Giada De Laurentiis Reveals How She Learned How to Believe in Herself Following Her Divorce From Todd Thompson

"I don't have the answers; I'm figuring them out as I go," she says in DR. OZ The Good Life

Giada De Laurentiis has one less mouth to feed this holiday season.

In late 2014, she and Todd Thompson split after 11 years of marriage. The fashion designer filed for divorce from the Food Network star days later. "We had been together since I was 19; I'm now 45," De Laurentiis says in DR. OZ The Good Life's December issue. "That's a lifetime with someone. It was a very difficult time. I don't have the answers; I'm figuring them out as I go. I'm also afraid, like many other women who go through this, and men, too, for that matter."

The exes share custody of their 7-year-old daughter, Jade Thompson.

Life as a single working mom has been an eye-opener in a number of ways. "I never knew how to hook up a TV; I had alarms going off in the night that I never had to deal with because my ex- husband would handle all that stuff. I can do those things now," De Laurentiis confesses to the magazine. "If the water heater breaks, I can handle it. It's moments like those that wake you up and make you think, 'Oh, my gosh, I can take care of myself.' Every challenge is an opportunity to become stronger and believe in yourself more. That's what it's about: believing in yourself."

It's a lesson De Laurentiis wishes she had learned sooner. "I come from a large family of Italians who tend to be very boisterous and overpowering—especially the men. The women sort of shrink a little, and I shrank a lot," says the chef, who was born in Italy and raised in California. "So the way I felt empowered and really strong was in the kitchen."

As E! News exclusively revealed on Nov. 9, De Laurentiis is currently dating Shane Farley, the executive producer of The FabLife. Though she doesn't talk about her latest romance, she does admit that life as a divorcée is surprisingly not that bad. "The good life to me is lots of laughter. People always ask me: 'Why do you smile so much? And how do you keep smiling?' You know, I think laughing inside and outside is important," De Laurentiis explains. "And to me, 'happy cooking' is really important. So between cooking and laughing, I think my life is pretty great."

The December issue of DR. OZ The Good Life is on newsstands Nov. 24.