Asia Argento Says 'Life Is a Bitch and Then You Die' After Anthony Bourdain's Death from Suicide

Asia Argento is sending a morbid message to her fans following boyfriend Anthony Bourdain‘s suicide.

The Italian actress, 42, shared a black and white selfie on her Instagram story Monday captioned, “Life is a bitch and then you die.”

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The post comes shortly after she returned to work on Italy’s The X-Factor competition show, sharing a video of the audience cheering on set.

The Parts Unknown host had been dating Argento, who is also prominent in the #MeToo movement, for more than a year. They met during the filming of Bourdain’s CNN show in 2016 and began dating a year later. Argento collaborated with Bourdain on his show, and recently directed an upcoming episode set in Hong Kong.

In the image, Argento — who was spending time with friends in Berlin — could be seen holding a piece of paper with the words “I’m a f— mess inside” crossed out and replaced with the following message: “I’m fine.”

Image zoom Asia Argento Asia Argento/Instagram

Image zoom Asia Argento Asia Argento/Instagram

Following the news of Bourdain’s death, Argento released a statement on social media.

“Anthony gave all of himself in everything that he did,” she wrote on Twitter. “His brilliant, fearless spirit touched and inspired so many, and his generosity knew no bounds. He was my love, my rock, my protector. I am beyond devastated.”

Image zoom Anthony Bourdain and Asia Argento Asia Argento/Instagram

A friend of the actor, who had spent time with Bourdain recently, recently told PEOPLE the chef “was madly in love with Asia” before his death by suicide earlier this month.

“Like a teenage boy just absolutely lovestruck,” the insider said of Bourdain’s feelings for Argento. “He would have done anything for her, and that was a little red flag for some of his friends.”

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The source explained Bourdain’s love was all-encompassing, saying, “Like, he was crazy in love with her, crazy being the keyword.”

Image zoom Asia Argento and Anthony Bourdain Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic

“That being said, none in our circle of friends knew he was struggling in any life-or-death way. Honestly, I don’t think anyone knew. I don’t think Eric [Ripert] knew the depths of his pain,” continued the source. “The shock of Tony’s death is almost as profound as the pain.”

“Even his closest friends are still waiting for some mystery to be uncovered,” they added. “We knew his nerves were shattered a little; his marriage had fallen apart, he was way, way overworked and overdriven, but unstable… No one had a clue.”

Bourdain split from his estranged wife Ottavia Busia in 2016, but their divorce was not finalized before his sudden death.