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NEW YORK, Nov. 5 (UPI) -- Giada De Laurentiis says cooking helped her cope with her recent divorce. The 45-year-old Food Network star opened up about her split from Todd Thompson in an interview Wednesday on The Wendy Williams Show. De Laurentiis and Thompson were married 11 years before separating in 2014, and finalized their divorce in September.
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"I always say that I sort of gained my confidence as a young girl in the kitchen -- that's where I felt the most creative and empowered," she shared. "All of a sudden my world came sort of crashing and I got divorced ... Cooking really helped me get through it. It made me happy."
De Laurentiis and her ex-husband share 7-year-old daughter Jade. The celebrity chef revealed she is seeing someone new, but resisted Williams' attempts to pry further. Fellow Food Network star Bobby Flay denied he and De Laurentiis are dating in May.
"[My divorce] brought sadness and self-doubt," De Laurentiis told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution earlier this week. "[Cooking] was a way for me to find myself again, find a comfort zone and shut out the noise of the world."
De Laurentiis has hosted the Food Network series Giada at Home since 2008, and contributes to NBC morning show Today. She has also authored several books, including Everyday Italian, Giada's Kitchen, Everyday Pasta and Giada's Feel Good Food.
