Details About Giada De Laurentiis' Divorce Revealed
In the world of celebrity chefs, there's more drama than you might expect. After all, when you work in the spotlight and your life becomes public consumption, there are bound to be some intense situations that spring up. But one of the biggest chefs on the Food Network — as well as in Las Vegas and even just on Instagram — Giada De Laurentiis has been through more than her fair share of drama.
And it's pretty interesting to look back on it all, especially De Laurentiis' divorce from her husband of over 20 years, Todd Thompson, which sparked a lot of interest back in 2015. But since then, people have moved on and have maybe forgotten all the details of the split. Plus, more information has come out recently. So, what's the actual truth about De Laurentiis' divorce from Thompson? Well, it's both more and less exciting than you might think.
Giada dealt with cheating rumors before her split
Looking on Giada De Laurentiis' marriage to Todd Thompson, it would be easy to assume that the whole thing was nothing but sunshine and rainbows. After all, they were together for close to 25 years, and both successful in their fields — Thompson as a designer for Anthropologie, and De Laurentiis as a celebrated chef, obviously. But when tabloids reported that De Laurentiis was hooking up with singer John Mayer, she told Redbook in an interview that the rumor was hard on her and Thompson. "I was shocked," she said. "And not so much for me, but for my husband and family." De Laurentiis went on to explain that "Todd was embarrassed that his family in Michigan would see it," she said, adding that "he knows I'm not capable of that."
While those cheating rumors were probably unfounded, they didn't go away even after the pair split. When De Laurentiis and Thompson announced their divorce in December 2014, she was still dealing with the rumors. But De Laurentiis remained adamant that wasn't the case. "I have never ever been romantically involved with John Mayer," De Laurentiis told Gossip Cop, via HuffPost. "I met him twice at least five or six years ago at public events along with hundreds of other people. ... The allegation of an affair was a fabrication back in 2010 and remains so today." So the rumors certainly didn't help things, and they have followed De Laurentiis ever since.
The couple separated before they divorced
Even though Giada De Laurentiis and Todd Thompson seemed happy in their marriage, it's obvious that splitting up was the best option for them. But getting divorced wasn't a split-second decision made because they got overwhelmed or just sick of each other. In fact, the two separated months before announcing their decision to divorce.
In fact, De Laurentiis actually explained their thought process behind the decision. "After an amicable separation since July, Todd and I have decided to end our marriage," De Laurentiis wrote on her website in December 2014, via Us Weekly. "Although our decision to separate comes with a great deal of sadness, our focus on the future and overwhelming desire for our family's happiness has given us the strength to move forward on separate, yet always connected paths." Deciding to divorce from your spouse of over two decades isn't an easy choice, and De Laurentiis and Thompson took time apart before doing so, to make sure it's what they wanted.
They didn't have a pre-nup
For a lot of couples, a prenuptial agreement is necessary before getting married to ensure that there are no complications with their financial situation if things go awry. Celebrities like Giada De Laurentiis and Todd Thompson would typically have a pre-nup in place, but because they got married before they were both famous, they didn't, which made the divorce pretty intense.
According to TMZ, which got access to the final divorce ruling, De Laurentiis' divorce was seriously expensive for her. Not only was she ordered to pay Thompson $9,000 per month in child support, but since the couple didn't have a pre-nup, she also had to give him half of all the unpaid advances for her cookbooks that were yet to be published at the time of the divorce, which added up to a lot. TMZ reported that De Laurentiis paid Thompson $2.5 million on "Giada at Home/Weeknights with Giada," and $2.3 million for "Giada Feel Good Food," as well as $757,000 for "Everyday Pasta/Giada's Kitchen." Yeah, getting divorced wasn't cheap for De Laurentiis.
Getting divorced was confusing for Giada
Perhaps part of what made Giada De Laurentiis' divorce from Todd Thompson so intense and complicated was that the pair were together for so long. They got married in 2003, and were dating for even longer before tying the knot. So the decision to end that marriage was probably super hard. And even after the divorce, things for De Laurentiis didn't immediately get better.
In an interview with People, De Laurentiis explained that she spent a good amount of time after her divorce from Thompson just getting used to being alone. "After I got divorced, I spent about a year and a half alone, not dating, just figuring things out," she said. "I had been with Jade's dad for 25 years. I didn't know what it meant to not be married." After being with someone for most of her life, De Laurentiis had to adjust to not being in a relationship, and it was understandably a little confusing for her.
They shared custody of their daughter Jade
When a couple is together as long as Giada De Laurentiis and Todd Thompson were, there will obviously be some issues when they separate. Add a child into the mix, and there's potential for things to get a lot more hairy. But fortunately, De Laurentiis and Thompson were able to keep things civil during their divorce, and more importantly, to come to a fair agreement about their daughter.
As Page Six reported, De Laurentiis and Thompson's divorce settlement ruled that they would share custody of their daughter, Jade, who was 7 years old at the time. Even though that meant they would both be getting less time overall with Jade, De Laurentiis and Thompson's choice to keep things fair was probably what they thought was best for their daughter. In fact, in De Laurentiis' statement announcing her divorce, she made sure to imply that Jade was at the center of their lives. "Todd and I share a beautiful daughter and a lifetime of great memories that we both treasure more than anything," she said (via People). Putting Jade first was the best thing De Laurentiis and Thompson could do.
The divorce made Giada question her career
It's safe to say that a divorce is likely one of the most traumatic things anyone can go through, even if it is for the best. Ending a relationship, especially a marriage when you have a child together, is never easy, and Giada De Laurentiis and Todd Thompson probably both felt pretty conflicted after they divorced. De Laurentiis, especially, had a tough time adjusting.
While promoting her cookbook "Happy Cooking: Make Every Meal Count ... Without Stressing Out," De Laurentiis spoke about how her divorce impacted her life, her career and her drive. "It brought sadness and self-doubt," she said, via HuffPost. "I found myself revisiting why I ever got into cooking." And while she had to go on a journey of self-discovery, De Laurentiis said she eventually realized that cooking "was a way for me to find myself again, find a comfort zone, and shut out the noise of the world."
However she got there, De Laurentiis rediscovered her love for cooking after her divorce, and that's definitely a silver lining.
Giada had to learn to be independent after her divorce
In any relationship there's a balance of skills. Maybe one partner is good at cooking and the other prefers to clean up afterwards, or one takes care of the lawn while the other runs errands. It's totally normal to do different things in a relationship, and for Giada De Laurentiis and Todd Thompson, it seemed as though De Laurentiis didn't have to take care of some of the more intense jobs around the house. Well, until she got divorced.
In an interview with The Good Life (via ABC News), De Laurentiis explained that since she'd been with Thompson for so long, she'd never really had to learn some basic adult skills. "I never knew how to hook up a TV; I had alarms going off in the night that I never had to deal with because my ex-husband would handle all that stuff." But since her divorce, De Laurentiis learned a lot. "If the water heater breaks, I can handle it," she explained. Learning to install a TV and fix a water heater isn't easy for most people, so it's impressive that De Laurentiis was able to learn those skills after her divorce.
Giada was able to find love again
Though Giada De Laurentiis' divorce from Todd Thompson was a pretty big deal for both of them, it didn't mean that De Laurentiis wasn't able to find love again. On the contrary, she eventually got together with boyfriend Shane Farley and couldn't have been happier.
According to People, the two met in a professional environment and didn't start dating until after De Laurentiis had time to move on from her divorce. Still, the pair really fell for each other. "Shane's a lot of fun. He's very spontaneous and loves to laugh," De Laurentiis said in a separate interview with People about her newfound love with Farley. "It's one of my favorite things about our relationship." But that's not all, Farley even gushed about De Laurentiis. "Giada is one of the most positive people I have ever met," Farley told the publication. "She's warm and absolutely beautiful — what you see on the outside is there on the inside as well." If that isn't just the sweetest post-divorce love story then what is?
Divorce didn't ruin marriage for Giada
It would be understandable if De Laurentiis never wanted to get married again. After all, her marriage to Todd Thompson seemed pretty great, so if they didn't stay married, it couldn't have been easy for her to want to do it again. But despite the fact that De Laurentiis had a very public and expensive divorce, she's still open to getting married again in the future. Of course, that doesn't mean she needs to get married to be happy, just that her divorce didn't ruin the idea of marriage for her.
Speaking to Us Weekly, De Laurentiis explained that though she has been hurt in the past, she won't rule out marriage in the future. "I'm never going to say never. You know what? You never know in this life," she said. "It depends who the proposal is from." And really, she's got a point.
The two are still amicable
It's probably pretty difficult for a lot of couples to remain amicable after they split up or get divorced. No matter what went down towards the end of the relationship, there's likely some awkwardness that comes with being around each other following a breakup of any kind, but Giada De Laurentiis and her ex-husband Todd Thompson seem to have truly figured it out. For the most part, they work together to remain civil and friendly for the sake of their daughter, Jade.
"I have a wonderful team of people around me that help me every day," De Laurentiis told People. "Getting along with my ex-husband really helps as well. We're supportive of each other and, in turn, supportive of Jade." And honestly, the pair take co-parenting to a whole new level. The exes still get together as often as necessary to support Jade, like for graduations and birthdays, something the young child probably seriously appreciates.