They say that the way to man’s heart is through his stomach – but if one woman’s bizarre tale is to be believed, possessing great cooking skills could also end up losing you a husband.
According to a Los Angeles-based nutritionist, her brilliant brownie recipe was so delicious that it actually drove another woman to steal her husband out of spite, when she found herself unable to recreate the delicious treat herself.
Sydne Newberry, 62, first made the incredible claim about the baking-based breakdown of her marriage two years ago, after detailing the incident in a comment left on the New York Times’ recipe for Katharine Hepburn’s brownies, writing that an Italian acquaintance who borrowed the recipe from her and then failed to make them as well eventually ‘moved to the U.S. and stole my husband’.
Bitersweet brownies? Sydne Newberry’s viral comment on the New York Times recipe for Katharine Hepburn’s brownies, claimed that someone stole her husband over them
Dishing on the details: The 62-year-old nutritionist, based in Los Angeles, shared the full story of how her brownies lead to divorce with The Cut
The anecdote quickly caught the eyes of many, and was even chosen by the newspaper’s moderating team as their ‘all-time favorite’, and now, Sydne has finally revealed the true story behind her famous comment, revealing how her superb skills in the kitchen caused her divorce.
Sydne’s original comment read: ‘This has been my go-to brownie recipe for 30 years. In the ’80s, an acquaintance in Germany to whom I brought some of the brownies, and who considered herself a great cook, asked for the recipe but was never able to get it to work.
‘She kept asking me what she was doing wrong and I was never able to solve her problem. Eventually, she moved to the U.S. and stole my husband!’
This condensed version of the intriguing story left readers wanting to know the full details of the bizarre tale, and, thankfully, they have just come to light, thanks to reporting by The Cut.
The nutritionist told The Cut that she met the ‘other woman’ in Germany, while her then-husband of eight years was on temporary assignment for the Air Force. The acquaintance, who Sydne described as ‘a gorgeous Italian woman who was very proud of her cooking and was a real food snob,’ was also married at the time, and their husbands knew each other.
Sensational: People were very quick to point out the brilliant story that Sydne left as a comment on the New York Times’ recipe
Where it all began: Sydne’s original comment sparked a firestorm on social media, where thousands of people commented on how sensational it was
The ‘other woman’: According to Sydne (pictured with her current husband George), she met the Italian woman when she was in Germany with her then-husband of eight years
Trouble: Sydne (pictured with husband George) said she shared the recipe with the woman, who after being unable to make it work accused her of purposely leaving something out
One day, Sydne brought the couple the brownies and shared the recipe with the woman, and after was unable to make it work, they exchanged emails trying to fix the issue.
But the woman’s brownies just weren’t coming out as good as Sydne’s, prompting her to insinuate that the nutritionist had purposely left something out of the recipe.
Three years passed, and the woman visited her and her husband in the US, announcing her marriage had ended. A few weeks into her visit, Sydne was asked by a neighbor if it bothered her that her husband and the guest were ‘fooling around’.
She didn’t believe the neighbor at first, but a week later, she came home and caught them with her own eyes. The woman ‘hightailed it back to Germany,’ but, Sydne recalled, the affair was far from over.
‘He said he wanted to stay married to me, but then he immediately headed back to Germany for another ‘business’ trip!’
‘I took the opportunity of his absence to move out. A few months later, she was back but I never spoke another word to her,’ said Sydne.
Fastforward: Three years later, Sydne told The Cut, she caught her then-husband and the Italian woman fooling around in their home
Good riddance? Sydne said the unfortunate episode lead her to a happy place; she married her current husband George in 1996 and calls him the love of her life
Thankfully, she added, the unfortunate episode gave way to a happy next chapter; she moved to Washington D.C. and got married again in 1996, to George, a man she’s still with and calls the love of her life.
As for her current husband’s feelings about the brownies, she said he actually didn’t experience their allegedly glorious taste for a long time.
‘Ironically, he didn’t taste the brownies for years, because he’d always been allergic to eggs. He finally discovered he’d outgrown the egg allergy when he decided to go to culinary school! He loves the brownies!’
Sydne added that even after going to culinary school, she could never figure out what went wrong with the woman’s brownies, and she never cared to ask.
Most importantly, her own brownies have just gotten better.
‘Although I’ve modified the recipe a tiny bit recently … I still love it and think of it as Katharine Hepburn’s brownie recipe. And I can’t think of it without thinking of that little twist of irony,’ she said.