MasterChef Australia broke hearts on Sunday night after one half of this year’s most talked about kitchen love story was sent home.

Declan Cleary, who made headlines in June after announcing his relationship with fellow contestant Sarah Todd, hung up his apron for the last time after his inside out skewers were deemed ‘incomplete’ by the judges.

The challenge, a ‘decreasing time versus increasing ingredients’ task, was set by culinary icon and national treasure Maggie Beer.

The fan favourite chef narrowly missed the Back To Win season’s top ten and a shot at the top prize alongside his newly-revealed beau thanks to a sauceless ‘slaw, which left the celebrity chefs wanting more.

Now, the MasterChef judges have whittled down the competition to 10 ambitious cooks, fighting it out behind the stove as temperatures soar.

MasterChef Australia broke hearts on Sunday night as they sent home one half of this year’s most talked about kitchen love story. The cast is pictured

Declan Cleary (left), who made headlines in June after announcing his relationship with fellow contestant Sarah Todd (right), hung up his apron for the last time after his inside out skewers were deemed ‘incomplete’ by the judges

The final few include social media star Sarah, season three’s Alana Lowes, the debut season’s Andre Ursini, MasterChef Asia judge Audra Morrice.

Likewise moving forward are Kiwi chef Ben Macdonald and third-time MasterChef participant Callum Hann.

Also in the mix are MasterChef India guest judge Depinder Chhibber, food educator Jamie Fleming, Fugazzi owner Laura Sharrad and Balkan-inspired chef Snezana Calic.

Earlier this month, Sarah and Declan came clean about their secret romance, revealing that they have already moved in together following the high-pressure show.

Speaking to this week’s Stellar Magazine, Declan, 27, revealed that the pair ‘instantly got along’, which saw them spend lots of time together behind the scenes.

However, it wasn’t until 38-year-old Sarah landed in an elimination challenge that Declan’s feelings became apparent, and he knew he needed to tell her how he felt.

‘As she’s walking into the elimination [challenge], I said, “Sarah, can I ask you something? Would you like to go on a date with me?”

‘And she just looked at me and said, “You’re a bloody idiot”,’ he said.

Earlier this month, Sarah and Declan came clean about their secret romance, revealing that they have already moved in together following the high-pressure show

While the poorly-timed invitation didn’t land the way he thought it would, Sarah eventually came around to the idea of them together.

‘After I got through the stress of the elimination and had a couple of days to recover, I realised it made sense,’ she said.

For their first date, the pair visited Grampians National Park for a romantic weekend away.

They enjoyed exploring markets, eating at picturesque restaurants and going for walks in the central Victoria highlands.

Now, after wrapping filming on the show, Declan has made the move from Sydney’s Northern Beaches to Melbourne.

They are joined by his dog Sol and her 14-year-old son Phoenix.

MasterChef Australia airs five nights a week from Sunday to Thursday on Channel 10 and 10 Play.