Rachael Ray marked her 20th wedding anniversary with John Cusimano by posting a rare and candid message about their long-lasting union.
On September 24, the former Food Network host shared a tribute via Instagram to celebrate her marriage. She celebrated a life “full of laughter, flavor, and a little bit of spice.”
“For you, I’ll always pay the toll. Two decades, one kitchen, and the right recipe all along,” she began.
“I couldn’t let the day get away before saying Happy 20th anniversary to us! Our marriage has been the ultimate dinner party, always full of laughter, flavor, and a little bit of spice.”
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Ray’s post concluded, “Happy anniversary, my love! Here’s to many more!”
When did Rachael Ray marry John Cusimano?
The relationship between Rachael Ray and John Cusimano began with a chance encounter at a 2001 dinner party. According to PEOPLE Magazine, a mutual friend had been attempting to set them up for about a year before they eventually met.
They clicked immediately, talking late into the night. Yet, at that time, Ray wasn’t interested in pursuing a relationship.
She told PEOPLE, “He came at a point in my life when I had decided, I’m not going to chase [marriage]. I don’t think young men or women should feel pressured into marriage. You shouldn’t marry anyone, in my opinion, who you have to try hard for.”
In her 2019 book, Rachael Ray 50: Memories and Meals from a Sweet and Savory Life, she revealed that she regularly saved voicemails from Cusimano while they were dating. A single message from him ultimately cemented their relationship.
“We’d been dating a while, and while I wasn’t the type to think about who says ‘I love you’ first, I knew it wasn’t going to be me,” Ray wrote. “I think it’s an overused word, a misused word, and I like to protect it.”
“John calls me wandering around, stumbling around, and he sounds very, very angry,” she said of the call that sealed the deal. “And he says, ‘I used to be an independent person and I dated lots of women!”
She concluded, “But all of those women were inert. They had nothing going on, like they’re inert on the inside. And I don’t know, but you’re the opposite. You’re so… ert.’”
On September 24, 2005, the couple tied the knot at the Tuscan castle Castello di Velona. A decade later, they renewed their vows at the same location, and in 2018, purchased a villa in the region, fully renovated it, and moved in by 2021.
Rachael Ray and John Cusimano star on the cooking series Rachael Ray’s Meals in Minutes, which airs on the FYI Network.
