Anthony Bourdain’s Assistant Reveals His Final Texts to Her

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Remembering Anthony Bourdain at the 2016 Emmys

Laurie Woolever is thinking about her late friend Anthony Bourdain.

Six years after the famed chef died, Woolever—who worked as Bourdain’s personal assistant for nearly a decade—reflected on their friendship in her upcoming Care and Feeding memoir, including their final text exchange the night before his June 2018 suicide.

According to People on Feb. 28, Woolever wrote Anthony’s last message to her in her book: “’I’ll live, and we’ll survive.’”

At the time, the author noted that paparazzi had taken photos of Bourdain’s girlfriend, Italian actress Asia Argento—whom he started dating two years before his death—kissing French journalist Hugo Clément and she had been contacted by the tabloid The National Enquirer for Bourdain’s reaction.

“When I asked Tony what he’d like me to do about the Enquirer, he said, ‘Ignore it,’’ she writes in the book, per People, “he said, adding, “‘Ignore any similar queries from other pubs. But let me know when the Enquirer piece drops.’”

At the time, the late chef had been filming his CNN series, Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown, in France and Woolever recalled the atmosphere in the days after the photos were released. “A [Parts Unknown] producer Helen had heard that things were apparently tense on set in France,” she continued. “Everyone was walking the tightrope, trying to give him both the emotional support he seemed to need and the space to process his pain with a measure of private dignity.”

That following day, Bourdain—who she refers to as “Tony” throughout the memoir—asked Woolever to schedule a few important events for his return to New York. She texted him, “I hope you’re doing OK,” to which he responded with his final eerie message.

“I assumed that the ‘we’ meant him and Asia, their complicated relationship,” she writes. “At 4:25 the next morning, my phone vibrated on the windowsill next to my bed, waking me from a light sleep. It was Kim, Tony’s agent. When I answered the call, she said, ‘Tony has taken his life.’” (E! News has reached out to Argento for comment but has not yet heard back.)

As for Argento, months after his death, she refuted claims that her alleged infidelity led to Bourdain’s death. “People say I killed him,” she told DailyMailTV in September 2018. “I understand that the world needs to find a reason. I would like to find a reason, too.”

Woolever also looked back on that time, telling People in a Feb. 28 interview alongside the excerpt, “It’s hard to reconcile that he believed he would be back in New York—and then he wasn’t.”

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While the author described her memoir, slated to release on Mar. 11, as her chance to officially detach from her role as Anthony’s assistant, she’ll never forget the memories they shared.

“His things that were interesting and valuable were sold at a charity auction, but then there were just some ordinary things left,” she said, adding she kept the late icon’s laser printer. “I use it all the time, and I think of him.”

Keep reading to see more moments in Anthony’s career….

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Entering the Culinary World

Anthony Bourdain was born on June 25, 1956. According to the Culinary Institute of America, he started his culinary career by working as a dishwasher in Provincetown, Mass. during his summer break from Vassar College. He went on to attend the Institute and graduated in 1978.

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Writing Best-Sellers

Bourdain went on to work for a number of restaurants, including The Supper Club, the Rainbow Room and Coco Pazzo Teatro. In the 1990s, he then started writing and would go on to publish a number of books, including Kitchen Confidential.

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Enjoying Time With His Fellow Chefs

Bourdain entered the television world in the early 2000s and appeared on Food Network's A Cook's Tour. This photo shows him posing alongside fellow chef Marcus Samuelsson and singer Lisa Loeb in 2004.

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Growing His Television Career

In 2005, Bourdain started to appear in the Travel Channel series Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations. It was around this time Bourdain divorced from his first wife, his high school sweetheart Nancy Putkoski. In this 2006 photo, the celebrity chef can be seen enjoying a beer at Tintol restaurant in New York.

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Exploring a New World

The chef would later travel the world for CNN's Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown, which debuted in 2013.

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Starring in a New Show

2013 was also the year Bourdain starred on the show The Taste. Here he is with his fellow judges, Marcus Samuelsson, Nigella Lawson and Ludo Lefebvre.

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Receiving Accolades

In 2013, Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown received a Peabody Award for "expanding our palates and horizons in equal measure."

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Winning Emmy Awards

Over the course of his career, Bourdain's TV shows would receive several Emmy nominations. Here he is at the 2015 Creative Arts Emmy Awards. The program won in the Outstanding Information Series or Special category. In 2016, Bourdain's second marriage with Ottavia Busia would come to an end.

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