‘Cake Boss’s’ Buddy Valastro Breaks Down Over Late Mom, Admits He Still Cries Over Her Death

Cake Boss star Buddy Valastro is opening up about his late mother, Mary, and speaking out about the emotional way the TLC reality show recently paid tribute to his mom.

Buddy revealed in a candid new interview that he still finds it difficult to return to Carlo’s Bakery’s flagship bakery in Hoboken, New Jersey, following his mom’s death in June, because he has so many memories of his mom there.

“When I go to the Hoboken bakery I cry,” he told Radar Online of the world famous bakery, which has been heavily featured on the TLC series since the show first began in 2009.

He then recalled how he recently headed back to his former office in the bakery (Buddy now spends most of his time in Carlo’s Bakery’s warehouse in Lackawanna, New Jersey) and broke down in tears.

“A couple of weeks ago, I stopped in my old office above the bakery. I just cried,” Valastro said. “I can hear [my mom] zipping around the place in my head and telling me she’s the boss. She will always be my boss.”

Cake Boss fans were able to pay their own tributes to Mary, affectionately referred to as Mama Mary, during the second episode of Season 13, which began airing at the end of September.

The second episode of the new season was titled “Farewell to Momma Mary” and saw the Cake Boss cast reflect on the Carlo’s Bakery matriarch’s life.

When asked how he decided to address his mom’s death on the show, Buddy told the site that he “thought about the millions of fans who loved her and saw her battle throughout the years” and knew that he “had to do something” to allow fans to get some closure.

“We did a tasteful job. I really wanted my mom to be remembered like a lively ball of energy,” he continued of the emotional tribute episode. “I think it was a really good tribute to her. She deserves it.”

Valastro also opened up about how difficult it was for him to return to work following Mama Mary’s death. He confirmed that he took a couple of weeks away from his multiple bakeries in order to mourn his mom with his family, including his four sisters who appear on the series.

“I took a couple of weeks,” he said, revealing that he tried to go straight back to work but couldn’t. “I went down to the [Jersey] Shore and cleared my head with my family. It was tough.”

“She was my biggest fan, she was my mom, she was my hero,” he continued. “I would not be the man I am today without her. It is a loss.”

Buddy previously confirmed to People a few weeks after Mary’s death that he still hadn’t returned to the Hoboken store because of all the memories of his mom he has there.

“I haven’t been back to Hoboken since she died and I know that when I go there, I’ll definitely break down,” Valastro said in July of the bakery that fans have come to know and love through the show. “That place has got so much history and that was my mom’s spot, that was her store.”

He added that he knew he’d break down in tears as soon as he stepped foot in the world-famous bakery again.

Mary Valastro, 69, passed away on June 22 following a battle with ALS.

Buddy and his sisters, who have also appeared on Cake Boss since it debuted eight years ago, shared various photos from Mary’s funeral on Instagram in June and confirmed that they had closed all Carlo’s Bakery locations across the globe for the day in honor of their late mom.

Cake Boss Season 13 airs on TLC.

[Featured Image by John W. Ferguson/Getty Images>]