[quote] Alex Guarnaschelli Admits She's Going Through Her Breakup 'Poorly' But 'There Is Always Pizza'
Alex Guarnaschelli is coping with her breakup the best she can.
PEOPLE confirmed on Monday that the Food Network star and her fiancé, Michael Castellon, split after five years together. And on Wednesday, Guarnaschelli opened up about the news to her followers on Instagram, admitting that it hasn't been easy.
Asked "How are you getting through your recent breakup?" in an Instagram Story Q&A, Guarnaschelli wrote, "If I'm honest: poorly."
She went on to imply that she was finding comfort in carbs, writing, "That said, there is always pizza" alongside a photo of two slices.
Guarnaschelli and Castellon's breakup came nearly two years after they got engaged in June 2020. At the time, Guarnaschelli, 49, told PEOPLE she and Castellon were in "no hurry" to get married, and were excited to plan a big celebration.
But on Instagram, Wednesday, Guarnaschelli said, "I am not getting married in the foreseeable future unfortunately."
She confirmed it was difficult having a relationship in the public eye. "So sorry to read about your breakup" one commenter wrote, to which Guarnaschelli replied, "I was sorry to read about it too."
Later, when asked for advice on how to stop the feeling of being lost and alone after a breakup, Guarnaschelli said, "there's no stopping feelings."
"Part of life is being alone and part of life is being lost," she wrote. "Some people say that life is what happens in those in between moments anyway... Give it some thought and always bet on yourself."
This isn't the first time Guarnaschelli has been through a split. She was previously married to ex-husband Brandon Clark. The two share 14-year-old daughter Ava.
When a follower on Instagram praised the Alex Versus America star for being a "great example to all women" for "doing what's best for you, even if it hurts," Guarnaschelli pointed to Ava, writing, "I have a 14-year-old woman (Ava) watching me every day. It's the only way."
Guarnaschelli and Castellon first met while she was visiting the restaurant where he worked as a chef.
"I was out to dinner with a friend, and at a restaurant, and I knew the waiter, and I was eating dinner and I said, 'This steak is just so good,' " she recalled to PEOPLE, shortly after her engagement. "And the waiter, my friend, said, 'Oh my God, my best friend is the cook, the chef, here. He's amazing. You got to meet him.' "
She added, "I went in to meet him and tell him the steak was delicious and that was it."
Castellon proposed nearly four years later while the two were driving back from a trip to the grocery store. He claimed he saw a baby deer on the side of the road and got out of the car to investigate, inviting her to do the same.
"He's like, 'Shh. Come see it. It's so cute.' And I'm like, 'We're going to have to do something. We're going to have to call the animal welfare.' I'm already rolodexing the situation," Guarnaschelli explained. "We tiptoe out, full-on tiptoe, and he goes, 'It's right around the windmill.' So I look and he's like, 'Do you see it?' And I'm like, 'No, where's the baby? You promised me a baby deer.'
"And he goes, 'There's no deer.' I turn, and I look and he's on one knee," the chef said. "And he said, 'There's no deer.' He's like, 'This is why I have to marry you because you just believe me every time.' He said, 'Will you marry me?' and he gave me the ring."
Castellon confirmed the end of their engagement to the outlet, and said in a statement, "Wishing her nothing but the best."
