Jerry O'Connell addresses Giuliana Rancic intercom breakup
Jerry O'Connell has finally addressed his blunt 2004 split from Giuliana Rancic, admitting on Kelly Ripa's podcast that he dumped her over an intercom and was a "terrible boyfriend." More than a decade after her memoir blasted him, the actor apologized and explained another woman was inside his condo when she buzzed in.
Key Takeaways
- O'Connell confirmed he ended his relationship with Giuliana Rancic over an intercom in 2004.
- On Kelly Ripa's Let's Talk Off Camera, he apologized for being a "terrible boyfriend."
- He said another woman was in his condo when Rancic arrived unannounced at the gate.
- He does not recall the exact "homegirl" line from her Going Off Script memoir but did not deny it.
What did Jerry O'Connell say about the Giuliana Rancic breakup?
Speaking on the July 19 episode of Kelly Ripa's SiriusXM podcast Let's Talk Off Camera, O'Connell, 52, revisited the long-rumored split. He said he broke up with the former E! News host through an intercom after she came to his condominium unexpectedly.
"I broke up with her through an intercom because Giuliana Rancic came to my condominium," he recalled, according to Page Six. "I was not expecting Giuliana Rancic to come to said condominium."
His remembered wording was far less colorful than the version in her book: "I did not know you were coming. You can't come up here. You can't come here unannounced." He added that he "didn't want any confrontation."
Why did he dump Giuliana Rancic over an intercom?
O'Connell gave a blunt reason for keeping her outside. Another woman was already inside his condo, and he said he paid a "pretty hefty" homeowners' fee for the buzzer, gate, security, and cameras.
"[Another woman] was inside my condominium. … Giuliana Rancic wanted entry into my condominium," he explained. He noted the relationship "was [already] in trouble" and pointed out she did not have a key, underscoring that the pairing was not that serious by then.
He also conceded he should have been "clearer about how in trouble our relationship was." Ripa guessed the mystery visitor might have been Spice Girls star Geri Halliwell or O'Connell's now-wife, Rebecca Romijn; he did not name the woman.
How did Giuliana Rancic describe the breakup in her memoir?
In her 2015 tell-all Going Off Script, Rancic wrote that O'Connell told her over the intercom, "Nope, sorry, homegirl. Things change, but you take care, OK?" She later compared his emotional tone to "the customer service representative who tells you your bags missed the flight."
O'Connell did not fully endorse that dialogue. "I can't deny that I said that," he said. "It doesn't sound like something I would say, but again, if I was writing a memoir, it made for a good quote." He "applaud[ed]" her for "using colorful dialogue."
"Let me take this moment to apologize to Giuliana Rancic for being a terrible boyfriend," he said. "I was just a bad boyfriend." Rancic's representative did not respond to Page Six's request for comment. For more star updates, browse our celebrity breaking news hub.