Anthony Bourdain’s Shocked Mother Speaks Out After Son's Apparent Suicide: 'He Had Everything'
Anthony Bourdain’s mother is in complete shock over her son’s apparent suicide at age 61.
Speaking with the New York Times, hours after news of his death, Gladys Bourdain said she had no indication that her child might have been thinking of suicide.
“He is absolutely the last person in the world I would have ever dreamed would do something like this,” she told the publication, for which she was a longtime editor.
On Friday, longtime friend and renowned chef Eric Ripert found the Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown host unresponsive in his hotel room in France.
Gladys spoke to Ripert following her son’s sudden death and Ripert told her “Tony had been in a dark mood these past couple of days.”
Gladys also shared she had “no idea why” her son might have decided to kill himself.
“He had everything. Success beyond his wildest dreams. Money beyond his wildest dreams,” she told the Times.
Ripert was in France with Anthony to film an upcoming episode of the award-winning show Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown.
“Anthony was a dear friend,” Ripert said in a statement to PEOPLE. “He was an exceptional human being, so inspiring and generous. One of the great storytellers of our time who connected with so many. I wish him peace. My love and prayers are with his family, friends and loved ones.”
The last photo Anthony shared of his mother was one from his childhood which also featured his brother Christopher.
“In retrospect, I blame this matching shorts and knee socks incident for the decades of bad decision making that followed. #ChildhoodTrauma,” he captioned the black and white portrait of the family of three on Instagram in December 2016.
A police spokesperson in Strasbourg, France, confirmed Bourdain’s death to PEOPLE, but would not confirm the cause of death. The manner of death has been classified as a suicide.
Additionally, Colmar, France, public prosecutor Christian de Rocquigny du Fayel told PEOPLE that Bourdain died by hanging at a luxury hotel in Kaysersberg called Le Chambard, and said, “at this stage, nothing suggests the intervention of a third party.”
In a statement provided to PEOPLE, the U.S. Embassy in Paris said, “We can confirm the death of Anthony Bourdain in the Haut-Rhin department of France. We extend our sincere condolences to friends and family. We stand ready to provide appropriate consular service. Out of respect for the family at this difficult time we have no further comment.”
If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255), text “help” to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 or go to suicidepreventionlifeline.org.