Giada De Laurentiis found herself in the arms of a new man, after she split with her ex. But
would the new fling drown in tabloid gossip, or fizzle out in the shadows of the celebrity
chef's spotlight? Here's the scoop on Giada's romance with Shane Farley.
De Laurentiis and Farley met on the set of a TV show that you haven't heard of — because
it never even made it to air. As People noted, the couple's love story began in 2013, when Farley was
producing a talk show starring De Laurentiis and Bobby Flay. The show didn't pan out,
but De Laurentiis clearly made an impression on her future boyfriend. Farley told the outlet,
"I just thought she was really smart and funny and I thought,
'God, she would be a great host for a show.'"
The pair stayed in touch and reconnected two years later,
when Farley made the move from New York to Los Angeles for work.
At the time, he was a producer on the talk show "FABLife." And since he had a personal interest
in sticking around Hollywood, he then went on to produce Steve Harvey's show, "Steve."
De Laurentiis and Farley were both married to other people when they first met.
Farley was hitched to fitness expert Jennifer Giamo at the time, while De Laurentiis was
wedded to Todd Thompson. The duo claims that their initial encounter was strictly platonic.
De Laurentiis officially divorced Thompson in September 2015,
but she had announced their separation just under a year prior,
at the end of 2014. According to E! News, De Laurentiis, who's worth an estimated
$30 million — was ordered to pay her ex $9,000 a month in child support for their daughter, Jade.
A rep for De Laurentiis told Page Six that the chef started dating Farley in August 2015, a month
before her divorce was final. As for when Farley split with his ex, the outlet reported that it was
Farley who filed for divorce in March 2015. De Laurentiis wasn't swiping right on any apps
before connecting with Farley. It turns out that the Food Network star was living the
single life for several months after the end of her long-term marriage. She explained to People,
"After I got divorced, I spent about a year and a half alone, not dating,
just figuring things out. I had been with Jade's dad for 25 years. I didn't know what it meant to
not be married. Once I got settled, [Shane and I] reconnected and I felt like a kid again."
"One of my favorite things is how much we laugh together."
But even though they're no longer romantically involved,
it sounds like there's no sour grapes between Thompson and De Laurentiis. She said,
"Getting along with my ex-husband really helps as
well. We're supportive of each other and, in turn, supportive of Jade."
But it appears that Farley wasn't looking for love, either,
after he relocated to the West Coast. He told the outlet,
"[Giada and I] would bump into each other, we would grab a drink. We were just friends
and then eventually we started dating." De Laurentiis initially kept her romance with
Farley a secret, even after her former mystery man was outed in the media.
The chef played coy in November 2015 during an appearance on "The Wendy Williams Show"
where — as was no surprise to anyone — Williams hustled hard to get the scoop. When Williams asked
De Laurentiis point-blank if she was dating, in the midst of a cooking segment, the chef replied:
"You know what I love? I love how she just dropped that in the middle of it all.
That's what makes you good at what you do, Wendy!”
“Well this is—” “Catch me off-guard!"
Proving why she's a total celebrity gossip pro,
Williams wasn't about to take that as a satisfying answer. De Laurentiis finally relented,
"I'm gonna say kind of…" "And I will tell you,
this is the first time I've actually said that!"
But rumors had already been circulating about the star's new romance, post-divorce.
Page Six and E! News both reported shortly after her appearance on "Wendy
Williams" that the new man in her life was, in fact, Farley. Bingo.
Once the couple was officially on the radar, Farley was hit with Page Six rumors that he had
an "affair" with De Laurentiis while he was still technically married to his wife, Jennifer Giamo.
Reps for De Laurentiis clarified that the two were not romantically linked until Farley filed
for divorce, noting that things only got serious between them when they were both available.
But a source for the outlet suggested that there may have been an ugly overlap. According
to her lawyer, Farley's ex-wife Giamo was supposedly "devastated" over the painful
split. But a rep for De Laurentiis denied the claims, telling Page Six,
"Check your sources. This is all made-up information."
Giamo's camp appeared to say that she had only learned about Farley's romance
with the celebrity chef via the media outlets that had been poking around about whether she
and Farley were still together. As Giamo's lawyer told Radar Online in December 2015,
"[Jennifer] learned about the relationship through the tabloids. The divorce is still pending."
A rep for De Laurentiis continued to assert that any speculation that
the two had dated while Farley was still with Giamo was, quote, "outright false."
He may be dating one of the most famous celebrity chefs on the planet,
but Farley says he does enjoy cooking for his girlfriend. Even so,
firing up the oven comes with its fair share of anxiety. De Laurentiis told People in 2018,
"Shane does cook for me but he needs a heads-up.
It's like a week-long planning session if he's going to cook for me."
Farley confirmed the situation, adding,
"It's intimidating but it's like she's rooting for me.
She's not trying to show that she knows more than me or she's teaching me."
But, of course, De Laurentiis is still very much the boss in the kitchen. The culinary
mogul admitted that she's meticulous when it comes to cooking for the holidays, so much so that she
assigns everyone in the family a specific dish. Reportedly, Farley is in charge of the mashed
potatoes because he doesn't like Giada's style of adding peas to the recipe. She told the outlet,
"I just said to him, 'If you don't want the peas like we do in my family,
then you're going to have to make mashed potatoes.'"
"The best mashed potatoes in the world."
Let's be honest. With her decades of experience and inside connections in the food world,
De Laurentiis would be sure to have a seriously yummy spread for her wedding. Still,
it looks like fans shouldn't get their hopes up for a second walk down the aisle — just yet.
Rumors buzzed in April 2018 that Farley may have actually proposed to De Laurentiis,
but she said no, according to Radar Online. A source alleged at the time that the two
are in love, but that the chef turned down the proposal, adding,
"She's committed to concentrating on her career and her daughter,
Jade. Giada may change her mind in the future. But for the time being,
marriage is out of the question. She likes things the way they are."
The two never officially confirmed the claims. But the chef has seemed
a little more open to the idea of heading down the aisle again.
She told Us Weekly in 2018 that she'll never say never to getting married again before joking,
"It depends who the proposal is from!"
As of early 2022, it looks like Farley has yet to put a ring on it.
While a lot of A-list stars tend to ignore the typical tabloid gossip about themselves,
Farley has a bit of a different approach to quieting the speculation about his relationship.
Instead of brushing them off, he faced the tabloids head on. He even took to Instagram
to call out Star Magazine in November 2019 after it printed a story stating
that De Laurentiis didn't want to get married. Farley took a snap of the article and posted,
"This year my holiday wish is that Star Magazine can find a slightly more flattering photo of me."
Apparently, the outlet claimed that the Food Network star wasn't serious about
the relationship and was even worried about remarrying in the wake of her divorce. Which,
of course, appears to be tabloid magazine stand-level reporting, once again.
Everyone faced their own personal challenges beginning in early 2020. And while some couples
split during the Covid lockdown, thanks to all those hours at home in close quarters,
that's not how things went down for De Laurentiis and Farley. In fact,
she admitted that being together 24/7 while production was on pause actually
strengthened their relationship. She explained to People in October 2020,
"We've been spending every second of every day together,
and well, that's never happened for me because I've always been traveling and working. […] I
think it's made us stronger. Truly. I think that's what happens sometimes in these things.
You either become stronger or you start to say like, 'Ah, I can't do this.' So it's been fun."
"All the flavors can really marry when they sit for a bit together."
As for how the couple actually spent their time cooped up, they still managed to pack a
lot into their quarantine. De Laurentiis kept her family more than busy, as she took the name of her
cooking show — "Giada at Home" — literally, by filming new episodes from, you guessed it, home!
According to The Wrap, the location wasn't her actual home, but instead, a stunningly beautiful
rental house. Both Farley and Jade pitched in to help shoot "Giada at Home 2.0" — which
became a delightful series for fans, as well as its star. De Laurentiis shared on her blog,
"My family are always on my shows — they are the reason I fell in love with cooking,
and the reason I stay inspired, but I’ve never shot a show WITH my family. It was just me,
Jade, my boyfriend Shane. […] The jokes and laughs were endless."
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