Giada De Laurentiis says she was 'very fearful' of leaving Food Network but was 'burnt out'

The TV host and chef departed the network in early 2023 after 21 years.

Giada De Laurentiis opened up about the decision to step away from Food Network, citing burnout as the reason for her departure.

The TV host and chef, who left the network in early 2023 after 21 years, admitted she does not miss her time there for that very reason. "I would switch gears without knowing it every seven years," De Laurentiis said on the recent episode of  Rebecca Minkoff’s Superwomen podcast. "So I did Everyday Italian for seven years, then I got pregnant, and I was like ‘OK, I can’t do that show anymore.' I got to do a reincarnation of the show because I’m now pregnant. I’m a different person."

At the time, the network gave her a lot of free reign with future projects. "I was lucky enough to be at a period of time at Food Network where that was okay and they were open to those kinds of suggestions because the landscape hadn’t really been fully discovered yet, and so I think they were just more open to the talent,” she said. But at one point, De Laurentiis realized it was time to hang up her apron at the network.

"It took a while for me to make this decision because I was very fearful of leaving Food Network," she said. "Because when you're a big fish in that pond and then you get out, who knows what's gonna happen next? But I really started to become interested in the entrepreneurial sort of journey. And I realized I couldn't do both.”

Between juggling motherhood, a divorce, and the demands of work, it “felt like the world was crumbling around me," De Laurentiis said. "So about two and a half years ago, I finally was like, okay, I'm gonna make the jump, and I'm gonna put my energy in [her lifestyle brand] Giadzy. I'll still do TV. I have a deal with Amazon, so I still do a little bit of that, but it's definitely not the schedule I used to keep. Definitely not."

When asked if there was any part of her that missed it, De Laurentiis said, “No. I know, I should say yes. I think it's because I got burnt out. I really worked so hard for so long. I got burnt out and I couldn't see a path that was exciting anymore. I need excitement. And if I'm getting bored, my viewers are getting bored.”

De Laurentiis joined Food Network in 2002 with the Daytime Emmy-winning Everyday Italian, which featured recipes inspired by her Italian background. She would go on to host Giada’s Weekend Getaways, Giada at Home, Giada Entertains, Giada’s Holiday Handbook, and Giada in Italy, as well as judge and mentor on Food Network Star. No stranger to the biz, she is the daughter of actress Veronica De Laurentiis and producer Alex De Benedetti, and granddaughter of film producer Dino De Laurentiis.

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