Rachael Ray Admits to ‘Sad Things Happening’ & Needing Space From Her Husband
Rachael Ray has spoken out about her emotional state as fan concern about the celebrity chef lingers following a video last month when she appeared to slur her words.
On Tuesday, October 29, Ray released the second installment of her new intimate podcast I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead. The longtime Food Network favorite had Billy Crudup of The Morning Show as the guest. During last week’s launch episode, Ray admitted to having “a couple bad falls,” marking her first public comments about her physical health after the initial video.
Rachael Ray/Podcast
In the new installment, Crudup divulged his passion for several axed projects, including the Apple TV+ series Hello Tomorrow!, which was canceled after one season. Ray related to the notion of things not going as expected.
“That’s the beauty of life,” she said. “You have to learn, and I think this is a big talking point for living a long life and having a long life and having a career is you have to learn to understand when things are sad. And what everything means ultimately to your choices.”
“Not everything that feels bad is bad,” she continued. “Sometimes things that happen to you that from the outside look sad, they also help you propel forward and understand other people.”
Ray did not specify what experience made her “feel bad,” or the incident that looked “sad” from the outside and whether they related to any health or other personal issues.
The TV personality also shared she and her husband John Cusimano like to spend time apart: “I am wildly, wildly lucky that I have my husband. But he understands I need my space. He needs his space. John and I largely stay in separate corners.”
In early September, Ray shared a video from her FYI series Rachael Ray in Tuscany where she appeared to be slurring her speech, some fans went as far as to say she looked “puffy.” It led many on social media to speculate that something might be wrong with a number of unsubstantiated theories.
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According to TMZ, when the star’s rep was asked about the video, they were told, “No comment.”
Soon after, Ray took to Instagram to repost another clip from her FYI series where she shared her recipe for Rabbit Ragu. However, she didn’t address the fan concerns from her previous video, leading many fans to highly await the 56-year-old’s podcast.
During the first episode, she alluded to an incident that could have had to do with her physical state. Sharing her love of “physical labor,” she admitted that physical chores have been on pause in recent weeks because she had suffered a few falls.
“I like to help carry in the wood,” she explained. “I had a couple of bad falls in the last couple of weeks so I haven’t been doing that in a while.”
Last year, Ray said goodbye to her self-titled talk show after 17 seasons. She went on to co-found Free Food Studios, selling a 50% stake in the company to A&E Networks in January 2024.
Ray’s new weekly podcast is described as follows: “I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead (quite literally!) is about life’s journeys and what keeps us going,” Ray said in a statement. “It’s unscripted, raw, and real talk. Working fuels me, connecting with people fuels me, and this platform allows for connection and conversation on a more personal level, which really fuels me.”
Other guests in future weeks are Bob Harper, Anne Burrell, Harlan Coben, Jacques Pepin, Jeremy Sisto, and Billy Porter.
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