Rachael Ray Reveals The Reason She Didn't Have Kids
Rachael Ray is a charismatic and successful businesswoman with her own magazine and talk show, a line of pet food, and a long relationship with the Food Network. It seems like she has everything someone would want or need to provide for children (including some cozy real estate), but Ray has revealed that she doesn't plan on having kids.
Ray and husband John Cusimano have been together for 14 years as of 2019 (via Good Housekeeping), but kids just aren't on the table for them. They do have a beloved rescue dog named Isaboo, and it turns out that pet ownership is one of the things that made Ray realize she didn't want to have children.
Why doesn't Rachael Ray have kids?
"I don't have time, she told People back in 2007. "I work too much to be an appropriate parent. I feel like a bad mom to my dog some days because I'm just not here enough. I just feel like I would do a bad job if I actually took the time to literally give birth to a kid right now and try and juggle everything I'm doing."
It's obvious that Ray is a busy woman, and in 2010 she echoed her statement to People when she told Good Housekeeping, "I have four to five jobs on any given day, and I could use a couple more Rachaels."
Fast forward to 2019, and 50-year-old Ray seems busier than ever. Her classic Food Network show 30 Minute Meals returned to television in April (via E! News), and to prepare for 30 new episodes of the show Ray had to work late into the night writing recipes, only after she finished working on her various other projects. Cusimano is busy too, working as a lawyer and playing in a rock band in his free time (via Cheatsheet). If the couple had kids, it seems that not only would their professional lives suffer, but they also would literally never have the chance to take a break.
Does Rachael Ray regret not having kids?
When asked if she thought she was missing out on something by not having kids, Ray, according to The Wall Street Journal, confidently replied, "I don't feel like I am. I really don't."
And why would she? With an estimated net worth of $80 million (via Celebrity Net Worth), a gorgeous lawyer/rockstar husband, a hit TV show and magazine, and the ability to travel the world whenever she pleases, it seems that Ray has built herself the kind of life most people can only dream of.
The couple seems quite happy and fulfilled with their various career ambitions and obligations — and thanks to Ray's non-profit Yum-O! she still has a chance to spend time with kids even if she doesn't have any her own. "Children have always been a focus for me," she explained to The New York Times about why she became an advocate for cooking with kids. Ray launched Yum-O! in 2006 as a way to "empower kids and their families to develop healthy relationships with food and cooking through three main initiatives: Cook, Feed, and Fund."
Did marital problems stop Rachael Ray from having children?
Ray and Cusimano may have been married for some time, but their relationship has had its fair share of ups and downs.
The first rumor about the couple came from the National Enquirer (via Delish) in 2006, when a woman named Jeaninne Walz claimed that she had a years-long affair with Cusimano.
The next rumors of discontent between the two came in 2008, when the National Enquirer (via Today) reported on sources who said that in the fallout from the allegations of infidelity, Cusimano and Ray were tense during the prior year's Christmas celebrations, and that Ray had even kicked her husband out of their bedroom.
Then, once again in 2013, the National Enquirer (via Fox News) reported that Cusimano had been hitting up a swingers club with a paid escort.
Though the couple has categorically denied all of these allegations, pair any sort of marital stress — including years of fighting ugly tabloid rumors — with a packed schedule and a lack of desire for kids, and it's not surprising that the two haven't had any children.