Buddy Valastro Approves of His Daughter Sofia’s Boyfriend: ‘He Makes Her Happy’ (Exclusive)

The ‘Cake Boss’ opened up about his oldest child’s relationship while debuting his cakes at a Chuck E. Cheese in Union, New Jersey

Buddy Valastro is a proud — and protective — father.

While debuting the release of Buddy V’s Cake Slices at Chuck E. Cheese, the Cake Boss star and his family sat down to chat exclusively with PEOPLE. The celebrity baker gushed about his oldest child and only daughter, Sofia Valastro, revealing how he feels about her boyfriend of just shy of a year and a half.

“He’s a really good kid, and he makes her happy,” Buddy says of Sofia’s boyfriend and fellow University of Delaware student, Anthony Machion.

Buddy says that while Machion is dad-approved, he still had to mess with him in the way only a father can. “I told him, ‘If you do the wrong thing, I’ve got a really big trunk, and I’m from New Jersey — just saying,’” he jokes.

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While he’s still a protective father, Buddy emphasizes that Sofia is capable of handling her own life, saying, “My daughter is no pushover. I know she’s a big girl.” Lisa Valastro, Buddy’s wife, chimed in, telling PEOPLE, “We don’t worry about her.”

“I couldn’t be prouder of my daughter,” Buddy says of the college junior. “I don’t worry too much about her. She’s a strong, independent, wonderful young woman.”

On Thursday, the father of four visited a Chuck E. Cheese in Union, New Jersey, to launch the expansion of his cake-by-the-slice brand, Buddy V’s Cake Slices, into the family entertainment center by handing out samples of his cakes to all the kids in the store.

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“My dream was to make my bakery a household name — it was me and my father’s dream. We did that with Cake Boss,” the Carlo’s Bakery owner tells PEOPLE. “Now the question is: How do I find different avenues to let people taste my cake?”

Buddy saw Chuck E. Cheese as the perfect venue, especially with cherished family memories of his own kids’ parties. In addition to Sofia, Valastro also has three sons, Buddy Jr., 18, Marco, 16, and Carlo, 12.

“I remember when one of the boys, I think it was Buddy [Jr.], when he was a baby, we obviously had the bakery, and my husband made a three-tier Chuck E. Cheese cake for his birthday,” Lisa recalls. “It was like 30 kids and we had to shut down half of Chuck E. Cheese.”

Starting Monday, Aug. 14, Buddy V’s Cake Slices, which come in three flavors: Confetti, Vanilla Rainbow and Chocolate Fudge, will be available in all Chuck E. Cheese locations to give other families the opportunity to make the same dessert-based memories as the Valastros.

Buddy V's Cake Slices are also available through third-party delivery apps like DoorDash, Grubhub and UberEats.

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Read the original article on People.