Fans Left Stunned as Duff Goldman Breaks His Silence on His ‘Complex Relationship’ With Anne Burrell—Heartfelt Confessions, Hidden Tensions, and Unbelievable Moments Revealed in Emotional Tribute. The Truth Behind Their Bond Will Shock You

Duff Goldman is among the Food Network stars paying tribute to Anne Burrell after her death.

Burrell, who hosted “Worst Cooks in America” on the cooking channel, died June 17 at her home in Brooklyn. She was 55.

On June 19, Goldman shared a photo on Instagram posing with Burrell, using the caption to share an emotional message about their “complex” friendship over the years

“I’ve written and re-written this post so many times in the past 24 hours and I just don’t know what to say,” Goldman began his touching caption. “Anne and I became friends in probably 2006. 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.”

The “Ace of Cakes” star said that he and Burrell “had a complex relationship,” adding, “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, haha.”

“Anne and I always had a spirited and somewhat acerbic back and forth,” Goldman continued, recalling his conversations with Burrell. “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.”

Goldman recalled that after his friendship with Burrell had drifted, he attended a gala in New York City with his wife and daughter. While he was entertaining his daughter in the lobby, he spotted Burrell, noting “at this point we hadn’t spoken in years.”

He added that he wouldn’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.”

“Life is tough, and we have to be tough to get through it,” he wrote. “Anne was as tough as they come, 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, and her genuine smile for my daughter and me in that lobby are what makes this tragedy just a little more bearable.”

Goldman concluded his caption on a sentimental note addressed to Burrell, adding, “Anne, wherever you are I hope they have slow moving rivers because when I get there, we’ll get a couple of rods, a pint of chicken livers, and a sixer and I’ll teach you how to catch and cook the best catfish you ever had. Rest up, chef.”

A representative for Burrell confirmed her death in a statement shared with TODAY.com June 17, remembering her as “an industry veteran and passionate teacher who prided herself on her work in the culinary world.”

The Fire Department of New York said emergency personnel responded to report of a cardiac arrest at her Brooklyn home, though an official cause of death has not been shared.

Tributes poured in on social media in the wake of her death, including touching sentiments from fans who learned valuable cooking lessons from Burrell, as well as fellow Food Network stars and celebrity chefs, including Guy Fieri, Robert Irvine, Tyler Florence, Carla Hall and more.

Bobby Flay penned a touching message about Burrell, writing that the “greatest gift I got from AB was turning me on to a world of Maine Coon Cats…a gift that I’ll have forever.”

Rachael Ray, who co-hosted several seasons of “Worst Cooks in America” alongside Burrell, also shared an emotional tribute on social media, writing that she and her husband were “heartbroken” by the news.

“Anne had great taste in music and in life — she was a force in the kitchen, in any room, in every life she touched,” Ray wrote in part in her post. “I’ll miss her friendship deeply. Everyone whose life she touched will miss her. “