Anthony Bourdain googled GF Asia Argento 300 TIMES, looked up prostitutes before killing himself
Before killing himself, Anthony Bourdain feverishly searched Google 300 times for his girlfriend Asia Argento, according to his biographer. The 61-year-old celebrity chef spent his last days in shock after learning that his girlfriend, an Italian movie star, had been spotted in Rome with another man.
For his new unofficial biography, 'Down and Out in Paradise - The Life of Anthony Bourdain,' author Charles Leerhsen was given access to Bourdain's text messages and other information. Before hanging himself in his hotel room in France in June 2018, the 'Parts Unknown' host reportedly tortured himself by Googling Asia Argento and a prostitution service. The 73-year-old former Sports Illustrated editor-in-chief told The Sun that to his knowledge, Bourdain's last words were directed at Argento. Arguing over a text message, Argento wrote, "Stop busting my balls," to which Bourdain simply replied, "Ok."
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Leerhsen said: “I think that’s the last thing he said to her. She kept texting and kept the argument going after that happened but he didn't respond after that point because I think he was gone. She didn't know he was gone. In his last hours he googled a prostitution service and he kept googling Asia. I guess he punished himself by reading over and over and more and more about Asia’s fling with a French journalist in Rome. He kept googling her name, he googled her 300 times or so in the last few days.”
Leerhsen also said that in his opinion, Bourdain was unable to mend his life because of how worn out he was from drinking and traveling nonstop. Although some admirers suspected her of murdering Bourdain, Argento has said that their turbulent relationship was an open one and that he had cheated on her as well. In September 2018, she raved to Daily Mail: "Anthony was 62 (sic), I was 42. We had lived, we had wives and husbands, we had children. I cannot think of Anthony as somebody who would make a radical gesture like this for something like that." Leerhsen feels that Argento was not to blame despite believing she was careless with his sentiments after researching Bourdain's life for his book. He said: “I don't blame her for what happened to him. Although I think she helped drive him to that place of despair, I don't think she can be held responsible for his death. In my opinion it was a classic case of almost like a teenage love affair where the boy wants to go steady and the girl doesn't. The boy keeps pressing his case and the girl keeps pulling back. The more the boy expresses his ardor for the girl, the more the girl was turned off. That's what was going on and, whatever you think of her, I think she had every right not be pushed into that kind of relationship. At the same time, she was very cavalier about his feelings and wasn't sensitive to them. In the texts sent just before he died he told her ‘You were reckless with my heart’ and I think that’s very well put.”
In order to conduct research for his new book, Leerhsen stayed the night in Bourdain's room at the picturesque Le Chambard hotel in Kaysersberg, Alsace, northeastern France. He asserted that he had a strange encounter there which made him wonder whether Bourdain was attempting to get his attention. “I didn't rush right in there after his body was taken out. It was about a year later, but it was weird.”