Anthony Bourdain Asia Argento
Anthony Bourdain was dating actress Asia Argento. He was discovered dead at age 61 on June 8, 2018. Here, the pair are pictured at the 2018 Women In The World Summit in New York City on April 12, 2018. Angela Weiss/AFP/Getty Images

KEY POINTS

  • Asia Argento shared a photo of her wearing a T-shirt with the message, "Stop Busting My Balls"
  • The comment was reportedly also her last text message to Anthony Bourdain before he died in 2018, according to a new book
  • Argento said she had told the book's author he could not publish anything she said to her former lover

Asia Argento seemingly broke her silence on the bombshell new biography of her late ex Anthony Bourdain.

Argento, 47, posted on her Instagram Stories a picture of her wearing a T-shirt featuring professional bodybuilder Ronnie Coleman. The words "Stop Busting My Balls" were superimposed over the image.

The message was the same one she reportedly sent via text message to Bourdain the night before he died by suicide on June 8, 2018, at age 61 while in Kaysersberg, France, according to reporter Charles Leerhsen's new book, "Down and Out in Paradise: The Life of Anthony Bourdain."

The book, which reportedly contains the late celebrity chef's texts and online search history in his final days, claimed that in the days before he died, Bourdain, who began Argento in 2016, was hurt when he saw photos of her dancing with French reporter Hugo Clément in the lobby of Rome's Hotel de Russie, a hotel that the couple frequented together.

"I am okay," Bourdain texted Argento after he saw the photos, according to the book. "I am not spiteful. I am not jealous that you have been with another man. I do not own you. You are free. As I said. As I promised. As I truly meant. But you were careless. You were reckless with my heart. My life."

Argento responded, "I can't take this," and said she could no longer stay in the relationship due to his possessiveness, according to Leerhsen's biography.

"Is there anything I can do?" Bourdain reportedly messaged her back, to which she allegedly replied, "Stop busting my balls."

"OK," Bourdain replied.

The next day, Bourdain was found dead in his hotel room, where he was on location filming an episode of his series "Parts Unknown" with close friend and French chef Eric Ripert.

During Bourdain's final days filming his CNN series, he allegedly had a huge fight with the Italian actress while he was on set over her photos with Clément and had to leave filming "multiple times to talk to her on the phone," according to an excerpt of the book obtained by People Wednesday.

"Things escalated on Wednesday when by all accounts she told him she no longer wanted to be with him. Everyone was keeping an eye on him all day and night because he was incredibly distraught. More screaming phone calls through the day. By Thursday he seemed to be better and kind of wanted everyone to back off," Leerhsen wrote, according to the excerpt.

Argento did not respond to People's request for comment. However, she told The New York Times, "I wrote clearly to [Leerhsen] that he could not publish anything I said to him."

Argento spoke about her former lover's death three months after he passed away in 2018 and addressed the backlash and claims that she was to blame for his death.

"People say I murdered him. They say I killed him," she said through tears on DailyMailTV. "People need to think that he killed himself for something like this? He had cheated on me too. It wasn't a problem for us. He was a man who traveled 265 days a year. We took great pleasure in each other's company when we saw each other. But we are not children. We are grown-ups."

"Down and Out in Paradise: The Life of Anthony Bourdain" will hit shelves on Oct. 11.

If you have thoughts of suicide, confidential help is available for free at the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. Call 1-800-273-8255. The line is available 24 hours, every day.

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Here are Anthony Bourdain's top places to visit for your 4th of July Holiday. Photo by Paulo Fridman/Corbis via Getty Images