Giada De Laurentiis has been granted a five-year civil harassment restraining order against a fan who allegedly harassed the celebrity chef.
According to The Blast, a judge Thursday granted De Laurentiis, 48, the order against an unidentified man who sent her personal messages through her website.
The Food Network star shared that the man allegedly sent a message in March that read, “I have loved you since the first day I ever met you and I haven’t stopped … I love you with all of my heart and soul, even still — I have never met a woman more beautiful than you — both inside and out.”
During a May 1, 2018 book store event in Los Angeles, De Laurentiis said the man showed up “shaking and sweating” and asked to speak to her alone. Security eventually removed him.
Following that incident, De Laurentiis’ private investigator contacted the man, who told the PI that the chef “had pursued him in a relationship and that he was the biological father of my child,” according to court records.
The man also reportedly believed De Laurentiis gave him a $150,000 check.
After LAPD’s Threat Management Unit told the man to stop harassing De Laurentiis, the man reportedly called her PI two days later and allegedly said, “[P]lease don’t stop me from going to her public appearances or pursuing her in a reasonable way — remember she first pursued me. I am just trying to reconnect.”
He last contacted her via email on Feb. 22 asking to see her again.
De Laurentiis told the judge, “Given the fact [the] Respondent continued to send messages through my website, claims to be the father of my child, showed up to confront me while working in a public place demanding to speak with me alone, it became apparent that he was stalking me.”
The restraining order, which demands that the man stay at least 100 yards away from De Laurentiis, is in place until June 13, 2024.
De Laurentiis has not responded to our requests for comment.