Giuliana Rancic has responded after Jerry O’Connell publicly revisited their difficult breakup more than two decades later, suggesting that her former boyfriend’s memory is not as clear as he believes.
The former E! News host addressed O’Connell’s comments in an Instagram video posted July 23. Rancic said she learned about the interview while on vacation after messages began filling her inbox.
“Apparently my ex-boyfriend has been talking about our breakup publicly after 22 years,” she said, before taking a sip of her drink. “Imagine that. And it seems that his memory is just a little fuzzy.”
Rancic Teased a 40-Minute Podcast Response
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Rancic said she could offer two sentences about the renewed attention and simply wish O’Connell well. She then joked that she had chosen a more detailed option. “I think I’m just going to take a deep dive and make it a 40-minute podcast,” she said, according to Page Six.
She also extended an invitation directly to her former boyfriend: “Jerry, you are so invited. We’d love to have you.” Rancic did not say when the proposed episode would be released or whether she had already begun recording it.
O’Connell Apologized for Being a ‘Terrible Boyfriend’
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O’Connell discussed the relationship during the July 19 episode of SiriusXM’s Let’s Talk Off Camera with Kelly Ripa. The actor said he and Rancic had “a lot of fun together” but acknowledged that they “broke up poorly.” He then offered her a public apology.
“Let me take this moment to apologize to Giuliana Rancic,” he said. “I’m not kidding about being a terrible boyfriend. I was the worst. I wasn’t the worst boyfriend. I was just a bad boyfriend.”
O’Connell confirmed that the relationship ended through the intercom at his condominium building. He said Rancic arrived without warning while another person was inside and that he refused to allow her upstairs because he wanted to avoid a confrontation.
They Remember the Intercom Exchange Differently
Rancic first described the breakup in her 2015 memoir, Going Off Script. She wrote that O’Connell dismissed her over the building intercom by saying, “Nope. Sorry, homegirl. Things change, but you take care, okay?”
When Kelly Ripa read that passage during the podcast, O’Connell said he could not remember his precise wording. “I don’t recall exact wording, so I can’t deny that I said that,” he responded. “It doesn’t sound like something I would say, but, again, if I was writing a memoir, it made for a good quote.”
O’Connell then applauded Rancic for using “colorful dialogue,” while Rancic’s later video indicated that she believes additional parts of his recollection may also need correcting. The former couple dated from 2003 to 2004. Rancic married Bill Rancic in 2007, the same year O’Connell married Rebecca Romijn.