Kriti Mehrotra
If there’s one thing Netflix’s ‘Love Charlie: The Rise and Fall of Chef Charlie Trotter’ makes evident, it’s that it was the women in this titular legendary culinarian’s life that helped him thrive. Yes, he was incredibly skilled in his craft on his own, and yes, his father was the one to have financed his dream as a partner, but it was the women who brought in the calm, gentle touch needed to pull everything together. But alas, since Charlie’s priority was admittedly always his business or his son, he did not have many successful relationships — he actually married three women in his 54 years on this earth.
Lisa Ehrlich is a Happily Wedded Entrepreneur Based Out of San Francisco
Although Lisa tied the knot with Charlie on August 31, 1986, she still vividly remembers she thought him a little weird when they first came across one another while attending the University of Wisconsin in Madison in 1981. Nevertheless, their bond evolved into a genuine friendship, which then resulted in them falling in love before she finally made a move during a European trip to help him conceptualize his eatery. They hence exchanged cozy vows around a year before the launch of Charlie Trotter’s in Chicago, Illinois, only for her to subsequently leave her academic pursuits behind to help in operations.
Lisa truly believed her decision wasn’t permanent at the time — that she would soon be able to return to Northwestern University, earn her Political Science degree, and ultimately become a professor — but things changed. By the time 1990 rolled around, she’d realized her marriage with Charlie was on the back burner alongside everything else in favor of his restaurant, driving her to file for without fault divorce. The couple actually parted ways in August of the same year for good on rather amicable terms, but she did understandably leave her position as dining room manager-turned-wine director too.
It was then that Lisa seemingly picked up her own dreams right from where she had left off — Northwestern University — just to eventually concede she had found joy in the business world. This Master’s graduate thus built a career in the Wine industry, serving as an innovation as well as marketing pioneer before launching her own consultancy business related to the same, Drink Cultivated, in September 2016. From what we can tell, she serves as the proud Principal Owner of this organization to this day, all the while leading a joyful life alongside her husband, John DeAguiar (2010), and their pets.
Lynn Thomas Trotter is Seemingly Still Based in Chicago
According to reports, it wasn’t long after Charlie’s divorce from Lisa that he met Lynn Thomas in his own restaurant while she was doing their accounting, only for it to lead to a whirlwind romance. So, they married in a small ceremony relatively soon, following which they even welcomed a beautiful son into their lives — they named him Dylan after the iconic musician Bob Dylan since he was born on his 50th birthday. However, once again, the couple couldn’t make things work in the long run owing to their different priorities, miscommunication, plus the well-known industry stress, resulting in her filing for divorce.
As per the Chicago Sun-Times, Lynn filed the papers on November 5, 2001, citing irreconcilable differences, with her lawyers publicly requesting the media to respect the privacy of all involved. The details of their ensuing court proceedings are unclear, yet while some rumors suggest financials played a significant role in the settlement, others indicate the ex-duo managed to close this chapter without any issues. As for Lynn’s current standing, she has since preferred to remain away from the limelight, so we just know she is close to her Chicago-based son to this day and, hence, likely resides in the area too.
Widower Rochelle Trotter is Still Involved in the Food Business
While it’s unclear precisely when Rochelle and Charlie first came across one another, we know she was serving as an On Air Lifestyle & Culinary Contributor at Fox when they tied the knot in 2010. The truth is this DePaul University Communication-Media Studies graduate (1984-88) plus Northwestern University-Kellogg School of Management MBA graduate (1989-91) had been a part of the food industry for a while. In fact, she’d been running her own business by the name of R’Culinare Consulting since 2002, so her husband didn’t hesitate to make her his publicist shortly after as he knew she knew his vision.
But alas, before Rochelle and Charlie could even really begin building a life together following his 2012 retirement, he passed away – he was dead in their shared home on November 5, 2013. “It really is one day at a time. It’s pain that I’m working through,” the widower candidly told ABC7 Chicago roughly a year later before adding the only thing to bring her a sense of true peace is the fact “he didn’t struggle. He went to sleep, and he never woke up.”
Coming to her current whereabouts, it seems like Rochelle continues to serve as a Chicago-residing culinary consultant to this day, all the while also holding the title of Executive Director at Charlie Trotter’s Culinary Education Foundation, which she has held since 2013. As if that’s not enough, she is even a Certified Sugar-Free Health Coach, INN Alum, plus Harvard Medical Alum whose goal these days is to help others ditch diets by optimizing their meals per their body’s true requirements.
Read More: Ray Harris: Where is Charlie Trotter’s Best Customer Now?
