The suicide of Anthony Bourdain came as a complete shock to many, including those closest to the chef.
His girlfriend of close to two years Asia Argento has yet to comment on Bourdain’s death, but did share one final image of the pair back on May 27 after the wrapped another episode of his show Parts Unknown in Florence.
The black-and-white photo shows Bourdain with her arm wrapped around Argento, who leans in to his as she smokes a cigarette.
‘That’s a wrap,’ wrote Argento on the post.
And in video posted just a few days before his death, a smiling Bourdain dances with his love Asia Argento and cinematographer Christopher Doyle while three film the Hong King episode of Parts Unknown.
Anthony Bourdain and Asia Argento are seen in their last picture together two weeks before his suicide. They were filming Parts Unknown together
Bourdain posted a video of Argento and cinematographer Christopher Doyle dancing during filming in Hong Kong on Sunday
‘Television production is a tough business. Prior preparation prevents piss poor performance . On location with director @AsiaArgento and DP @dukefeng52 Chris Doyle in Hong Kong TONIGHT @PartsUnknownCNN,’ wrote Bourdain on Twitter.
In the video he swigs a beer and dances a bit, but mostly stays off camera watching Argento and Doyle celebrate.
That episode had been filmed earlier in the year, and Bourdain said that it was the pinnacle of his career getting to shoot with Doyle, who is the director of photography for Chinese director Wong Kar-wai.
Bourdain had also posted the black-and-white Firence photo shared by Argento, noting: ‘An eventful week. On the battlefield and off. Making art . Every motherf***ing day.’
That was a reference to the fact that Harvey Weinstein had been booked and charged just two days prior, thanks to the bravery of Argento and others.
Bourdain shared other photos of the two in Firenze, and would often document their time together while praising the actress.
‘Just a perfect day You made me forget myself @asiaargento,’ he said in April while sharing a selfie of the two.
Argento also posted that same image, writing: ‘I’ll stick with you baby for a thousand years, nothing’s gonna touch you in these golden years, gold.’
The trio also posed for a picture the chef posted on his Instagram five days ago
Bourdain and Argento embrace during filming in Florence on May 24 while shooting
Argento (pictured) and Bourdain are believed to have begun dating in early 2017 after meeting on the set of his hit CNN series
Bourdain had also been one of Argento’s most vocal supporters on social media ever since she came forward with her allegations.
Argento was one of the first actresses to accuse the disgraced mogul of sexual assault, telling The New Yorker that Weinstein raped her in 1997 at a party hosted by Miramax at the Hotel Du Cap-Eden-Roc during the Cannes Film Festival.
Shortly before the New Yorker story was published, Weinstein asked Argento to meet with a private investigator and give testimony on his behalf.
At the time she had been with Bourdain for close to a year.
The chef and self-proclaimed film fanatic first met Argento in 2016 when she appeared on the Rome episode of his Emmy-winning travel show.
Bourdain and Argento’s relationship became public after the two were seen in Rome together early last year.
The two were spotted walking around the city hand-in-hand and then seen sharing a kiss after enjoying dinner at Pommidoro.
The two then returned to their hotel room.
Bourdain’s Rome episode of ‘Parts Unknown’ was a remarkable feat, and one that was inspired in some ways by Argento’s father.
Dario Argento is considered by many to be one of the great horror directors, and is known for his highly stylized films, among them the 1977 classic Suspiria.
The episode was shot entirely in widescreen and featured no imagery of classic Rome, choosing instead to show only ‘the architecture of Mussolini and post-Mussolini era.’
Argento helped Bourdain with this by showing him some of her favorite spots and having her sister cook for him.
She even took Bourdain to what he described as a ‘bats*** crazy boxing club where we ate pasta ringside as gladiators pounded one another and the crowd hooted and roared.’
Argento has two children, an 8-year-old son Nicola with her ex-husband Michele Civetta and a 16-year-old daughter Anna from her relationship with musician Marco Castoldi.
She shot to fame as a teenager due to her famous father and roles in a number of Italian movies, receiving the Italian equivalent of the Academy Award twice before the age of 20.
Argento then found fame in America with her role opposite Vin Diesel in XXX, and two years later was back with her English language directorial debut, having adapted J. T Leroy’s controversial novel ‘The Heart is Deceitful Above All Things.’
She has appeared in a number of films over the past decade, most notably Marie Antoinette, Boarding Gate, The Last Mistress and Mother of Tears.
In 2014 she premiered her film Misunderstood at the Cannes Film Festival, which she wrote and directed, telling the press that she was done with acting.
Bourdain was a fan of the film, which he called ‘remarkable and beautiful.’
After the two met, he posted a pic of Dario with his young daughter on Twitter, writing: ‘Happy Birthday to the master.’