Jean-Bernard Fernandez-Versini: The Restaurateur Beyond His Marriage to Cheryl
A fact-checked look at the French restaurateur and entrepreneur, from Cannes hospitality ventures and his marriage to Cheryl to London restaurants and his latest public business record.
Introduction
Jean-Bernard Fernandez-Versini is a French restaurateur, entrepreneur and company director who became widely known in Britain after marrying singer and former Girls Aloud member Cheryl in 2014. Yet his professional story did not begin with that relationship. Years before he became a regular subject of UK entertainment coverage, Fernandez-Versini was involved in hospitality, including the Cannes-based Cosy Box concept, and he later launched a London restaurant project of his own. A direct interview published by the Evening Standard in 2016 described his hospitality ambitions, while coverage in the restaurant industry confirmed his London debut with Itaku in 2022.
Current UK corporate records add a useful update that many older celebrity profiles miss. Companies House identifies him as French, records his birth month and year as August 1981, and lists his directorship of FERVER CONSULTANCY LIMITED. Those records also show that another company associated with him, ELEVENELEVEN 11:11 LIMITED, was dissolved in July 2026.
Quick Answer
Jean-Bernard Fernandez-Versini is a French restaurateur and entrepreneur best known publicly as Cheryl’s former husband. They married on 7 July 2014 after meeting during the Cannes Film Festival and divorced in 2016. Independently of the marriage, he has worked in hospitality, founded the Cannes pop-up concept Cosy Box and opened the Italian-Japanese restaurant Itaku in London in 2022.
Quick Bio
| Field | Verified Details |
|---|
| Full Name | Jean-Bernard Fernandez-Versini |
| Profession | Restaurateur, entrepreneur and company director |
| Nationality | French, according to Companies House |
| Birth Record | August 1981 in Companies House filings; full date not stated |
| Known For | Hospitality career and former marriage to Cheryl |
| Hospitality Projects | Cosy Box in Cannes; Itaku in London |
| Former Spouse | Cheryl |
| Marriage Date | 7 July 2014 |
| Divorce Proceedings | Decree nisi reported in October 2016 |
| UK Company Record | Director of FERVER CONSULTANCY LIMITED |
| Latest Corporate Update | FERVER listed “Active — Active proposal to strike off”; ELEVENELEVEN 11:11 LIMITED dissolved 7 July 2026 |
Companies House supports his nationality, birth month/year and corporate appointments; established news and restaurant-industry sources support the marriage and hospitality details.
Who Is Jean-Bernard Fernandez-Versini?
Jean-Bernard Fernandez-Versini is best described as a French hospitality entrepreneur and restaurateur whose celebrity profile grew substantially through his relationship with Cheryl. That distinction matters because search results often reduce him to “Cheryl’s ex-husband,” even though he had already established an interest in hospitality and business before their marriage.
In a substantial 2016 interview with the Evening Standard, Fernandez-Versini discussed growing up around Aix-en-Provence, studying business-related subjects in New York and Paris, completing banking internships and eventually deciding that finance was not the path he wanted. He described developing Cosy Box with a friend as part of his move towards hospitality. The same interview identified Cosy Box as an established Cannes pop-up operation associated with the festival period.
His public professional profile also lists New York University between 2001 and 2004, although that information is self-published rather than an independently issued university biography.
From Finance Interests to Hospitality
Fernandez-Versini told the Evening Standard that his family background had initially made finance appear like a natural professional direction. After experiencing banking through internships, however, he said he was not attracted to that world and moved into a more entrepreneurial hospitality environment.
Cosy Box became the most frequently documented example of that early work. Restaurant industry publication Restaurant Online later described him as the founder of the long-running Cannes pop-up nightclub, confirming that the project remained an important part of how the hospitality trade identified his professional background years later.
This career history makes the description “restaurateur” more than simply a label acquired through celebrity coverage. It is supported by both a direct interview and specialist restaurant-industry reporting.
How Jean-Bernard Fernandez-Versini Met Cheryl
The relationship that transformed Fernandez-Versini into a recognisable name in British entertainment coverage developed rapidly in 2014. Contemporary reporting placed their meeting around the Cannes Film Festival period. Cheryl subsequently confirmed publicly that the pair had married on 7 July 2014.
The Guardian’s Press Association report recorded Cheryl’s own announcement and identified Fernandez-Versini as a French restaurateur. Reports at the time described the relationship as having lasted only a few months before the wedding, making the speed of their marriage a major part of the media story.
Their marriage also changed Cheryl’s public name for a period. She was widely referred to as Cheryl Fernandez-Versini in entertainment and fashion coverage before later returning to using Cheryl professionally.
When Did Their Marriage End?
By 2016, the relationship had ended, and divorce proceedings were underway. On 20 October 2016, ITV reported that the couple had obtained a decree nisi at the Central Family Court in London. Neither was reported to have attended the brief hearing.
Contemporary court reporting stated that Cheryl’s petition cited her husband’s “unreasonable behaviour”. That is a matter documented in the divorce proceedings and reported by multiple established outlets, but it should not be expanded into speculation about what happened privately between them. A legal ground recorded during divorce proceedings does not provide a complete account of a relationship.
For biography purposes, the dependable timeline is therefore straightforward: married in July 2014, separated later, and divorce proceedings reached the decree nisi stage in October 2016.
Rebuilding an Independent Career Profile
One of the most useful ways to update Fernandez-Versini’s biography is to look beyond 2014–2016. His professional ambitions remained visible after the marriage ended.
During his December 2016 Evening Standard interview, he spoke extensively about developing a new London dining concept centered on classic French food, music, and a more energetic restaurant atmosphere. The project described in that interview should not automatically be treated as the same business he eventually opened. Still, the discussion demonstrates that a London hospitality launch had become a clear professional goal.
That goal became more concrete several years later.
The Opening of Itaku in London
In March 2022, Restaurant Online reported that Jean-Bernard Fernandez-Versini had made his London restaurant debut with Itaku, based on Great Portland Street. The restaurant combined Italian cooking with Japanese flavours and techniques, opening with chef Ivan Simeoli leading the kitchen.
The trade publication described Itaku as a 55-cover restaurant and explicitly identified Fernandez-Versini as the project’s founder. It also referred back to his hospitality background in Cannes, giving the restaurant a clear place in his longer professional chronology rather than treating it simply as a celebrity side project.
It would be inaccurate, however, to use that 2022 opening story alone as evidence that Fernandez-Versini currently owns or operates Itaku in August 2026. The available source verifies the launch, not its present ownership or operational status.
What Current UK Business Records Show
Companies House provides the strongest current documentary evidence about Fernandez-Versini’s UK corporate activity.
Its officer record lists August 1981 as his birth month and year, identifies his nationality as French and records the United Kingdom as his country of residence for the filings. It shows two company appointments associated with him.
One is FERVER CONSULTANCY LIMITED, incorporated in March 2015. Fernandez-Versini is listed as a director. As of the latest Companies House page checked for this article, the company is labelled “Active — Active proposal to strike off”, with its latest accounts dated 30 June 2025.
The second, ELEVENELEVEN 11:11 LIMITED, was incorporated in August 2022 with Fernandez-Versini as director. Companies House now records the company as dissolved on 7 July 2026.
These distinctions are important. An older cached search result may still describe Eleven Eleven as active, but the currently open Companies House record shows it has since been dissolved. The current filing therefore takes precedence.
His More Recent Entrepreneurial Interests
Fernandez-Versini’s public professional profile suggests that his interests have broadened beyond conventional restaurants. His LinkedIn activity has referenced entrepreneurship in Bulgaria and a self-described venture in the vitamin sector, alongside posts about hospitality, consumer trends and wellness-related businesses. Because these claims come from his own professional profile rather than audited company disclosures or independent reporting, they are best described as self-reported current interests rather than established business achievements.
A Navigate Finance podcast post has also described him as a restaurateur, entrepreneur, and real estate investor. Again, that description is useful for understanding how he presents his professional identity today, but it should not be turned into unsupported claims about property holdings, investment values or wealth.
What Online Reports Get Wrong About His Age
One of the clearest factual problems surrounding Jean-Bernard Fernandez-Versini concerns his date of birth.
Some celebrity databases claim that he was born on 29 August 1980. Famous Birthdays, for example, currently publishes that date.
The official UK Companies House officer record instead gives his birth month and year as August 1981.
Because Companies House is the stronger documentary source, this profile uses August 1981 while deliberately avoiding a precise birth date. It would therefore be misleading to repeat a specific age based on the unsupported date of 29 August 1980.
This is a useful example of why several websites repeating the same celebrity-biography detail should not automatically be treated as verification.
Is Jean-Bernard Fernandez-Versini’s Net Worth Known?
There is no sufficiently reliable, current public evidence establishing Jean-Bernard Fernandez-Versini’s personal net worth.
Older features have discussed his family business background and financial circumstances. Still, they do not provide the kind of current, independently verified financial disclosure needed to publish a precise figure for personal wealth responsibly. The Companies House position of companies connected with him also cannot be used as a shortcut for calculating personal wealth.
For that reason, exact figures published by celebrity wealth websites or automatically generated company-profile services should not be presented as his verified net worth.
Jean-Bernard Fernandez-Versini Beyond Cheryl
Cheryl remains an unavoidable part of Fernandez-Versini’s public biography because their marriage is what brought his name to a much larger British audience. It should not, however, erase his independent professional history.
The evidence shows a hospitality path extending from Cannes to London: Cosy Box was established before the relationship made him a UK tabloid figure, and Itaku represented a documented London restaurant launch in 2022. His public professional activity has since moved towards a broader entrepreneurial identity, although not every current venture he discusses has enough independent evidence to describe in detail.
That balance provides a more accurate answer to the basic question behind his name: he is not simply Cheryl’s former husband; he is a French entrepreneur whose most clearly documented career has been in hospitality.
Concise Fact-Check Note
Fact-Check Note: Some celebrity websites publish a 29 August 1980 birth date for Jean-Bernard Fernandez-Versini, but current Companies House records give August 1981. This profile follows the stronger official record and does not claim a specific birth date or age.
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FAQs
Who is Jean-Bernard Fernandez-Versini?
Jean-Bernard Fernandez-Versini is a French restaurateur, entrepreneur and company director who became widely known in Britain through his former marriage to singer Cheryl. His hospitality background includes the Cannes-based Cosy Box concept and the 2022 London restaurant Itaku.
When did Jean-Bernard Fernandez-Versini marry Cheryl?
Cheryl publicly confirmed that she and Jean-Bernard married on 7 July 2014. Contemporary reporting stated that they had been together for only a few months before the wedding.
When did Cheryl and Jean-Bernard Fernandez-Versini divorce?
Their divorce proceedings reached the decree nisi stage in October 2016 at the Central Family Court in London.
What does Jean-Bernard Fernandez-Versini do?
His strongest verified professional background is in restaurants, hospitality and entrepreneurship. Restaurant-industry reporting identifies him as the founder of Cannes pop-up Cosy Box and confirms his 2022 London launch of Itaku.
How old is Jean-Bernard Fernandez-Versini?
A precise age should be treated cautiously. Companies House records his birth as August 1981 but does not publicly provide a day, while some celebrity websites publish a conflicting 1980 date. This profile follows the Companies House record.
Is Jean-Bernard Fernandez-Versini still involved with Itaku?
Reliable trade reporting confirms that he opened Itaku in London in 2022, but the source does not establish its ownership or operating position in August 2026. It would therefore be inappropriate to claim from that evidence alone that he still owns or runs the restaurant today.
What is Jean-Bernard Fernandez-Versini’s net worth?
His personal net worth is not reliably verified by current authoritative public evidence. Exact figures from celebrity-wealth or automated business-estimation websites should be treated as estimates rather than facts.
Final Perspective on Jean-Bernard Fernandez-Versini
Jean-Bernard Fernandez-Versini became a familiar name to British audiences because of a short, highly publicised marriage, but concentrating exclusively on Cheryl produces an incomplete biography. Reliable sources show an independent career built around hospitality: the Cannes Cosy Box concept preceded his celebrity relationship, his ambitions for a London restaurant were publicly discussed after the marriage ended, and Itaku eventually opened in central London in 2022.
His story has also continued to change. Current Companies House records provide a particularly useful 2026 update: Eleven Eleven 11:11 Limited was dissolved in July, while FERVER Consultancy remains listed with an active proposal to strike off.
For readers searching for Jean-Bernard Fernandez-Versini, the most accurate description is therefore simple: he is a French restaurateur and entrepreneur whose marriage to Cheryl dramatically expanded his public profile, but whose documented business interests extend beyond that celebrity connection.
