Food Network Star Recalls Anne Burrell ‘Going Through Some Stuff’ Years Prior to Her Death

There was more to Worst Cooks in America host Anne Burrell than met the eye.

In a touching tribute posted by fellow Food Network star Duff Goldman, the Ace of Cakes alum, 50, opened up about becoming friends with Burrell in the mid-2000s — hinting that she’d been privately struggling at the time.

“Anne and I became friends in probably 2006,” Goldman wrote in a June 19 Instagram post. “She was going through some stuff and I had heard that she was feeling it, so on a trip to NYC from Baltimore I had made her a cake that said ‘Don’t let the bastards win.’ She never did.”

“We had a complex relationship, and I remember the last conversation we had before our paths drifted was a pretty feisty debate about the merits of catfish. I believe the words ‘trash fish,’ ‘tastes like mud,’ and ‘cake boy’ were used,” he recalled.

“Anne and I always had a spirited and somewhat acerbic back and forth,” Goldman continued. “I really never knew why our paths drifted but I always hoped that wherever she was, Anne was doing well and was finding some happiness.”

About two years ago, Goldman attended a gala in New York City — where he unexpectedly saw Burrell. “Now, at this point we hadn’t spoken in years, and I won’t go into what we talked about but I will say that that conversation left my heart lifted and full of light, for it truly seemed to me that Anne really had found a measure of happiness and love,” shared Duff. “Life is tough, and we have to be tough to get through it.”

“Anne was as tough as they come,” he added, “but when you got past the armor there was a depth of compassion and kindness that was absolutely beautiful. My heart sings when I think of the love and tranquility that it seems Anne had found recently.”

Burrell, 55, passed away unexpectedly on Tuesday, June 17. Her cause of death has yet to be confirmed, however a rep for the New York City Fire Department told Page Six that the person who called 911 said Burrell went into “cardiac arrest” and was “DOA [dead on arrival].”

It was reported on July 19 by the New York Post that the beloved TV personality was “found next to dozens of pills.”

According to the outlet, Burrell’s husband, Stuart Claxton, discovered her “unresponsive” in the shower of her Brooklyn, New York home. (Star has reached out to Claxton and a rep for Burrell for comment.)