What You Don't Know About The Cake Boss' Family

The Valastro family from TLC's hit show "Cake Boss" has wowed viewers with their baking chops for over a decade now, putting their insane cake creations and other delicious desserts at their bakery in Hoboken, New Jersey on full display. In addition to their delicious content, we've also gotten to know the members of the family, as it's truly a family business.

We've watched Buddy's kids grow up, and have gotten to know his sisters, brothers-in-law, and family friends who help out at Carlo's Bakery. At this point, it feels like we know all there is to know about the Valastro crew because we've spent so much time with them through our screens.

However, like with any reality television stars, our relationship with the Valastros is purely parasocial. There's still a lot to learn about the Valastro family, as not every detail of their lives is broadcast on TLC. Here is what you don't know about the Cake Boss' family:

Buddy and Lisa Valastro were meant to be together. The two have known each other since they were children, as their families were friends, and it was their families who set them up. As Lisa shared in an interview with Renato and Cris Cardoso that Buddy's family from Italy invited Lisa to join them for a night out — and that's when two of them began dating. Just a couple years later, the couple married.

While Buddy and Lisa were dating, the two of them shared many date nights at Carlo's Bakery. Buddy opened up to Delish about his early days at the bakery, and noted that his now wife would bring him food and spend time with him while he was busy decorating cakes.

Buddy and Lisa's relationship is built on a foundation of shared beliefs. As Buddy said, "When I was dating ... I wanted to find someone with the same values as I had."

We can't go so far as to say the Valastro family is just like every other family. They are multi-millionaires who run a successful business and document their lives on reality television. Definitely not average.

However, Buddy and his wife try to keep things as normal as possible for their family, especially their kids, and work to instill values in them that they were taught as children themselves. Buddy and his wife Lisa opened up to Renato and Cris Cardoso about life with their family, and shared some of the values they were taught from their parents that they are trying to pass on: "Every night we wanted to have dinner as a family," Buddy said in the interview. He went on to note that he requires his children shut the TV off and not to bring any electronics to the table, just as he had to do when he was a kid. Even though he didn't enjoy it at the time, he now sees the value of quality family time.

Although Buddy's wife Lisa has her own lucrative ventures now, she wasn't always focused on her career. At the beginning of their marriage, Lisa chose to stay home and raise her and Buddy's four children. She detailed that choice a little more deeply in an interview with Renato and Cris Cardoso.

Lisa shared that she would have pursued a career if she hadn't chosen to stay home, but instead she opted for a life of taking care of her kids, and wearing sweatpants and putting her hair in a ponytail every day. "I see good and bad in everything," she said of her choice, noting that she misses seeing her husband and dressing up on a daily basis.

Although Lisa has spent most of her adult life as a stay-at-home mom and a support system for her husband while he grew his bakery business, she now has taken on her own venture and has used her gift of gab to connect with fans in a new and more intimate way through her podcast "What's up Cuz?" She hosts the gig with comedian Erica Spera, and the two discuss regular family issues that everybody experiences, like prom and coping with the COVID-19 pandemic, but they also delve into deeper issues, like religion within relationships and children who don't want to go to college.

Buddy Valastro and his wife Lisa have four kids — three boys and one daughter. His eldest, daughter Sofia Valastro, is now a college student attending the University of Delaware, per her Instagram.

Lisa discussed Sofia's college experience on her podcast (episode #60), and noted that even though she was happy her daughter chose the University of Delaware, she was still a little nervous for her daughter's transition given the small-town environment she grew up in. "It makes me as a mother feel like, wow I did a great job. She did it, but I feel like I did it, too," Lisa said of her daughter's experience her first semester away. Lisa also noted that her daughter is doing well in Italian class, and has already added other classes to her schedule.

Lisa also opened up on her podcast (episode #48) about dropping Sofia off at college, sharing how stressed she was beforehand. "I need to be strong, I need to be strong," she told herself in preparation for the move.

Not every couple can make a marriage last, especially when they live their life on reality television. There seems to be a reality television show curse surrounding married couples, but Buddy and Lisa Valastro have managed to beat the odds and stay together.

Buddy and Lisa opened up to People about their relationship, and noted that they've been married for over 20 years. "You really get to know each other, and love each other and be there for one another," Buddy told the magazine about his long-term marriage.

Lisa has spoken about her determination to keep her family together while filming the show. On her podcast (episode #13, 10:40), Buddy's wife shared that, when filming the first episode of "Cake Boss," she made it clear that her family would come before the show. "This show is not gonna break my family apart," she said. Lisa stuck to her word, and the Valastros have proven that families can remain intact even while in the spotlight.

Buddy Valastro likes to cook and bake. That's apparent. He does it for a living, and has noted that it's his true passion. But Buddy isn't the only person in his family who loves to cook.

The Cake Boss has passed on his love of being in the kitchen to his children, particularly his sons. Buddy has shown on his Instagram page some behind-the-scenes snaps of him sharing what he knows about culinary arts with his children, and although we haven't tasted their cooking, we can imagine that if they took notes from their father, they are making some pretty tasty creations.

Buddy sees his kids working in the kitchen as nothing but positive. As he shared with Scholastic, "My kids are always in the kitchen with us. I encourage them to get their hands dirty ... I was in the kitchen all the time as a child and that shaped me into who I am today."

Working in the kitchen is not for the faint of heart. It requires the use of your hands and mind, something Buddy Valastro had to relearn after a terrible accident rendered him temporarily incapable of using one hand.

While trying to fix part of his family's in-home bowling alley, Buddy's hand was pierced by a metal rod (via Good Housekeeping). Luckily for Buddy, his two sons, Buddy and Marco, were there at the time of the accident to help free him. "My whole family worked together, my son Buddy, my son Marco, and within five minutes they were able to take the bolt out, cut me off the machine," Buddy told TODAY.

His healing process required multiple surgeries and months of physical therapy to regain mobility and strength. After his accident, Buddy worked on his decorating skills using his non-dominant left hand. "Doing it all over again, left handed," he said on Instagram. He didn't stay down for too long, though — a year after the accident he shared on Rachael Ray that he was "about 95 [percent healed]." He added that he's just happy to still be using his hands in the kitchen.

It's sometimes easy as a parent to think you know everything there is to know about your child, but they are constantly proving parents wrong by having new things pop up. For Buddy and Lisa Valastro, this came in finding out their 9-year-old son is tongue-tied.

A tongue-tie is a medical condition where your tongue has limited range of motion, per the Mayo Clinic, and Buddy and Lisa's son Carlo was diagnosed with this condition. Lisa opened up on her podcast (episode #24) about the signs and symptoms she noticed that caused her to seek a doctor's opinion, despite the fact that Carlo didn't have any noticeable speech problems.

Lisa had known that her son liked eating the same foods. He is, as she puts it, a "regimented eater" who has the same meals at the same time every day. After Lisa brought up some concerns to his pediatrician, Carlo was eventually diagnosed with a tongue-tie, which can cause discomfort when eating certain foods, as they can be hard to swallow and chew. This, she says, is the reason he favors certain foods that are easier to consume, and refuses others that are more difficult for him to eat. Thankfully, though, according to Lisa the tongue-tie can be easily fixed with a minor procedure, and feeding therapy will help Carlo exercise his mouth muscles and improve his oral motor skills. 

When TikTok first came out, it was seemingly an app reserved only for Gen Z, but Millennials and even Baby Boomers — including Buddy's brother-in-law Mauro — quickly proved that the app is for everyone.

Mauro takes to TikTok to share lots of family content, as well as his mouth-watering recipe tutorials. The cook obviously knows what he's doing in the kitchen, and his TikTok account only further proves that point. Some of Mauro's best tutorials include his strawberry shortcake and his pizza. He's also showed fans his homemade Ossobuco, as well as his homemade sausage.

Mauro is also active on Instagram, sharing an account with his wife to wish family members happy birthday and share photos of their dog and food. Mauro sums up his social media activity best in his TikTok bio, saying "Love my family love to bake!" It's certainly clear to his followers how much he loves both.

If you were married to a professional cook, you might think that one of the perks is always having professional-quality food to eat at home. But with Lisa and Buddy, that is not the case. The two shared a bit about their relationship and life at home with Renato and Cris Cardoso, and divulged that Lisa is the home chef.

"I think it's a balance," Buddy said. "There's days where I wanna cook ... but most of the time Lisa does the cooking." Buddy noted that her eggplant parmesan and a linguini pasta dish are among his favorite dishes that she cooks.

Lisa and Buddy took People inside their kitchen to give viewers a closer look at what it's like to feed their family, and showed viewers how to cook her famous eggplant parmesan. Lisa noted that their fridge is always full of fresh vegetables, and that they have plenty of meals available in their freezer. After taking a look at their fridge and watching Lisa and Buddy cook, we wouldn't mind living at the Valastro house!