Giada De Laurentiis Grapples With Empty Nest as Jade Heads to College
Brace yourselves: world-famous chef Giada De Laurentiis has discovered something more terrifying than a scorched souffle—her teen daughter leaving home for college. In a candid sit-down with PEOPLE, the 54-year-old Food Network alum confessed that her recent mother-daughter road trip wasn’t just a PR moment but a frantic bid to soak up every last drop of Jade, 17, before campus life claims her. According to the PEOPLE interview (May 2024), Giada mapped out city-to-city adventures in March, documenting the whole performance on Instagram.
De Laurentiis deadpanned that parenting a teenager feels like hosting a transient hotel guest who raids your fridge and vanishes at will. Irony alert: planning a cross-country trip was apparently easier than convincing Jade to empty her own laundry bin. She called that week “one of the best gifts” and admitted her emotions peaked somewhere between “super excited” and “scares the s— out of me.” If empty-nest syndrome were a recipe, she’d be missing half the ingredients.
In classic deadpan fashion, the chef pointed out that she’s spent 18 years molding her schedule around Jade’s every whim—doctor’s appointments, voice lessons, school plays—only to face a sudden void come fall. She’s set to tackle this existential crisis by sending Jade to New York for summer theater camps. Because nothing says “I miss you” like dropping your daughter off at acting boot camp and hoping she doesn’t write you into the next script.
Giada has been equally floored by Jade’s musical chops. As she told PEOPLE last October, neither parent sounds like a Grammy nominee—hell, nobody in the family even screeches in the shower—yet Jade can write and belt out songs that leave her mom “speechless.” Clearly, talent skipped a generation and landed squarely on Jade’s shoulders.
Meanwhile, Giada’s own summer itinerary reads like a culinary world tour: a pit stop in Italy (because of course), followed by a merciless grind in Chicago, training staff for her new restaurant, Sorellina, slated to open in late 2025. She promises diners “a big, giant hug” through elegant Italian fare—presumably until her nest is truly empty and she has only memories and cold espresso to comfort her.
So there you have it: a top chef facing her most challenging course yet—letting go. Tune in next time for more hot takes, emotional territory, and questionable life decisions served with a side of dry wit.
Sources: Celebrity Storm and People Magazine, Dotdash Meredith
Attribution: Creative Commons Licensed
