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Rachael Ray revealed that her life changed forever after a fire destroyed her Lake Luzerne home in New York back in 2020.
The celebrity cook got emotional in a video shared to her Instagram, promoting her TV special Rachael Ray’s Rebuild. The series, which debuted on Hulu last year and is now getting a repeat run on A&E, sees Ray and her team helping families rebuild their homes after property damage from disasters such as fires, floods, and tornados.
“I can say from personal experience when disaster strikes your home, your life changes forever,” a tearful Ray says in the trailer. She later adds, “I wanna help people rebuild their homes and their lives.”
In the caption of the post, Ray wrote, “I’m teaming up with my amazing friend @carrinoanthony and the incredible @freefoodstudios team to help families recover after devastating losses–homes destroyed by weather, fires, and more Together, we’re not just rebuilding houses we’re creating hope, healing, and forever homes ✨.”
The series made its linear network debut on Sunday, December 12, at 11a/10c on A&E.
Fans flooded Ray’s Instagram comments with praise, with one commenter writing, “[Ray] needs more credit in this world. Completely self made, never has gotten arrogant, continues to give back in every way possible, and genuinely makes the world a better place. The true definition of beautiful inside and out.”
Another wrote, “This is what incredibly generous and heartwarming to see. I was in an apartment fire and left with the clothes on my back and my cat (who is feral and I never picked up before) clutched to my chest. I wasn’t leaving without him.”
“You are truly a beautiful humble person, we need more blessings like you!” said another.
“We need more of this in the world,” wrote one fan.
Another added, “This Really is Outstanding ~ @rachaelray !!! You are the Greatest!!! Thanks for everything you do!!!”
Ray’s home, which she shares with her husband, John Cusimano, went up in flames on August 9, 2020, after a blaze began in a chimney and quickly engulfed the entire property. At the time, Ray and Cusimano evacuated the home after a neighbor alerted them that their roof was on fire and watched as it went up in smoke.
The couple spent over a year rebuilding the home, which they unveiled in November 2021. “We are very grateful to be back in our home,” Ray said in a video tour of the property. “The first time I came here when it was all empty, the last time we visited with you guys, it was very hard to even catch my breath. Because all you saw was what was not here. Now that it’s mostly back, it fills me with joy to look around because it’s so similar.”
Ray and Cusimano’s builder, Steve, added, “I originally built the home in 2009, and after the fire, [Ray] said, ‘Let’s put it back to what it was.’ It is put together from several barns, so we had to source the barns and then kind of put the whole puzzle together to duplicate exactly the way it looked. You’re not going off of blueprints or anything. You’re going off a memory. And that was quite the challenge.”
Rachael Ray’s Rebuild, Sundays, 11a/10c, A&E