Giada De Laurentiis has suffered a foot injury just days before her scheduled debut on ABC's "Dancing with the Stars." The 56-year-old celebrity chef shared the news on Instagram on Sunday, explaining that she hurt her toe while practicing for the upcoming 35th season of the competition.
De Laurentiis posted a video clip showing her bruised middle toe, describing it as "quite purple" and wrapped all the way around. "I had a great day at rehearsals today - but sadly, I busted my toe," she said in the video. While she anticipates losing her toenail, De Laurentiis indicated the injury would not prevent her from participating in the show. "I don't know, it hurts, but we'll figure it out tomorrow - part of the game," she added.
She captioned her post with the adage, "You know what they say… no pain, no gain," accompanied by a stiletto heel and mirrorball emoji.
In a prior conversation with People earlier in September, De Laurentiis had spoken about the physical demands of training for the show, noting she had discovered "muscles [she] didn't know [she] had." She described experiencing initial soreness, to the point where a security guard offered her assistance down the stairs after her first rehearsal. "I didn't realize how much pain I'm in," she recalled.
De Laurentiis, who is partnered with Alan Bersten for the season, also noted the mental exertion involved in learning routines. She mentioned that friends who have previously competed on "Dancing with the Stars" had warned her about the physical toll the show takes. "It is an unbelievable experience, but it's a lot on your body, so be prepared," she was advised. "What I didn't realize beside the body is the mind, like how tired mentally I would be from learning something so foreign that, literally, I would go home and just want to veg out," she said. She described the experience as "kind of crazy" and outside her usual energetic nature, stating it left her brain feeling like "mush."