Let’s talk about Rachael Ray, the queen of quick and easy meals. Over the years, she’s not only shared her love for cooking but also opened up about her personal health struggles. From losing her voice frequently to undergoing surgery on her vocal cords, Rachael has faced her challenges with grace and humor. Here's the inside scoop on her journey.
Rachael Ray’s Health Battle: What You Need to Know
Back in the early 2000s, Rachael Ray became a household name with her hit show 30 Minute Meals on the Food Network. Her raspy voice became as iconic as her recipes. But behind the scenes, Rachael was dealing with some vocal issues that many people didn’t know about. “I lose my voice a lot,” she admitted to People magazine in 2006. “I had a lot of croup as a kid, so my vocal cords aren’t the strongest to begin with.”
As it turns out, Rachael’s vocal cords weren’t just dealing with wear and tear from her busy schedule. In October 2008, rumors began swirling that she had throat cancer. Her team quickly put those rumors to rest, confirming instead that she was planning to undergo surgery for a benign cyst on her vocal cords. “Rachael is the picture of health,” said her spokesperson, Charlie Dougiello, in a statement to People. “She is having very minor surgery to remove a benign cyst on her vocal cord. It’s a common in-and-out procedure that she will have in early December, and it will not adversely affect any of her daytime show or Food Network tapings.”
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Rachael took to her website to share more details about the procedure. She wrote that doctors had suggested she get the cyst removed and rest her voice for about two weeks during her holiday break in December. “I admit, this will be the hardest part,” she joked. But Rachael wasn’t one to let a little surgery slow her down. By September 2009, ABC confirmed that she had successfully undergone the surgery after trying vocal therapy.
Learning to Use Her Voice Differently
Before the surgery, Rachael tried vocal therapy to reduce the size of the cyst. “Her doctors felt that with some vocal coaching and therapy, they could reduce the size of the cyst and have it eventually disappear,” Dougiello explained. Rachael learned new techniques to use her voice more efficiently, which helped her manage the strain on her vocal cords. But as Dr. Milan Amin, director of the New York University Voice Center, pointed out, “When you’re at the level where you use your voice all the time, there’s a high voice demand that requires a high level of precision. You can rest your voice and things will get better, but as soon as you go back to what you were doing, within short order, you’ll go back to where you were.”
After the surgery, Rachael found a new passion in jogging. “I used to say I would never run unless I was being chased by someone with a gun,” she joked to Good Housekeeping. “But now I’m a little obsessed with it.” Rachael discovered that running not only helped her pass the time during her recovery but also gave her a new sense of energy and fitness. “I feel more fit, and I have a little more energy — which is ridiculous,” she said.
What Happened to Rachael Ray’s Show?
In March 2023, it was announced that Rachael Ray would be ending after 17 seasons. “In my more than 20-plus years in television, I have had 17 wonderful seasons working in daytime television with Rachael,” she said in a statement to Deadline. “However, I’ve made the decision that it’s time for me to move on to the next exciting chapter in my broadcast career.”
Rachael marked an emotional farewell to her fans in May 2023. “We’ll see ya when we see ya, everybody,” she told her viewers. Despite stepping away from her long-running show, Rachael didn’t stay off TV for long. She quickly signed a deal with Free Food Studios to develop six new shows. “I think that all programming, if it’s inside your house, if it’s food, or if it’s about music or if it’s about coming into your private space, I want everyone to always feel empowered,” the New York native told USA TODAY in April 2024. “I want you to know you can do anything we share with you, whether that’s travel or how to make dinner.”
