Three days after Anthony Bourdain committed suicide, the celebrity chef, author and television host’s ex-wife has spoken out for the first time.
And she’s done so via a photograph of Bourdain’s only child, an 11-year old named Ariane.
In her first post on social media since Bourdain’s stunning death, Ottavia Busia posted a picture of the former couple’s only child with a microphone in her hand at DROM, a music venue in New York City.
Bourdain, who was 61 years old when he took his own life, was married to Busia, an Italian-born Brazilian jiu-jitsu fighter, from 2007 until 2016.
She was his second wife.
“Our little girl had her concert today. She was amazing. So strong and brave. She wore the boots you bought her,” Busia captioned the snapshot, pointing out her daughter’s pair of studded black boots on Sunday.
She then concluded with a message directed at Bourdain:
“I hope you are having a good trip, wherever you are.”
Short, simply and beautiful, wouldn’t you say?
In public, Bourdain did not talk a lot about being a father.
But an insider tells People Magazine that he took an immense amount of pride in this role and, of course, in Ariane.
“It was quite evident that Tony was a ‘lighter’ human being around his daughter,” says this source, adding:
“When he spoke about her, his eyes danced. He talked about her constantly.”
Bourdain, of course, was found dead by his close friend Eric Ripert in a hotel room in France late last week.
According to the latest reports on the tragedy, Bourdain used his bathrobe belt to hang himself in the bathroom.
On the personal life front, he had been dating Italian actress Asia Argento.
This is what she Tweeted the day his body was found in France:
Anthony gave all of himself in everything that he did. His brilliant, fearless spirit touched and inspired so many, and his generosity knew no bounds.
He was my love, my rock, my protector. I am beyond devastated. My thoughts are with his family. I would ask that you respect their privacy and mine.
Bourdain was filming an episode of his Peabody Award-winning show Parts Unknown when he chose to end his life.
It’s unclear whether CNN plans to air the episodes of Season 12 that had already been filmed at some point; this feels rather irrelevant at the moment, of course.
Ariane, meanwhile, lived in New York City with her mother.
Bourdain arranged his work schedule so he could always spend at least five days a month with his daughter.
“I do feel I have things to live for,” he actually told People Magazine in February of this year, explaining at the time:
“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."”
However, parenthood gave Bourdain a new perspective on life, he added in this interview, referring to past dark times and saying:
“I don’t know that I would do that today – now that I’m a dad or reasonably happy.”
Those are chilling words to read now, aren’t they?
Let’s just hope Anthony Bourdain has found the peace in death that he could not find in life.
