CNN anchor Kate Bolduan became evidently emotional during a broadcast of her news program while discussing the death of her colleague Anthony Bourdain.
During a segment of At This Hour Friday morning, Bolduan fought back tears while talking about the Parts Unknown host’s apparent suicide to his friends, food writer Michael Ruhlman and Chef Marc Murphy.
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“He would talk about his young daughter. We both have young kids. I mean — today I …” Bolduan said while holding back tears. “How do you wrap your heart and your mind around that?”
Sitting stunned and understanding of Bolduan’s emotional response, Murphy was at a loss for words.
“It’s one of those things you have to look at it as — somebody explained it to me a long time ago [that] somebody had a problem, they have an organ that didn’t work; somebody has a heart attack, they die; somebody that has an illness like this, your mind is… there’s something wrong and you take your life.”
Murphy went on to share between pauses that “it’s not something I think anybody can understand.”
“It’s something we all need to understand more and all we can do is praise Anthony for what he brought to us and what he showed us, and the inspiration that can live on,” he added.
Bolduan added how fortunate she was to have him on set plenty of times with her.
“I’d always shout at him as he was walking out, ‘In the next life, I’m coming back as Anthony Bourdain,’” she said.
At the end of the segment, Bolduan summed up Bourdain’s career by sharing how much of a believer of life he was.
“If Anthony was an advocate for anything, he once said, it is to move as far as you can, as much as you can across the ocean or simply across the river,” she said. “Walk in someone else’s shoes or at least eat their food. It is a plus for everybody.”
Bourdain, who made a name for himself as a chef on Travel Channel and food writer, joined CNN in 2013 as host of the culturally beloved and signature travel show, Parts Unknown.
He was found dead Friday morning in a hotel room in France, where he was filming an episode of his series. CNN reported that the cause of death was suicide.
If you or someone you know needs help, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
