In the article, close friend Doug Quint, recalls the heartbreaking reaction of Bourdain's daughter, 11-year-old Ariane Bourdain, upon learning of her father's death.
"That day, Ariane said to me something like, 'Is this something that people outside of New York are gonna know about?'
"And we were like, 'Yeah. All around the world, people are sad about this.' Telling her that made me realise, Jesus, God, this is world news. He changed lives around the world."
Ariane is the TV personality's daughter from his relationship with estranged wife Ottavia Busia.
Quint, the co-owner of New York-based institution Big Gay Ice Cream, also spoke of his own shock and heartbreak upon hearing the news.
"I heard my phone going off in the middle of the night, and it was a text from Ottavia saying, 'He's killed himself, and I wanted you to know before the news came out.'
"I (drove) to O'Hare and went to their house. The whole morning, I was sitting head down, making sure I didn't look at the TV. It's just so f***in' lousy. It feels like you're speeding into a black hole."
Also among those to pay tribute in the GQ piece were close friend and French chef Eric Ripert, who found Bourdain unresponsive in his hotel room, and brother Chris Bourdain.
"The death certificate that was printed in France listed as his profession 'chef'. And I tried for months to figure out, what is the appropriate way to describe what Tony has been doing for the last seven or eight years?" Chris Bourdain said of his late brother.
"There's no description for it."
In his will, which was revealed in July, Bourdain left the majority of his money to Ariane. Busia was named the executor of his estate.
Though he and Busia, a MMA (mixed martial arts) fighter, had separated in 2016 after nine years of marriage, they had never formally divorced.
"My wife and I live, have lived, very separate lives for years," he told People at the time of their split. "There's no drama here. We get along really, really well and it's not a big lifestyle change happening here."
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