Rachael Ray Gives Health Update, Says She Had a 'Couple Bad Falls'

Rachael Ray is currently recovering from a few “falls,” but that hasn’t stopped her from launching her new podcast, “I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead.”

“I am a homemaker. I love chores, I love being in the kitchen. I always work with my brain every day, I’m always writing something,” Ray, 56, revealed during the debut episode of her podcast, which dropped on Tuesday, October 22. “But I really like chores. I like what people consider physical work. I like making dinners, planning dinners, making lists.”

The chef added that she likes “helping carry in the wood,” but she had to put that chore on the back burner recently.

“I’ve had a couple of bad falls in the last couple of weeks, so I haven’t been doing that in a while,” Ray told listeners and her guest, Jenny Mollen.

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Although Ray isn’t currently up for carrying wood, she said she usually makes the task a competition with her husband, John Cusmino.

She said she often thinks, “How many pieces of wood did John carry? Can I carry more?” noting that she doesn’t say it to him directly, “I just say that to myself.”

Ray’s health update comes one month after she raised eyebrows for appearing to slur her words in a cooking video shared via social media.

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During the clip, which was part of her FYI series Rachael Ray in Tuscany, she took multiple pauses as she told a story about her late friend Tony Bennett while instructing viewers on how to make ossobuco.

While many fans took the word fumble as Ray getting emotional about Bennett, others wrote in the comments that she looked “puffy.” Some fans even speculated that Ray might’ve had a “mini stroke” based on how her mouth looked.

Ray has not commented on the video, but she did reveal to fans in early October that she would be releasing her podcast.

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“‘I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead’ (quite literally!) is about life’s journeys and what keeps us going,” Ray said in a statement at the time. “It’s unscripted, raw, and real talk. Working fuels me, connecting with people fuels me, and this platform allows for connection and conversation on a more personal level, which really fuels me.”

Ray’s podcast is her latest venture following a long career as a celebrity chef and talk show host. Ray’s most-recent daytime talk show, Rachael Ray, ended in spring 2023 after 17 seasons. She continues to work with food and owns multiple businesses, including Nutrish pet food, and running her Yum-O cooking camps.