People Magazine is squeezing as many stories out of their exclusive interview with Giuliana Rancic as possible. I can’t blame them, she’s a controversial figure who gets a lot of interest. So far they’re published no less than four stories on Giuliana, by my count, in the past week. Two of those posts were justifications for her tiny frame, with Giuliana blaming her low weight on a common cancer treatment drug in one story (some of you assumed it was Tamoxifen, although that hasn’t been confirmed) and then claiming, in a roundabout way, that childhood scoliosis contributed to her appearance. In that story, Giuliana said that recent criticism of her weight was “very hurtful to me” and that “even if I gained 20 pounds, my bones would still look the way they do.” It sounded like a lot of justification with some denial mixed in, but I don’t know her and she’s a cancer survivor. It’s possible there’s something going on with her health that even she doesn’t know about.
In a new interview with Giuliana, she reveals that she’s moving to Chicago for the foreseeable future.
The beleaguered Rancic is ready for a fresh start, in a new zip code. In August, the E! News host, her husband Bill and their 2-year-old son Duke will move full-time from Los Angeles to Chicago.
“Up until now, Duke’s been on our schedule,” Rancic says. “But he starts school at the end of summer and we want him to have a connection with schoolmates and not be going from city to city.”
And a bonus: The Rancics, who have lived part-time in Chicago (Bill’s hometown) and commuted back and forth for work and their E! reality show, Giuliana and Bill, just finished construction on their dream home. “Bill and I both grew up in the suburbs,” Rancic says. “We love that sense of community. And I have loved Chicago ever since we started dating nine years ago.”
And thankfully for Rancic, her job in front of the camera won’t be affected. “I won’t be in LA on set as much,” she explains. “But there’s a lot of work in New York and Chicago too. I don’t have to pick one or the other.”
Summertime in the city might be the perfect antidote to recent dark times. “I’m really looking forward to the move,” says Rancic. “I’m excited!”
Does this mean that E! News is gradually letting Giuliana go or phasing back her role? If so, was this Giuliana’s choice? (I would doubt it.) I haven’t watched the show regularly, but whenever I’ve tuned in she’s been there. If she’s moving to Chicago at the end of the summer I would assume that she’s leaving E! News as a nightly reporter. Maybe she’ll still do weekend and/or special event coverage. We’ll have to see how they address it.
Meanwhile Fashion Police isn’t coming back until September, and that’s filmed so infrequently that Giuliana can fly out to do the segment and then fly back to Chicago. In another recent article on People, Giuliana explained that the joke she made about Zendaya’s dreadlocks (and apologized for twice) was “edited” and “taken out of context.” The article reiterates Kathy Griffin’s point that Giuliana didn’t write the joke. Giuliana adds that “On set, I made peace signs and I said boho twice… if I thought this joke could be interpreted another way, I never would have done it.” Giuliana also said that she received death threats on social media afterwards, which is despicable but sadly typical. (Twitter needs to take more responsibility and mete out swifter punishments for users who threaten and troll.)
It’s probably for the best that Giuliana is moving, both for her health and peace of mind. Chicago is such a great city and the people are really nice. I wouldn’t mind living there. I hope she’ll be happy but I get the sense she really loves LA and the spotlight.
Giuliana and Bill own a high end restaurant in Chicago called RPM Steak. Here’s a photo she recently posted with Bill and her parents. They spent Easter in Chicago.
photo credit: Getty Images and Instagram
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