Giuliana Rancic says Jerry O’Connell’s recent account of their early-2000s breakup omitted one crucial detail. He was standing on a balcony while ending their relationship.
The former E! News anchor revisited the romance on the July 29 episode of Bill and Giuliana: The Podcast.
Her response followed O’Connell’s appearance on Let’s Talk Off Camera With Kelly Ripa, where he apologized for being a “terrible boyfriend” and confirmed that he refused to let Rancic into his condominium when she arrived at the building.
Rancic said the confrontation began through the intercom, but the breakup itself occurred after O’Connell stepped outside and spoke to her from above.
Rancic Says Their Relationship Was Not Casual
Rancic said they dated for approximately 18 months, spent most days and nights together and regularly appeared as a couple at red carpets, dinners and industry events. “We were together 24/7,” she said.
Rancic explained that she wanted to establish that context because O’Connell’s discussion with Ripa could leave listeners believing they had been seeing each other casually. She said their relationship was widely known among colleagues at E! News and throughout their social circle.
In the July 30 follow-up episode of her podcast, Rancic again described it as a serious relationship and objected to being portrayed as unreasonable for going to her boyfriend’s home after he had stopped communicating with her.
They Reconciled After His Relationship With Geri Halliwell
Rancic said the relationship initially broke down after O’Connell traveled to London to work with Spice Girls member Geri Halliwell. While working at E! News, Rancic learned that photographs had surfaced showing O’Connell and Halliwell leaving a restaurant while holding hands.
She recalled becoming overwhelmed after seeing the images and said O’Connell acknowledged that he had made a mistake when she confronted him. According to Rancic, O’Connell later appeared unexpectedly in the lobby of her apartment building and asked her to take him back.
She said he described what happened as the biggest mistake of his life and convinced her that it would not happen again. The couple reconciled and resumed attending public events together. Rancic said their final breakup occurred several months later after they attended a Maxim Hot 100 celebration in Las Vegas.
The Intercom Conversation Moved to the Balcony
Rancic said O’Connell began acting differently after the event and then returned to Las Vegas for what he described as a work commitment. She repeatedly tried to reach him but received no response for several days.
After she warned that she might contact police because she was concerned about his safety, O’Connell reportedly told her that he had returned to Los Angeles and was at his condominium. Rancic told him that she was coming over because she had not seen or heard from him in approximately five days. When she reached the building, she used the intercom as she normally did.
O’Connell did not unlock the door. Instead, she said, he eventually walked onto a second-floor balcony while she remained outside. “He broke up with me from a balcony,” Rancic said. She described him as dismissive during the conversation and remembered the experience as “devastating, heartbreaking, humiliating” and “traumatizing.”
O’Connell offered different context during his interview with Ripa. He said Rancic arrived without advance notice, did not have a key and wanted access to his home while another woman was inside. He said he refused entry because he wanted to avoid a confrontation.
Rancic said she had never suspected that another person was inside until O’Connell disclosed it during the podcast interview more than two decades later. O’Connell also said he could not remember the exact breakup language attributed to him in Rancic’s memoir, although he did not deny that he may have used it.
O’Connell Inadvertently Introduced Her to Bill Rancic
Bill Rancic recalled meeting O’Connell at an NBC Upfronts event in 2004 after winning the first season of The Apprentice. The two spoke for approximately 20 minutes before O’Connell joked that he was reluctant to introduce Bill to his girlfriend because the pair might run off together.
Giuliana then joined the conversation, marking the first time she and Bill met. They crossed paths again after her relationship with O’Connell ended, when she interviewed Bill at a Boys & Girls Club event in Santa Monica. Giuliana and Bill began dating in 2004 and married in 2007. O’Connell married Rebecca Romijn that same year.
Rancic said O’Connell remained welcome to appear on her podcast and share a different version of the events. She also emphasized that her response came from goodwill rather than lingering romantic feelings. “We are both exactly where we’re meant to be,” she said.