Real-Life Romance
Get to Know Rachael Ray’s Husband John Cusimano & Their 20-Year Relationship History
One of the nation’s favorite television cooks, Rachael Ray, has shared a lot about her private life over the years. Wanting to know more about her than just how to make her favorite carbonara recipe, fans have become invested in the former talk show host’s love life.
Ray just launched a new podcast, I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead, where everything is on the table. Rachael has already shared stories about recent health issues, more tales of her Sicilian grandfather who inspired her love for food, and even interesting anecdotes about her husband, John Cusimano.
In the first episode, she revealed that she doesn’t trust “people that are too quiet.” She further explained to guest Jenny Mollen, “John and I don’t calm it down ever. We have huge screaming matches all the time, but I think that’s healthy. I really do.”
Ray and her husband have been together for over 20 years. Scroll down to get up to speed on her longtime romance.
How did Rachael and her husband meet?
Rachael and John met at a mutual friend’s birthday party in 2001. Often talking about her now-husband, she even included him in an interview on the Rachael Ray show website. He shared that the friend in question “was a tall person, and she invited all of her ex-boyfriends and people she knew — and they were all tall,” before joking, “And as you can see, we’re not all that tall. So I like to say we saw each other among a sea of knees.” Ray is 5 feet 3, while her husband is just an inch taller at “5 feet 4.
When did Rachael and John get married?
Both of Italian heritage, the couple married at Castello di Velona in Tuscany in 2005. Their official union came after four years of dating. The duo adores the Southern European country and splits their time between Italy and the Adirondacks in New York.
In 2025, they will be celebrating their 20th wedding anniversary. The two have an interesting communication style. Ray explained on her podcast that after their screaming matches, they never “verbally apologize.” She added, “Eventually, I pat him on his a**, or he kisses me on the head, and that’s just sort of it. That’s the apology. It’s just sort of understood.”
There was a tabloid rumor that Cusimano had cheated on Ray with two women during their marriage. Ray responded directly to the claim in 2007. “I think they said six actually,” she told PEOPLE. “I’ve known where he is every night since we’ve been married.”
Do they have any kids?
No, they do not have children. This was a decision they made together. “I work too much to be an appropriate parent. I work too much to be an appropriate parent. I feel like a bad mom to my dog [Isaboo, a pit bull] some days because I’m just not here enough. I just feel like I would do a bad job if I took the time to literally give birth to a kid right now and try and juggle everything I’m doing,” she told PEOPLE.
What does John do for a living?
John is the frontman of the rock band Cringe, but he also has some other areas of expertise. On the Rachael Ray talk show website, he added that he “used to practice in New York City as an entertainment lawyer, primarily in film.”
To this, Rachael quipped that his knowledge had come in handy over the years as her entertainment career expanded. She even said, “Smartest thing I ever did was marry an entertainment lawyer. Saved me a bundle.”
