Fans can’t quite put their finger on it, but many are convinced that Rachael Ray is unwell. In recent years, the former Food Network star has been a spectacle of concern among social media users as her appearance and “slurred” speech have come under scrutiny.
Ray, 56, posted a special Mother’s Day tribute on May 11 that reignited the troubling discourse. In the video, she reminisced on the early aughts of her career, a time when more often than not she was short on money.
“I was very, very poor, and I didn’t want to bother my mother,” she recalled. That era, however, inspired her television hosting debut with “$40 a Day.”
She shared the anecdote as she prepared a simple meal of a few ingredients. The overarching takeaway is the gratitude Ray has for her mother and family, who taught her how to make the most out of whatever she had.
“She showed me how to make something outta nothing—and how to do it with love. Whether it was dinner on the table or how to pick yourself up when things got tough… she just had it,” wrote Ray in the caption.
In the comments, several longtime fans wrote that they have followed her career from the beginning. Countless others wanted to know, “Are you okay? You don’t look well.”
One person remarked, “I am sorry, she looks like she has had a stroke. Her hair looks super unhealthy and you can see the corner of her mouth droop. She gained so much weight, you would not even know it was her.”
When Page Six reshared the post, users on their platform typed reactions like “Something is not right. I hope she doesn’t have the dementia that Bruce Willis has.” A second person suggested, “She needs to check herself into the nearest hospital and be thoroughly checked out. Clearly, she is not well.”
In her defense, a third person commented, “Guys, it’s documented that’s she’s had personal struggles. Health is a gift, let’s be kind or silent. We never know what people are going through.”
Ray has not publicly disclosed any major health concerns. In October 2024, in the debut episode of her “I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead” podcast, the TV personality disclosed she suffered “a couple of bad falls in the last couple of weeks.” Before that, in 2008, she underwent vocal cord surgery to remove benign cysts.
