Her Love
For most of her life, Giada De Laurentiis has always had a love for cooking – but in the early 2000s, a new love entered her life. In 2003, Giada left the single life behind her and married Todd Thompson, a famous fashion designer. The pair seemed to be in a loving relationship and lived a happy life together until things became too much for the TV chef.
In 2014, Giada announced to her fans that she and Todd had decided to separate, and their divorce was officially finalized in 2015. Find out the rumor she confirms about her new love life...
An Impressive Net Worth
Her trademark smile
Since her first foray into the world of television hosting, Giada De Laurentiis has been known for her beautiful smile. Viewers rarely see her without a smile on her face, and rarely see her in a bad mood – which is one of the many reasons so many people tune in to watch her shows.
However, it seems this smile may hide something much deeper. According to reports, her TV show producer, Irene Wong, told Giada that she needed to push through the discomfort of heavy pots and uncomfortable burns and simply smile through it…even if her cheeks were in huge amounts of pain.
No Touching
An Award Winner
Yet, Giada hasn’t just achieved two number one best-selling books. Thanks to her time on the Food Network, she was nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award as an Outstanding Lifestyle Host and for a Gracie Award as the Best Television Host… and won both times!
As if this wasn’t enough to skyrocket her popularity, fame, and fortune, Giada de Laurentiis was also inducted into the Culinary Hall of Fame in 2012, something many budding chefs only dream of achieving.
There's So Much She's Kept To Herself
Something Was Always Missing
For most of her early life, Giada was obsessed with cooking but knew that a career in food was risky business. So, after her parent’s divorce, Giada, her mother, and her siblings moved to Los Angeles, where she obtained her high school diploma and applied for college.
Rather than applying for culinary classes or cookery school, Giada studied social anthropology at the University of California, Los Angeles. Yet, when she received her bachelor’s degree in 1996, Giada knew that something was missing from her life.
How Her Time In Paris Changed Her Forever
How Wolfgang Puck Launched Her Career
After learning new and exciting skills in Paris, Giada De Laurentiis returned to the United States with the intention to score her first professional cooking gig. Before too long, she had made a name for herself within major restaurants in Los Angeles, including Spago – a high-profile restaurant owned by the one and only Wolfgang Puck.
After many years of working in the restaurant circuit, Giada changed her career direction slightly to become a food stylist for magazines. Little did she know that one article, in particular, would change the rest of her life.
She "Impressed" The Network
Not a one trick pony
Although Giada De Laurentiis is largely known for Everyday Italian, she is not just a one-trick pony. In fact, Giada has put her cooking talents to numerous TV shows over the course of her career, including Behind the Bash, Giada’s Weekend Getaways, Handy Manny, and Pixie Hollow Bake Off. Amazingly, these shows are not just cooking tutorials.
They include travel diaries and even fictional characters. In fact, it’s fair to say that Giada has become a television personality in her own right.
Putting pen to paper
A Royal Menu
Giada De Laurentiis has proven that she can make no-nonsense, hearty, and tasty meals on her cooking show and in her personal restaurant, but that isn’t all she can do. In a one-hour special episode of ‘Giada De Laurentiis,’ the TV chef gave us a behind-the-scenes look at the menu she created for a royal menu.
Indeed, Giada cooked for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge during a royal visit to California. The menu featured Frico Cups with shrimp and avocado, as well as chicken and slaw.
Maintaining a healthy lifestyle
The secret to staying slim
However, it’s not all about the moving and exercising. Giada has revealed that her secret to staying slim is to manage what she eats. Although she cooks delicious homemade meals with yummy ingredients, she rarely eats her own cooking!
She takes a bite of her finished dishes for the sake of the camera but refuses to eat any more after the cameras stop rolling. In fact, she will only eat salads while on the set of her shows. She also carries around dark chocolate to nibble on if she ever gets any sweet cravings.
Putting Faith in Nonno
Giada and Jade
Although her marriage did not end well, it did result in their beloved daughter – Jade Marie De Laurentiis-Thompson. Jade was born in 2008, and so named after her mother.
In fact, “Jade” in Italian translates to “Giada.” Since her birth, Jade has been the main focus in her life, but she has reported that she would not have any more children. For the most part, Giada wants to focus on continuing her career and providing the best life possible for her and her daughter.
Knife Collection
Camera Shy
In addition to her own show, Everyday Italian, Giada also appeared on a biography program on the Food Network called Chefography. In her interview, Giada stated that she never wanted to get into her family business, which is show business and that she felt uncomfortable on her show and in front of the camera in general.
It didn’t help when she received criticism from viewers of Everyday Italian claim that she was only pretending to cook on the show.
Behind the Bash
No Eating
There was a rumor going around that Giada spits out the food she makes on TV in between takes. A source alleged, “she never eats.
Never…they have a dump bucket that is brought out the second they cut.” Giada’s spokesperson responded by saying that the chef tapes multiple shows in one day and the camera do a lot of close-ups of her eating her creations. But she can’t always eat the delicious meals she makes.
Cheating Rumors
Tiny Chef
Have you ever seen a celebrity in real life and thought, “wow, they are much shorter than I thought they would be.” This would be the case if you ever met Giada as the chef is only 5ft 1”. This has led her to have the nickname “petite powerhouse” but we don’t know how she feels about this.
Through the magic of television, you may not have realized how small she is, however, her height is very evident when she stands next to a tall person.
A big loss
No more kids
Giada is a devoted and loving mother to her daughter Jade, however, she has stated that one is enough and she won’t be having any more kids. Giada had Jade when she was 37 and she is now in her late forties so it is understandable why she isn’t rushing to have more babies.
She and her ex-husband made the decision to only have one child early on in their marriage as Giada was focusing on her expanding career.
Family name
A personal endeavor
Although Giada loves being on screen and bringing her viewers tutorials of her homemade Italian cooking, this wasn’t enough for the talented chef. In 2014, Giada decided to bring her food even closer to her fans and open a restaurant for them to really try a taste of Italy.
De Laurentiis chose to set up shop in Las Vegas, in the impressive The Cromwell restaurant. While overlooking the famous Bellagio Fountains and the notorious Caesars Palace, guests can dine in ‘GIADA’ style.
Horoscope
Sibling rivalry
As we mentioned, Giada and her siblings are very close but this doesn’t mean that they didn’t torture each other growing up. Giada is the oldest of her siblings and she used to tease her younger sister as a child.
One mean thing she used to do was tell her sister that she had something on her eye, only to pluck her eyelash out! We hope they are getting along better these days.
Doing good
Skin secrets
Not only does Giada give great cooking advice but she also has great beauty tips too! According to the website Celebrity Toob, Giada uses a unique mixture in order to keep her skin looking flawless. Apparently, she mixes baking soda and olive oil together and applies it to her face.
A lot of people use cooking ingredients to make face masks or skin treatments but this one seems a little odd. But hey, if it works for her.
Giada entertains
Giada’s latest project is her television show titled Giada Entertains. The premise of the show is basically what you would assume from the name. Giada shares her tips on throwing parties and get-togethers by giving ideas about party themes and recipes.
In one episode, we see Giada plan a slumber party for her daughter Jade which gives her fans a glimpse of her home life. She’s also planned a pizza and pasta party and a film festival party.
Celebrity friends
Taking inspiration
Even though Giada has her own cookbooks and shows, she isn’t above taking recipe advice from other chefs. This past Halloween Giada took a recipe from Martha Stewart and made these monster brownies complete with broken Oreos with candy eyes that looked like scary monsters.
Not only do these brownies look delicious but we think it’s so sweet of Giada to have shouted out her colleague for a great recipe.
Not everyone is a fan
Giada at Target
Like many other chefs on the Food Network, Giada De Laurentiis has been approached by major brands and corporations throughout her career and been asked to team up with them during their advertising campaigns. Although she has turned many of them down, she could not turn down an offer that came to her in 2010.
During this time, Target asked to collaborate with the TV chef to bring their customers a new line of kitchen supplies in her name, which can still be bought today.
Animal Lover
What’s next for Giada?
We’ve already seen what Giada has brought to popular culture, but what’s next for her? Well, the television chef is still planning on keeping her face on the screen and bringing even more recipes and cooking tips to her fans. However, there is one plan at the top of her list.
Next on Giada De Laurentiis’s to-do list is to open a brand new restaurant. The new restaurant will be called Pronto and will be based in the prestigious Caesar’s Palace Hotel in Las Vegas.
Early years
Did she know anything about Mario Batali's allegedly crude behavior?
Mario Batali was one of the first of the culinary giants to fall in the post-Weinstein reckoning of powerful male figures being held to account for allegations of sexual misconduct. In December 2017, three former employees came forward to accuse Batali of groping and inappropriate touching, which eventually led the Croc-wearing superchef to announce that he would be stepping away from his restaurants and TV obligations.
Naturally, this has led to the media scrambling for reactions from Batali's peers, a group in which De Laurentiis is obviously included.
The Mysterious "Dump Bucket"
She basically eats nothing all day
With her specialty being Italian food, De Laurentiis frequently made mouthwatering, but carb-filled, cheese-covered pasta dishes on her shows Everyday Italian, Giada at Home, and Giada in Italy. And yet, she somehow maintains her trim figure.
We already covered the questionable claim that she uses a "dump bucket," but there's an even simpler explanation for how she keeps the pounds off: She doesn't eat that stuff — or anything, for that matter.
Affairs?
She's been dating Shane Farley for longer than she's said
Soon after finalizing her divorce from fashion designer Todd Thompson in September 2015, De Laurentiis started stepping out with a new guy, TV producer Shane Farley. However, rumors and allegations surfaced that the two had actually started dating while Giada was still married to Thompson. And those rumors didn't come out of thin air.
Farley's been in the biz for a long time, having worked on shows like Rachel Ray and Big Morning Buzz. A quick look at both Farley's and De Laurentiis' IMDb pages shows that De Laurentiis made appearances on both of those shows while Farley would have been producing them, so they presumably knew each other as early as 2011.
Is she cheating on Shane Farley already?
She wishes she could tell her fans not to touch her
We kind of feel for her on this one, but De Laurentiis didn't do herself any favors in the way she phrased it when she expressed her discomfort with fans who have boundary issues. Speaking with The New York Daily News about being more readily accessible to fans who dine at her Las Vegas restaurant, she said, "It's the only place that people expect to see me and sort of be able to touch my brand.
I wish I could say no touchy-touchy, but it doesn't work that way."