Giada De Laurentiis spoke to Good Housekeeping about motherhood and her daughter, Jade.
The celebrity chef opened up about her TV career and how Jade has inspired her to continue working.
Giada also shared her thoughts on empty-nest syndrome as her daughter prepares to go to college.
With more than two decades on TV, one would think Giada De Laurentiis would be comfortable with fame. But it turns out she has some thoughts about her career on the small screen—including the one person who inspires her to push herself.
Ever since Everyday Italian first aired on Food Network in 2003, viewers have watched the celebrity chef make food on various shows that highlight her Italian-American heritage. Additionally, Giada has showcased her culinary skills on major programs such as the Today show and Good Morning America.
However, as she exclusively told Good Housekeeping, she has her daughter, Jade Thompson (whom she shares with her ex-husband, Todd Thompson), to thank for giving her the confidence to be on all the time.
“What people don’t know is that I’m actually a shy person,” she told us in partnership with Italian beer Peroni Nastro Azzurro ahead of the 2026 Olympics. “I find that my daughter has been so helpful in pushing the boundaries for me and making me take more risks in a way that I don’t think I ever would have before. If she wasn’t around, I may have ended my career a long time ago.”
As fans have watched Jade grow up on TV and the chef’s social media accounts, they’ve come to celebrate the mother-daughter duo’s highs and lows. And with Jade heading off to college in the fall, Giada says she’s both excited and apprehensive about her only child stepping into the next stage of her life.
“As a mom, I’ve always planned my life around Jade’s schedule, and it’s been that way for the last 18 years,” she said. “It’s going to be a tough transition, but I think it’ll be fun. Yes, there will be those sad moments where I realize that my time with her is now limited, but it’ll be different. She’s not going to live at home anymore, and I think that’ll take some getting used to.”
She says she prepared for an empty-nester life, although she’s not quite ready for this phase to end.
“I feel like my job is done in a way,” she concluded. “While I don’t ever really want it to end, maybe I’ll find something to distract me come September!”
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.goodhousekeeping.com ’
