the ranch-style abode.”
The couple spent about a year taking down walls, installing new floors and bathrooms, and updating the kitchen.
3. Kevin Gillespie Says His Marriage to Valerie Combs Is His ‘Greatest Gift’ In Life
Kevin Gillespie shared a heartfelt message to wife Valerie on their eighth anniversary. He posted a photo from their wedding day with the message, “At exactly ‘half past six’ on this day 8yrs ago I made the best decision of my life! Being able to marry my wife Valerie is truly the greatest gift I have ever been given. She has been by my side, unconditionally, in sickness and in health. She has inspired me to live my life in a meaningful way. She has helped me grow as a man, and helped me to recognize what love truly means. Happy Anniversary Val. I love you, and always will.”
4. Valerie Combs Grew Up In Missouri & Has an Older Brother
Valerie Combs now calls Atlanta home, but she is originally from the midwest. She grew up in Golden City, a small community in southwestern Missouri, according to her Facebook page.
She stayed relatively close to home for college. Combs attended Missouri State University, located in Springfield and about an hour east of Golden City.
Combs has one older brother named David. In September 2019, she shared a series of pictures from their childhood to Instagram. She wrote in the caption, “Happy 40th birthday to the best big brother a girl could ever ask for – my original and still favorite partner in crime! From sneaking out during nap time, to college parties and road trips, to backpacking across Europe, to our current day meet-ups in New Orleans, Nashville, Colorado, where ever, there are too many adventures to count.”
5. Valerie Combs Is a Registered Partner In Her Husband’s Restaurant
Kevin Gillespie owns a restaurant called Gunshow in Atlanta, as well as companies called Red Beard Holdings, LLC and Revival Decatur, LLC.
Valerie Combs is an official business partner on these ventures. According to public records from the Georgia Secretary of State website, Combs is listed as a registered agent on these companies.
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Valerie Combs, Chef Kevin Gillespie’s Wife: 5 Fast Facts