Although Rachael Ray has long called New York City home, the celebrity chef admits she’s not exactly enamored with the Big Apple.
The former Food Network star, who splits her time between properties in New York City, upstate New York, and Italy, revealed that while her husband, John Cusimano, thrives on city life, she’s far happier enjoying the peace and beauty of their Tuscan villa.
“My husband loves being in New York,” Ray told Us Weekly in a recent interview. “And I tell him, ‘Hey, go as often as you like, stay as long as you want.’ I come to New York and upstate New York when I have work, but I prefer Italy.”
She added that their dog, Bella, also prefers the countryside. “The dog is much happier. She hates New York City. Bella is not a New Yorker at all. So, for the dog’s sake, I spend as much time [in Italy] as I can. She has a swimming pool and 66 hectares to run around on. It’s quiet, the air is fresh, and we have huge gardens, a vineyard, and olive trees. I just prefer that life.”
Ray and Cusimano also marked their 20th wedding anniversary in Italy last month, opting for a low-key celebration.
“We went to see some of our friends and visit our favorite restaurants in Florence and Rome,” she said. “We live in Tuscany, so we can bop back and forth between both pretty quickly. This year, we kept it simple — just us. Two nights in Florence, two nights in Rome.”
Rachael Ray arrives in New York City for a taping of The Drew Barrymore Show in October.
John Cusimano and Rachael Ray attended the 2025 North Shore Animal League America Celebration of Rescue at Tribeca 360 in New York City on June 12, 2025.
In 2021, Ray revealed in her magazine Rachael Ray In Season that she had purchased her dream home in Tuscany the previous year.
“I’m writing this just before I go to Italy for the first time in three years,” she shared, according to People. “I love it there and have missed it. My mother’s family and both of John’s parents’ families are from Italy. My husband and I got married there. And three years ago, I achieved my life’s goal of buying a property there, in Tuscany.”
When she and Cusimano first bought the property, Ray admitted it was far from move-in ready. Her husband even described it as a “war zone.” The property consisted of two unfinished buildings without plumbing or electricity. “He said, ‘Honey, don’t you want to look at a … house?’” Ray recalled. “But I fell in love with the fields and the views. I thought, for the money we’d pay for a house, we could build something that’s really, truly ours.”
Ray also described her deep connection to the region. “In Tuscany, the air smells different from any other place on earth I’ve visited,” she said. “It’s sweet and filled with the scent of agricultural wonder — the olive trees, vineyards, gardens, incredible landscapes and views. It overwhelms you. What I’ve missed the most is the air. The first time I went, 20 years ago, I felt it as soon as I touched the ground.”
In 2022, Ray shared her renovation journey in the limited reality series Rachael Ray’s Italian Dream Home. She later began filming Rachael Ray in Tuscany, a new show centered on Italian cuisine and her life in Italy.
Rachael Ray and John Cusimano celebrated their wedding in Montalcino, Italy, on September 24, 2005.
While Ray has often spoken fondly of her life in Italy, she’s also been candid about some of the frightening experiences she’s had in New York City. In an April 2024 interview with The Post, the TV personality recalled being mugged outside her Queens apartment when she was younger.
“He literally had a Glock in his hand and stuck it in my back, and I screamed so loud — I think they heard it in Jersey,” she said. “I freaked the flip out, and I think I scared him more than he scared me. I sprayed him in the face with mace, and he was not happy. I still feel really bad about it, actually. I don’t think that child would have hurt me.”
The ordeal didn’t end there — Ray said the mugger returned later, angry about the incident. “He pushed me down an alleyway, but a dog that lived in my building chased him off,” she recalled.
Despite the chaos, Ray said she stayed in that apartment. “There were roaches in my apartment, but I stayed because I was so worried about the dog that lived there,” she explained.
