Rachel Ray attributes her professional success in part to the support of her husband, John Cusimano.
“One of the things that, I think, has been essential to my life and my success over the years has been the partner that I have chosen,” Ray, 56, said during the Tuesday, November 5, episode of her “I will sleep when I am dead” podcast. “I love my husband, John, and (he) has worked with me and built our company and brand together.”
Not only are Ray and Cusimano, 57, on the same page when it comes to running her eponymous lifestyle empire, but they have a mutual commitment to community service.
“My husband and I didn’t get it married until very late in life (at) 37 and 38 years old, but it was very important to me that I married him because I thought that this person could be a true partner in what I believe in and help people,” she stated. “And building not a company, but a community.”
During Tuesday’s episode, Ray interviewed the celebrity chef Jacques Pepin and noted that it was a “great force.” he was married to his wife, Gloriafor 54 years prior to her death in 2020.
“I wouldn’t be who I am without Gloria. I mean, she changed my life,” Pépin, 88, told Ray. “She took care of things I didn’t take care of and she died four and a half years ago, and I still can’t sign a check or know what we have in the bank. … She made it possible for me to do what I did and always supported me, whether I was writing a book, taking classes or going on a cruise. She was always with me.”
John Cusimano and Rachel Ray Mark Daniels for Everyday with Rachel Ray Magazine/WireImage
Ray then celebrated the couple’s long-lasting connectionand compares it to her own relationship.
“I like that you talk about how different you were and how you brought something to each other, because that’s what I love about John,” she told Pépin. ‘He is a lawyer and musician. I’m not a musician (and) I’m certainly not a lawyer. I hate reading legal documents and official cases, but we balance each other out in a strange way.”
Ray added: “We allow each other to be open to different worlds. I also think it’s nice to be able to express thoughts, to be honest.”
Ray, who has been married to Cusimano since 2005, previously announced how the couple handles conflict.
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“It’s very difficult, especially for short-tempered, creative or loud people to be able to just calm it down,” she told Jenny Mollen during an episode of the podcast in October. “John and I never calm it down. We have huge shouting matches all the time, but I think that’s healthy. Really and truly. And I don’t trust people who are too quiet. …I end up patting his ass, or him kissing me on the head, and that’s about it. That’s the apology. It’s just kind of understood.”
To conclude her latest podcast episode, the TV chef also sent Cusimano a sweet message.
“Special shoutout to my husband, John “The Kuz” Cusimano, who not only provides the music for our show, but has also been my wingman for virtually every episode of this podcast,” Ray concluded Tuesday. “I use his studio for it. Thank you, darling.”