Anthony Bourdain 'vanished' from 11-year-old daughter Ariane's life before he died, claims new biography
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Anthony Bourdain's daughter Ariane was only 11 when he died in France in June 2018. He had "vanished" from his little daughter's life in the years before he killed himself, says the new biography 'Down And Out In Paradise: The Life of Anthony Bourdain'. At the time, he was trying to appease his girlfriend Asia Argento, who apparently "freaked out" when she saw pictures of him and his ex-wife together. Bourdain killed himself in a hotel room in a small town in France while filming his CNN show 'Parts Unknown'.
In the new biography, author and journalist Charles Leerhsen wrote that in the months before his death, the star had been drinking heavily, using steroids, and sleeping with prostitutes. It is said that Bourdain's brother Christopher urged publisher Simon and Schuster to not publish the book as he believes it has repeated inaccuracies. However, the book is set to be published on October 11 anyway.
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Bourdain's ex-wife, Ottavia Busia-Bourdain, supports its release, the Daily Mail reported. She reportedly allowed the author access to Bourdain's phone records and his laptop, which revealed details about how he spent his last days and months.
In the book, Leerhsen claimed that Argento, who had become very controlling, used to stalk Ottavia's Instagram page. He included messages exchanged between Ottavia and Bourdain, where she said she was "tired of pretending that we are never in the same place" for the benefit of Argento, New York Times reported.
"You didn't want me to put a pic that you had in it because Asia would freak out and I have a feeling that will not change anytime soon," she said. "I'm tired of pretending I don't know you. Or that we are never in the same place," Busia-Bourdain told him." Bourdain replied, "I feel you. But I was being honest. The pap [arazzi] situation is horrendous. Since I left you guys, though, she’s freaking out."
Before Bourdain's death, he was reportedly furious after he saw photographs of Argento with French journalist Hugo Clement in Rome. He searched her name "hundreds of times" in the days before his death, the book claims. In some of their last messages, he told her she had been "careless" with his heart. "I can't take this," she replied. "Is there anything I can do?" he wrote, to which she replied, "Stop busting my b***s." "OK," he said. Hours later, Bourdain killed himself.
Weeks later, Argento said in an interview with DailyMailTV that while she "cheated on him", he "cheated on her too". In a previous biography, Ottavia had said, "'As a dad, he was always the good cop. I think it was fair, because he was around so little, so when he was home, there was no enforcing homework, there was no discipline. He was 100 percent fun dad, and he called himself "Silly Dada," cause that’s what he was doing."
At the time, Ariane had said, "I always cooked with him. We’d always cook ratatouille, from the movie Ratatouille, and we made it exactly like they made it. We’d cook schnitzel; he’d make little stations: one of them has the breading, one has the flour, one has the eggs, and my dad put it in the pan. He’d cook omelets for me all the time, and I’d help him flip it. He would let me sprinkle chocolate chips or blueberries into pancakes, and then he’d let me flip the pancake a little. When we were in the Hamptons, he’d cook dinner, cook breakfast, so that’s when he really cooked for me. He taught me how to cut things and not chop off my fingers, to curl my fingers under. He gave me my own little knife, and I still have it, and still use it."