Giada De Laurentiis Opens Up About Bobby Flay

FACTSVERSE PRESENTS… Giada De Laurentiis opens up about Bobby Flay. Giada De Laurentiis is a Food Network chef, and over the years she has had her fair share of hardships in both her professional life and her personal life. She is the queen of everyday Italian and has a genuine love for food. The Italian-born American-bred girl was expected to go into film, like the rest of her family, but food was always her passion. We've got a few facts about Giada that you might not know. Before we get into our list, help us spread the word about FACTSVERSE by clicking that LIKE button. Also, be sure to subscribe and click the notification bell so you don't miss our future videos! After 11 years of being married to fashion designer Todd Thompson, the couple announced the end of the relationship December 29, 2014. On September 3, 2015, they announced that they were legally separated. That made people come up with a lot of theories regarding their relationship. In the end, there were no hidden stories, they just wanted to work together to co-parent their daughter Jade. When asked what caused the marriage to finally end, the couple remained tight-lipped about it. Ever since Giada was in high school, she knew she wanted to be a chef. Her parents were sure that she was too young to understand what she really wanted out of life, but she knew that they were wrong. Rather than going into the family business, Giada enrolled at UCLA. She graduated in 1996 with a degree in social anthropology. She was sure that she was destined to be a chef. In Rome, her mother, Veronica De Laurentiis, is a popular Italian actress. Her father, Alex de Benedetti, is an actor and producer. Her grandfather, on her mother's side, is a famous film producer as well, Dino De Laurentiis. He helped to popularize Italian cinema in the United States. Despite all of his family history in the entertainment business, Giada went her own way. Giada spent most of her early years in Italy. After her parents' divorce in the 70s, she moved to Southern California. The move and the change in culture were pretty hard on her at first. When the family first moved to the U.S., she didn't know any English. Because of that, the other kids bullied her. They called her Jabba the Hutt because Giada sounded similar to Jabba. The place where she felt happy and safe was at her grandfather's restaurant, DDL Food Show. That was where she discovered her love for cooking. Although she developed a passion for cooking with her grandfather, she wasn't sure if culinary school was right for her. She thought of food as more of a hobby than a career prospect. Her family encouraged her to go to college, so she studied social anthropology even though she wasn't sure if it was a good fit for her. Finally, she nervously told her family about her dream of becoming a professional full-time chef. After graduating from UCLA, Giada decided to go to culinary school. She applied for a highly coveted spot at Le Cordon Bleu, and when she found out she was accepted, she was excited and terrified at the same time. Again, she would have to leave behind everything she knew to go study in Paris. It wasn't as easy as she had hoped, and it wasn't long before she started second-guessing her choice. She was so stressed out and worried she lost 10 pounds from the stress and lack of sleep. She couldn't speak the language, and she just wanted to quit cooking and go back home. Giada stuck it out and finished culinary school. After graduating, she headed back to LA to try her hand as a chef. When she first moved back to the U.S., she found work in a few restaurants, and it wasn't long before she earned an excellent reputation in the culinary world. She was hired as a chef at Spago, which is owned by celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck. She loved to cook, but she wasn't sure if it was for her. She transitioned to working as a food stylist for magazines. Soon she had a steady job working for Food & Wine magazine. While working on the magazine, she caught the attention of the Food Network, and they gave her a series of her own called Everyday Italian. As Everyday Italian took off, Giada was on everybody's radar. She had a chance to appear on Behind the Bash, Pixie Hollow Bake Off alongside Bobby Flay. When the two competed on Iron Chef America, their friendship hit a rocky patch. Giada De Laurentiis opens up about Bobby Flay and admits that she had to take a break from their friendship. When she and Bobby were partners on the show and they lost, Giada was disappointed, and Bobby for some reason thought it was funny. She was upset with him about that, and it would be months before the two would speak again. Although she loves what she does, Giada says that being a celebrity chef can be stressful. Being recognized can be great, but she says that she'd also appreciate some privacy from time to time. In the end, however, she's thankful for everything she has, and she's proud of all of her accomplishments. As she should be. Subscribe for more!