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Celebrity chef Giada De Laurentiis may be learning how to cha cha on Dancing with the Stars – but her TV producer boyfriend is apparently trying to choreograph everything else.
The 56-year-old's longtime beau, Shane Farley, has been stepping on toes backstage this season by wielding his decades of experience as a bigwig producer and showrunner to try and call the shots, sources told the Daily Mail.
Farley, an Emmy Award-winning producer himself, is known for being intense behind the scenes so it's no surprise he is ruffling feathers on set, according to insiders who have worked alongside him before.
'Shane is a total control freak,' a source said.
'He thinks he knows television better than everyone else in the room... Everything has to go through Shane.'
No stranger to the Hollywood scene, Farley has spent much of his career producing successful shows, including The Rosie O'Donnell Show, Steve Harvey and The Voice.
Giada De Laurentiis' longtime boyfriend Shane Farley, an Emmy Award-winning TV producer, has been stepping on toes at Dancing with the Stars with his 'control freak' nature, sources say
De Laurentiis, a best-selling author and Food Network alum, is paired with dance partner Alan Bersten for the ABC reality show's 35th season
He started focusing on helping boost De Laurentiis' path to stardom after the pair started dating back in 2015.
But since then, insiders say the line between boyfriend and professional gatekeeper have virtually disappeared.
'He's her boyfriend, manager, agent, bodyguard and publicist all rolled into one,' the source said.
'He behaves like Giada is Taylor Swift with a frying pan. Everything is treated like an enormous event requiring layers of protection and control.'
Sources say Farley's fierce protectiveness is down solely to his love of his girlfriend - but that intensity has made life difficult for people simply trying to do their jobs.
'Shane gave up a lucrative producing career and completely rearranged his life for Giada,' another insider said.
De Laurentiis and Farley have been an item since 2015. Since the TV producer started focusing on helping his girlfriend's career, insiders say the line between boyfriend and professional gatekeeper have virtually disappeared
Farley was front and center with De Laurentiis' daughter and other loved ones for the Dancing with the Stars premiere earlier this week
The food star, who is going up against the likes of Julia Stiles, Tyler Cameron and Jenna Dewan, danced with a broken toe during the debut performance
'This is personal for him. Her success is his success, which means he gets involved in absolutely everything.'
That mentality has only become more apparent behind the scenes at Dancing with the Stars, insiders claim.
'Nobody is questioning how much he loves her,' one source said.
'The problem is Shane still thinks like an executive producer… Except he's not the executive producer of Dancing with the Stars.'
De Laurentiis, a best-selling author and Food Network alum, first met Farley back in 2013 when he was brought in to help workshop a talk show idea for her.
The show, which planned to also involve fellow Food Network star Bobby Flay, ultimately never eventuated.
At the time, De Laurentiis was still married to her then-husband, Todd Thompson, with whom she shares her now-18-year-old daughter, Jade De Laurentiis Thompson. They finalized their divorce in 2014.
Farley, for his part, split from his personal trainer wife, Jennifer Giamo, in 2015 after 15 years of marriage. They never had children together.
De Laurentiis, pictured with Farley and her 18-year-old daughter Jade from her prior relationship, met her now beau back in 2013 when they started workshopping a potential TV show. The show never came to fruition
De Laurentiis and Farley, who are both divorced, have been together for more than a decade
'Nobody is questioning how much he loves her,' one source said
'After I divorced, I spent about a year and a half alone, not dating, just figuring things out,' De Laurentiis told People in a 2018 interview.
'I had been with Jade's dad for 25 years. I didn't know what it meant not to be married. Once I got settled, Shane and I reconnected, and I felt like a kid again.'
In the same interview, Farley added: 'We would bump into each other, we would grab a drink… We were just friends and then eventually we started dating.'
'Giada is one of the most positive people I have ever met,' he gushed at the time. 'She's warm and absolutely beautiful - what you see on the outside is there on the inside as well.'
Farley was front and center with De Laurentiis' daughter and other loved ones for the Dancing with the Stars premiere earlier this week.
De Laurentiis is paired with dance partner Alan Bersten for the ABC reality show's 35th season.
The food star, who is going up against the likes of actresses Julia Stiles, Jenna Dewan and former Bachelorette contestant Tyler Cameron, revealed just before her on-screen dancing debut that she had broken her toe during rehearsals.
Still, the pair went on to dance a tango during the season's premiere, receiving a score of 16 out of 30 from the judges.
The Daily Mail reached out to Farley and DWTS for comment.
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