Giada De Laurentiis 'Took Things Very Seriously' with Her Ex-Husband and Now She's 'Letting That Go' (Exclusive)

Giada De Laurentiis says the key to her romance with longtime boyfriend Shane Farley is “a lot of laughter.”

The celebrity chef, who began dating Farley in 2015, revealed what makes their relationship work during an interview with PEOPLE to debut her upcoming cookbook, Super-Italian. “He has a lot of patience,” she says. “I think patience and laughter, and we try not to take things so seriously.”

De Laurentiis then reflected on how her relationship outlook has changed over the years. The chef split from ex-husband Todd Thompson in 2014 after 11 years of marriage. They share daughter, Jade, 16.

“When I was married, I took things very seriously and I think I've learned it's not always about me,” she admits. “You know? Letting that go. Yeah. Aging is very humbling, I'll just say that. And I feel very lucky to be in a relationship. I have a lot of friends at my age who struggle with it. So I feel very lucky."

Farley doesn't shy away from sharing his feelings for De Laurentiis. “Giada is one of the most positive people I have ever met," he told PEOPLE in 2018. “She's warm and absolutely beautiful — what you see on the outside is there on the inside as well."

De Laurentiis and her ex-husband happily co-parent Jade, and often come together to support their daughter at her performing arts endeavors — like at her theater camp show in July. (Farley was there too!)

De Laurentiis is also enjoying a new chapter professionally. She left the Food Network after 21 years last year to focus on her lifestyle brand, Giadzy.

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“I feel like I've gone to business school without really ever attending school,” she tells PEOPLE. “It has blown my mind, honestly, how much I didn't know that I didn't know. It's helped me be okay with not knowing the answer and leaning on others to teach me, and to be open and the excitement of learning at my age.”

“I realized there's so much in the unknown and actually enjoying not knowing and learning in a way that I don't think I had done for the last 10 years before that," she adds. "I think that's something that gets lost as we get older. So it's renewed my energy in learning. I think it's grounded me a lot and humbled me.”