Celebrity cook Rachael Ray celebrated her birthday on Monday – and her husband of 20 years, John M. Cusimano, shared a tender tribute to his wife via Instagram for the occasion.
Over the past few years, fans have grown increasingly concerned for Ray, as she sparked health concerns last September after she was seen slurring her words in a video.
An insider also revealed exclusively to Daily Mail recently that Ray had been acting bizarrely at a June appearance at the Broadway Spirits store in Manhattan.
Things got off to a rocky start when there were just 20 fans in line as the signing was due to begin, the insider told Daily Mail.
But her husband has brushed the concern aside as he wished his wife a happy 57th birthday this week.
He took to Instagram to share a black-and-white photo of Ray smiling as she ate a plate of spaghetti, shot by famous photographer Simon Emmett.
‘Happy birthday to Rachael Ray, my forever love and forever home, wherever we may be,’ Cusimano, 58, wrote.
Ray ‘liked’ his post on Instagram and also shared it to her own stories on Monday.
Celebrity cook Rachael Ray celebrated her birthday on Monday – and her husband of 20 years, John M. Cusimano, shared a tender tribute to his wife via Instagram for the occasion
He took to Instagram to share a black-and-white photo of Ray smiling as she ate a plate of spaghetti, shot by famous photographer Simon Emmett
In addition to her husband, the cook also shared other birthday well-wishes on her Instagram stories, including one from former Biggest Loser trainer Bob Harper.
Harper, who appeared on Ray’s short-lived podcast last year, I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead, shared a photo of the Food Network star holding up a tray of meatballs.
‘I love you, dear friend,’ he wrote.
She also re-posted a message from Leary Firefighters Foundation, where she acts as a member of their board.
The birthday tribute comes after Ray spilled all the raunchy details about her relationship with Cusimano during a podcast appearance.
‘I couldn’t wait to get him in the sack… and he is a blessed man,’ she said during an appearance on iHeart’s I’ve Never Said This Before podcast with Tommy DiDario.
She further teased that she is a ‘very lucky lady’ while recalling a moment from her wedding.
‘I had to buy two different sized suits for our wedding from Prada because his jacket was one size and his trouser was another,’ she said. ‘I certainly am — I am a very lucky lady.’
‘I couldn’t wait to get him in the sack… and he is a blessed man,’ she said during an appearance on iHeart’s I’ve Never Said This Before podcast with Tommy DiDario
The lovebirds exchanged vows in a lavish 2005 wedding held at a castle in Tuscany, Italy. Ten years after, the duo reaffirmed their commitment to each other at the same castle in the Florence region.
On her podcast, she has also spoken about the ‘huge screaming matches’ she gets into with Cusimano.
Ray also divulged that she and Cusimano do not outwardly apologize to each other, but have a nonverbal way of mending fences after a fight.
She reflected that ‘it’s very hard, especially for hot-tempered or creative or vociferous, shall we say, loud people to be able to just calm it down.’
She confessed: ‘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, and I don’t trust people that are too quiet… Too quiet freaks me out. I prefer that you tell me what you think when you think it, and just let’s get it all out there. Get it out there.’
When her guest, Jenny Mollen asked whether Ray or Cusimano says sorry first after a fight, Ray shared: ‘I don’t know that we ever apologize to each other.’
She explained: ‘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: “All right. I still like your a**.” “I still like your head.” It’s kind of in that zone.’