A culinary marvel, Rachael Ray — who some may say runs laps around the Barefoot Contessa — has had no formal chef training. “I’m completely unqualified for any job I’ve ever had,” Ray once told the New York Times. Given her tasty treats and sublime influence on the reality cooking industry, we beg to differ.

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Ray’s incredibly relatable presence in the kitchen — teaching everyone the simplicity of a 30-minute meal — sparked her launch into superstardom. At the height of her career, Ray helmed the beloved “Rachael Ray Show,” which landed her a whopping $100 million net worth, making her one of the wealthiest Food Network stars to date. The celebrity chef’s success was only amplified by her numerous cookbooks, including “Rachael Ray: Best Eats in Town on $40 A Day” and “Rachael Ray’s Open House Cookbook.”

After 17 years, Ray decided to leave her syndicated position on daytime TV in 2023 to pursue other projects. While her viewers were sad to see her go, the show’s end seemed like it was opening a new chapter for the star. As of late, however, fans are more worried about Ray than ever. Unfortunate personal situations and vague health issues may be the cause of some of Ray’s unrecognizable behavior, but it may also be leading to the downfall of her success.

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The COVID-19 pandemic wasn’t the only hardship Rachael Ray and her husband John Cusimano endured in 2020. In August of that year, Ray and Cusimano’s Lake Luzerne, New York house erupted in a fire caused by burning creosote in the chimney. “15 years of memories; 40 years of notebooks, drawings, thoughts, my life’s work,” Ray said of what she lost (via the “Rachael Ray Show”). “It took about one hour for this house to come down — and in my mind, it took decades before it was even built.”

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One year after the fire, tragedy struck Ray again when her New York City apartment flooded from the impact of Hurricane Ida. Ray told People that she had just finished her work on the apartment when the storm wiped it out. “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 explained. Dealing with repairing two homes, all while continuing to fake a smile on camera, must be mentally taxing. Unfortunately for Ray, it wasn’t the first time she was struck down by heartbreaking news.

The incomparable cooking show host spent her spring in 2020 mourning the loss of her beloved pit bull, Isaboo. Rachael Ray posted the devastating news on Instagram, telling her followers of the pooch’s final moments wrapped in her arms. “Today @johnmcusimano and I mourn the loss of a dog; a pitbull who taught us more about unconditional love, empathy, and understanding of one another than we could have ever imagined,” she wrote in the caption. The most surreal aspect of the loss is the fact that Isaboo made a few posthumous appearances throughout the season of the “Rachael Ray Show” that year. “⁣In the weeks to come you may even spot her as she was our only audience for the shows we’ve been producing from our home during this strange time,” Ray wrote. She ended her tribute to her late dog with: “Our life will be a little less sweet without our Isaboo.”

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In a 2024 interview with Appetito Magazine, Ray admitted that these three cataclysmic events led to her infrequent public appearances after the fact. “Well, my dog died, and then my house burned down, but I went back to work immediately after the fire in borrowed underwear. Not joking,” she said. Though she stepped away from the spotlight, Ray said she was keeping very busy, telling the magazine, “If you’re not dead, you go to work.”

Busy she was — Rachael Ray maintained her TV appearances by hosting shows like her 2024 FYI series “Rachael Ray in Tuscany.” As she once again ascended the ladder to stardom, one promotional video for her series had her fans worried. The chef shared a wild story on Instagram in September 2024, revealing how she thought she had nearly killed Tony Bennett. “I had polished the floors in the kitchen,” she began, admitting she went a tad “overboard” on the polisher. “‘Cause when I pulled out the chair for Tony to sit down … the chair slid out from under him and he hit his head on my marble counter.”

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Fortunately, the late jazz crooner was fine. As for Ray, some viewers of the clip couldn’t help but wonder if something was wrong with Ray due to it sounding like she was slurring her words. They expressed their concern in the comment section, questioning if she was ill or even under the influence of alcohol. One viewer even wrote: “One corner of her mouth is much lower than the other. The nurse in me would have her go into be checked for any side effect from a Stroke or [Bell’s Palsy]. Please make sure to get checked?”

Rachael Ray vaguely addressed her fans’ concerns in the debut episode of her podcast “I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead.” While describing her love for physical work, like carrying wood — presumably for the fireplace — Ray confessed that she wasn’t juggling as much physical labor lately due to injury. “I’ve had a couple of bad falls in the last couple of weeks, so I haven’t been doing that,” the TV personality said in the October 2024 episode. Ray didn’t concretely confirm that her falls caused her slurred words, though it could be an explanation if the tumbles were severe enough.

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Her podcast episodes were one way for her fans to keep up with her every week, but her content abruptly stopped in December 2024, after only eight episodes. However, Ray has an explanation for her podcast hiatus, and it has nothing to do with her speculated health issues. At the 2025 South Beach Wine & Food Festival, Ray told People that she hounds her production team to publish the unreleased episodes constantly. “I’m pissed at how long it takes them to put it up,” she said. “That’s all I’m pissed at.”

Rachael Ray can certainly benefit from the intimate nature of a podcast; she can use the platform to explain everything that has her fans concerned. So far, however, the things she has said have only caused fans more confusion. The cook made some seriously cryptic statements in an episode with actor Billy Crudup.

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Crudup opened up on the podcast about coming to terms with the cancelation of certain passion projects. In response, Ray told him, “That’s the beauty of life. 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.” She continued her piece of advice: “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.”

Ray is likely alluding to her personal challenges after her house fire, apartment flood, and losing her dog — suggesting that those were major points of growth. However, there’s a possibility that her alleged health problems prompted the speech. No matter what, it’s a useful nugget of wisdom!

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