Scandalous rumors flew almost immediately after this celebrity chef announced a separation
from her husband. But the answer to why this power couple called it quits might be simpler
than you think. Let's dig into some of the theories about Giada De Laurentiis and Todd
Thompson's divorce.
"You have gone through a tough time recently, a public divorce, and..."
"Oh, just start out, right out, not even like 'nice to see you Giada'."
Sometimes celebrities offer insight into their relationships during happier times that may
later offer the public clues about their struggles. Back in 2009, De Laurentiis told Redbook that
her marriage worked because she and Thompson took turns in the limelight. She explained,
"In the beginning, I was there to help him in his career. Now he's where he wants to
be, and he helps me in mine. You know, most men want to be in the limelight and have the
woman take care of them...There have to be times where it's about Todd, when I'm Todd's
wife and that's just who I am at that moment."
De Laurentiis went on to become the more recognizable name of the pair, so somewhere between 2009
and 2014, it's possible that the balance shifted too much toward Thompson supporting her career
with his own as a designer being pushed aside. That's just speculation, of course, but it
wouldn't be the first time that the uglier side of fame snuck into a marriage and cracked
its foundation.
De Laurentiis told Redbook that her brother losing his battle to skin cancer is what made
her decide to become a parent. She said,
"He always wanted to have children, but he didn't get to. And after he died, I remember
thinking, 'you know, maybe there's a place in my heart for someone else other than all
the people I already have in my life.'"
But the decision to have her daughter wasn't initially an easy one for De Laurentiis to
make. She admitted,
"I know I was very afraid...My brother's passing made me afraid, I think because I was afraid
that we could have a child and lose him or her too. I didn't know if I could go through
that kind of pain with anybody else the way I did with my brother. So for a while, I was
very down on the whole idea."
Thompson and De Laurentiis have always been devoted parents to their daughter Jade. But
De Laurentiis has also been open about how tough it is to juggle her grueling celebrity
schedule with parenting. She told The Cut in 2018 that she realized years prior,
"If I continue this, I will not see [Jade] grow up."
Is it possible that Thompson wanted more kids, and De Laurentiis was already spread too thin
both personally and professionally?
When considering who else may have played a part in De Laurentiis' divorce, the first
person that probably comes to mind is fellow celebrity chef and TV personality Bobby Flay.
According to Page Six, De Laurentiis was seen having what the tab described as "a boozy
night out" with Flay just two days before she announced her split from Thompson on Facebook.
A few months after that, Flay announced his split from his then-wife of 10 years, actress
Stephanie March.
Several months later, Radar Online claimed that Flay and De Laurentiis were caught on
an intimate dinner date, expressing PDA, and "carving their initials" into a secret spot
on the wall while in the middle of divorcing their respective spouses. Both De Laurentiis'
and Flay's reps denied the claims, telling E! News in a statement,
"Back in December, Giada had dinner...with her agent. Bobby Flay was also having dinner
with some friends and dropped by Giada's table to say hi. They did not have dinner, nor was
there any touching going on."
Closer Weekly reported that rumors of a relationship with former Today anchor Matt Lauer started
in 2011, when the pair were filming a segment for NBC. In 2013, a dinner meeting between
the two was described as "cozy" by Page Six, but both camps said any allegations of a romantic
dinner were false.
De Laurentiis is also one of many high profile women to be romantically linked with musician
John Mayer. But HuffPost reported that the chef denied any of the alleged affairs, saying,
"I met him twice at least 5 or 6 years ago at public events along with hundreds of other
people. I have not seen or even heard from him since."
She also addressed her "long-time friendships" with Lauer and Flay, saying,
"There has never been a romantic relationship with these two men."
Even though De Laurentiis adamantly denied any infidelity, and claimed that Thompson
was with her the whole weekend she attended the events where she met Mayer, she still
acknowledged that the accusations took a toll on her marriage. She told Redbook in 2011,
"Todd was embarrassed that his family in Michigan would see it and think, 'What is going on
over there in Hollywood?'"
It's not the juiciest explanation, but maybe the flame between the former spouses just
burned out.
"And so I was trying to figure out, like, okay what does this mean now, because we're
identified a lot of times by…"
"Absolutely."
"...being married."
De Laurentiis and Thompson had been together since she was 18 and began the process of
separating when she was nearly 44. De Laurentiis went from being a broke college student to
an A-List celebrity over the course of her marriage to Thompson, which was a trajectory
neither of them anticipated. In fact, while speaking with Redbook in 2009, De Laurentiis
shared the couple's dreams, saying,
"Todd and I have talked about [living in] Paris or Rome. I didn't plan on having this
career, I just rode the wave. And now I'm contemplating where it leads."
Just two years later, she told the same outlet,
"When I'm home, I work very hard to be Todd's wife and Jade's mother. I have no problem
going back to those traditional roles. I try to be Giada, the young girl that he met 20
years ago and fell in love with."
Is it possible that they were just unable to maintain this traditional dynamic?
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