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This tragic story takes a shocking turn as sources now say Joseph was having an affair with his much-younger pastry chef!

Joseph Cerniglia‘s wife and kids aren’t the only ones mourning his Sept. 24 suicide — his alleged girlfriend, 27-year-old Jessica Marotta, is also said to be completely beside herself. Jessica worked as a pastry chef at Joseph’s New Jersey restaurant Campania, before being promoted to co-owner. Though Jessica isn’t speaking about the tragedy, her mother Ana tells the New York Post that Jessica is “devastated. [She and Joseph] loved each other very much.”

Joseph, 39, and wife Melissa, who had three children together, were reportedly separated when he leapt from the George Washington Bridge. In fact, local jewelry store owner Gary Pollina tells the Post that Joseph and his wife had been separated “for a long time.”

“I don’t think they were doing so well, even during Kitchen Nightmares,” Gary says. “I assumed [Joseph and Jessica were together] because of the way they interacted with each other. They were very close.”