The Tragic True-Life Story Of Rachael Ray

Rachael Ray has been giving TV viewers yum-o moments for more than 20 years. She first became a household name on the Food Network in 2002 by helping families serve up quick, healthy meals on "30 Minutes Meals." Her popular travel show "$40 a Day" premiered around the same time. In 2006, the "Rachael Ray Show" took over daytime TV, giving her the chance to talk lifestyle topics with celebrities and experts all while still making time to highlight her signature recipes. She even did a crossover with "American Pickers" that some may have forgotten about. The show ended in 2023, but Ray continues to bring fans fresh content, including the TV series "Rachael Ray in Tuscany," and her podcast "I'll Sleep When I'm Dead," which focuses on the journey of life and the motivation to keep going, according to the show's description.

Life's journey has been filled with plenty of ups and downs for the celebrity chef, from a devastating house fire to the flooding of her apartment, to fans speculating and sharing concern over an Instagram post. No matter the challenge or rumor, Ray continues to push forward and share the signature pizazz that always has fans coming back for a second helping. Here's a look at some of the tough moments that Ray has faced over the years.

While slicing and dicing are a big part of a chef's job, so is speaking, and that hasn't always been easy for Rachael Ray. Her raspy voice has become a signature part of her on-air persona, and she's faced several challenges with her vocal cords over the years. She told People in 2006 that she doesn't have the strongest vocal cords due to having a lot of croup as a child, an infection that narrows the upper airway and can result in trouble with breathing, among other symptoms. Ray told People, "I lose my voice a lot ... I went to a voice doctor [who] taught me exercises for my throat and to cut back a little on the caffeine."

Her vocal cords made headlines in 2008, when Ray denied a report from the National Enquirer that claimed she was having surgery over concerns of possible throat cancer. According to People, her spokesman Charlie Dougiello said, "Rachael is the picture of health. She is having a minor surgery to remove a benign cyst on her vocal cord." He added that it was a common procedure that would not impact the "Rachael Ray Show" or her other projects on Food Network. That minor surgery happened in July 2009. This was after Dougiello said that surgery was delayed when doctors suggested that they could possibly reduce the size of cyst with vocal coaching and therapy.

Rachael Ray faced some scary moments when she first moved to the Big Apple. She told People that she was mugged twice by the same person in 1997, noting that the first incident happened in the foyer of her apartment in Queens. "This kid comes in behind me — next thing I know he shoves my face up against the door, jams a gun into my back and says, 'Give me your bag.' I flipped the top off the mace my dad had given me when I moved to New York City, spun around and started screaming."

She explained to the New York Post that a teenage boy had mugged her. He returned a few days later, leading to an incident that was stopped by Liza, the building superintendent's dog who Ray fed while she was tied up in the laundry room. "The kid came back to mug me a second time because he was pissed. He pushed me down this little alleyway, and Liza runs down the hall at him and she scared him away. He was petrified of the dog," she said.

Ray told People that she moved back to Upstate New York within a week after the incidents. "It freaked me out for a year," she said. She has since resided in the city, with the New York Post conducting a Zoom interview with her as she sat in her East Village apartment in 2024. The "Rachael Ray Show" was also taped in Manhattan.

Dunkin' is no stranger to using celebrities to help prove why American runs on Dunkin', but they're also no stranger to controversy. This includes turning a tragedy into a joke during Ben Affleck & J.Lo's 2024 Super Bowl commercial – one that Rachael Ray faced her own criticism for after partnering with the brand. She was announced as the company's brand representative in 2007. However, her online advertisement was pulled soon after its premiere following complaints over her black-and-white fringed scarf. According to the Los Angeles Times, critics claimed that the pattern was too close to that of the black-and-white checkered pattern of the keffiyeh, an Arab headdress. While the keffiyeh also comes in red and white, it's the black-and-white version that has become a political symbol, with critics saying that Ray's scarf could be interpreted as a sign of Muslim extremism because of the chosen colors. "Absolutely no symbolism was intended," Dunkin' said in a statement, adding that the scarf was actually covered in a paisley design and was chosen by a stylist for the advertisement.

Criticism also came from late chef Anthony Bourdain, who had concerns with the health factor. He told Outside, "She's hugely influential, particularly with children ... It's like endorsing crack for kids!" In an ABC News report, Ray responded, "I absolutely love Tony Bourdain. I have an enormous amount of respect for him. It's a free country." Ray said it may not have been the best PR, but noted Dunkin' has taken strides to enhance its food's nutritional value, adding that they've also supported her children's charity, Yum-o. "I don't regret a thing," she said.

Rachael Ray is the author of several cookbooks, and she was just one of several cookbook authors who came under fire following a 2012 article in The New York Times titled "I Was a Cookbook Ghostwriter," written by Julia Moskin. Amongst her interviewees was chef Wes Martin, who has had a hand in working on recipes for Ray. "It's like an out-of-body experience. I know who I am as a chef, and I know who Rachael is, and those are two totally separate parts of my brain," he said. Moskin noted that the idea of writers and recipe developers working together is not a new concept.

Ray then spoke to The New York Times' public editor Arthur S. Brisbane, who published her comments in a piece for The Public Editor's Journal. "I wrote all my books. I have them in handwritten and digital form. You tell me what part of that makes me not a writer," she said. The original article was then addressed on Ray's talk show during a conversation with Gwyneth Paltrow, who was also named in the article (via Today). Ray said during the segment, "This is how I spend a lot of my time at home, the little bit of time I have with my family, I spend in front of these little notebooks in front of the computer." Moskin's follow-up to her article did say that Ray and others had acknowledged that they've worked with collaborators. During her talk show, Ray said that other people work on small portions of the books, like the glossaries. 

A tragedy led to a family feud for Rachael Ray in November 2013. According to the New York Post, authorities said that Ray's aunt, 77-year-old Geraldine Dominica Scuderi, was house sitting for Ray's mother, Elsa Scuderi, in Upstate New York when she died after accidentally locking herself out of the house on a day where the temperature was expected to only reach 28 degrees. Officials said home-security footage showed Geraldine fighting to get back inside by trying to break a window. She was found the next morning, and her cause of death was listed as a heart attack. The New York Post noted that heart ailments were a part of her medical history.

Geraldine's daughter and Ray's cousin, Gina Mesnick, told the National Enquirer that she blames Ray and her mother for Geraldine's death. "My mother is dead today because [the] Ray family neglected her," she claimed. "Mom was paid $300 to house-sit for her sister five days a week– but was never given a key. Instead, for some inexplicable reason, a key was only given to someone else who watched the place the other two days. When that person's shift was over, they would let my mom begin hers."

A spokesperson for Ray told the New York Post, "Rachael and her family were shocked and deeply saddened by the tragic and untimely passing of her aunt in late November." Neither Ray nor her husband attended her aunt's funeral.

Rachael Ray has made a name for herself by making food that can be served up to the whole family — well, human family, that is. In 2008, her culinary empire grew to include a focus on canine pals with the launch of Rachael Ray Nutrish. The brand started as a line of super premium dog food established via a partnership between Ray and Ainsworth Pet Nutrition. Rachael Ray Nutrish has been focused on making real meat the first ingredient while including other natural ingredients — but a 2018 lawsuit claimed otherwise.

According to The Wrap, Markeith Parks alleged in a class-action lawsuit that the premium dog food contained glyphosate, a herbicide which the suit claims is a potentially harmful ingredient, adding that its use was never disclosed to consumers. "No reasonable consumer would expect this controversial and potentially harmful synthetic chemical to be present in 'Natural' dog food," reads the lawsuit.

The J.M. Smucker Company is the parent company of Ainsworth Pet Nutrition. Bobby Modi, J.M. Smucker's president of pet food & pet snacks, gave a statement to The Wrap shortly after the site's report. "The pesticide mentioned in the lawsuit, glyphosate, is commonly used by farmers but is obviously never added as an ingredient in our products. All our products meet or exceed federal food safety requirements," he said in part. According to The Meadville Tribune, the lawsuit was dismissed in 2019. The judge's order noted that an alleged trace amount of glyphosate is not likely to make a consumer think twice about purchasing the product.

Unfortunately, marriage and relationship rumors are not out of the ordinary when it comes to celebrity gossip, and Rachael Ray's marriage has been the subject of much speculation over the years. National Inquirer, a tabloid that has become a key player in the celebrity rumor mill, reported in 2006 that Ray's husband John Cusimano had a five-year relationship that continued into his marriage with Ray. Both Ray and Cusimano have denied the claim. The tabloid has since reported other allegations regarding Cusimano, including a claim that he was allegedly engaging in sexual activity at a swingers' club before and after his marriage with Ray began. The allegation was denied by Cusimano's lawyer. 

In 2007, Ray addressed the tabloids that had been printing rumors alleging that her marriage was on rocky ground. "Everybody gossips ... but this stuff is hurting people's feelings who are in our families and friends of ours. They worry about us," she said during a taping of the "Rachael Ray Show" (via Good Housekeeping). Ray told People in 2007, "I've known where he is every night since we've been married." Cusimano added, "The place I'm happiest is curled up in bed with Rachael and the puppy." The couple married in 2005 and renewed their wedding vows in 2015.

Dogs hold a special place in a family's heart, and as with any family member, saying goodbye is never easy. On May 20, 2020, Rachael Ray had to say goodbye to her beloved pitbull, Isaboo. She shared the news via her @rachaelray Instagram account, stating that Isaboo died in their arms in the backyard of their Adirondacks home. "We'll miss her sense of humor. Her Wile E Coyote-ness. Her energy and her game-on attitude. She was a fighter," she wrote. Ray brought Isaboo to her show several times and she became her only audience member when she started filming the show from her home during the COVID-19 pandemic.

During a segment of the "Rachael Ray Show," Ray and her husband, John Cusimano, discussed how a clinical trial helped Isaboo live a little longer. The couple spoke with Dr. William Li, the CEO of the Angiogenesis Foundation, and veterinary oncologist Dr. John Khanna, who each had a hand in Isaboo's treatment. According to Cusimano and Dr. Khanna, a human treatment was used in the clinical trial that helped to extend Isaboo's life. "There is an opportunity and maybe an imperative to study disease across species so that you can answer questions in one species that you can't answer in the other," said Dr. Khanna. Isaboo lived to be 15 years old, according to a Facebook post that Ray made honoring her on what would have been her 16th birthday.

In August 2020, Rachael Ray faced another tragedy when her home burned down in Lake Luzerne, New York, about one hour north of Albany. Warren County's director of emergency services and fire coordinator, Brian LaFleure, told CNN that Ray, her husband, and their dog Bella Boo Blue escaped without injuries.

On an episode of the "Armchair Expert" podcast, Ray told host Dax Shepard that the chimney was the root of the fire, adding that she could hear the flames inside the walls. "And I knew the wall was going to blow out, and there was no time to get anything," she said, adding that her work with Denis Leary's The Leary Firefighter Foundation helped her realize what was happening to her home.

During a segment of the "Rachael Ray Show," she explained that she and New York State Fire Investigator Greg Amyot took a walk through her home the next morning as the burning continued. Ray said there are no fire hydrants in the area given the home's rural location. According to local CBS affiliate WRGB, crews used water from a nearby pond. The New York State Office of Fire Prevention investigated and said it was accidental.

In November 2021, Ray took viewers of her talk show on a tour of her rebuilt home, showing the work that was done to replicate the home's original look while pointing out pieces that survived the fire. 

Around the time that Rachael Ray was finishing the rebuild of her Lake Luzerne home, her New York City apartment was flooded due to Hurricane Ida. She told People that the damage occurred shortly after giving the apartment a makeover. "And then, Ida took it out. And I mean, out. Down hard. Like, literally every speaker in the ceiling, the fireplace, every seam in the wall ... it was like the apartment just literally melted, like in 'Wicked' or something," she said. Thankfully, she and her husband were not in the apartment at the time.

A remediation team was not able to take a look at the damage until one week later. That was due to the overall devastation that Hurricane Ida caused in the Tri-State area. Ray said a water main pipe accidentally broke while the team conducted their assessment, flooding six floors of their apartment building. "Tell me you would not feel like a kicked can," she said.

Rachael Ray is seen in plenty of social media content, but one post left fans concerned for her health. In September 2024, @home.made.nation posted a clip of Ray telling a story about her friend, the late Tony Bennett (who died in 2023), on her show "Rachael Ray In Tuscany." According to TV Insider, fans believed that she was slurring her words. TMZ spoke to a representative for Ray who said they had no comment.

Ray has not yet commented on the video. However, during the first episode of her podcast "I'll Sleep When I'm Dead," she mentioned that she had experienced a couple of recent falls. "I like to help carry in the wood. I had a couple of bad falls in the last couple of weeks, so I haven't been doing that in a while," she said. During the podcast's second episode, she talked to actor Billy Crudup about short-lived projects that he enjoyed. Ray replied with her take on dealing with the disappointments of life. "Not everything that feels bad is bad. Sometimes things that happen to you that from the outside look sad, they also help you propel forward and understand other people," she said.

Since the concerning Instagram post, Ray has been seen in public. According to People, she hosted her annual Burger Bash event at the Food Network New York City Wine & Food Festival in October 2024 and appeared to be in good spirits.