In March 2001, Rachael Ray stepped in during bad weather to help a desperate "Today" producer and that was the beginning of a major shift in her career, shared Good Housekeeping. She did a soup cooking segment and that quickly opened the door to bigger opportunities. Food Network reached out to Ray soon after that "Today" show appearance, and numerous shows along with additional cookbooks followed.
"My life came out way better without me planning it," Ray said of how those early leaps of faith prompted something big for her life. She initially didn't think she'd be a fit for the Food Network, telling them "You guys are Champagne; I'm beer out of the bottle." They disagreed, and ultimately, they were right.
Not only did Ray start building her empire in 2001, she met her future husband, John Cusimano. They both attended the birthday party of a mutual friend, and that was it. This friend had spent a year trying to get them together, but "we didn't trust her advice," Ray explained during a segment of her show. At that fateful party, everybody else was tall, whereas "as you can see, we're not all that tall," John quipped. "So, I like to say we saw each other among a sea of knees." They started talking that night, and "have talked every day since the night we met," Ray noted.
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