By now, you’ve probably heard the devastating news: Celebrity author, host, and chef Anthony Bourdain passed away this morning, June 8th, at the age of 61. The death has been ruled a suicide, which makes the news even harder to grasp. While Bourdain has been open about his struggles before, namely with drug abuse, his fans had no clue that he was silently still struggling on the inside. What makes the situation even harder is that Bourdain leaves behind a daughter, who’s currently 11.
Bourdain has been married twice. In 1985, he married his high school sweetheart, Nancy Putkoski. After two decades together, they chose to split. Soon after, he met a woman named Ottavia Busia who he’d eventually have a child with. Ariane Bourdain was born in 2007, just days before her parents officially got married. Bourdain and Busia later split, but his relationship with his daughter was always strong.
In what would be one of his final interviews, Bourdain said that while he’s done some daring stunts on television, he said he had “some responsibility” to his daughter to keep living.
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“I also do feel I have things to live for,” Bourdain said to People. “There have been times, honestly, in my life that I figured, ‘I’ve had a good run — why not just do this stupid thing, this selfish thing… jump off a cliff into water of indeterminate depth.” He said that Ariane helped guide him in a different direction. “In retrospect, I don’t know that I would do that today — now that I’m a dad or reasonably happy,” he added.
Bourdain said that family was important to him, which is why he never booked two countries back-to-back while filming his show. His amended schedule allowed him about five days per month that he spent with Ariane.
“I’ll go back, see my daughter, unpack, repack, mimic a normal life, which is extraordinarily pleasurable to me,” he continued.
We know these two had such a strong connection. Our hearts go out to Bourdain’s family and loved ones during this difficult time.
If you or someone you know is contemplating suicide, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
