Rachael Ray Reveals Why She Prefers Life In Italy Over New York City

Rachael Ray has found happiness living abroad, far from the chaos of New York City.

The former Food Network star now resides in Tuscany, Italy, though she still owns a home in the Big Apple and returns occasionally for work.

In a new interview, Rachael Ray revealed she prefers life in her Tuscan villa, adding that it is quiet and the air is very fresh.

Coming back to living in New York isn’t on the cards for Rachael Ray for the foreseeable future.

Speaking with US Weekly, the American cook revealed that she “just prefers that life” in Italy, where she currently lives in a Tuscan Villa with her husband, John Cusimano.

“My husband loves being in New York,” she told the news outlet. “And I tell him, ‘Hey, go as often as you like, stay as long as you want.’ I come to New York and upstate New York when I have work, I prefer Italy.”

Explaining why she prefers life in Italy, Ray said it’s the quietness, the very fresh air, and the abundance of greenery and trees that won her over.

Ray also noted that her dog, Bella, seems much more comfortable and relaxed living there, which seemingly makes the decision even more worthwhile.

“The dog is much happier,” Ray said. “She hates New York City. Bella is not a New Yorker at all. So, for the dog’s sake, I spend as much time [in Italy] as I can.”

She continued, “She has a swimming pool and 66 hectares to run around on, and everything is very quiet.”

Ray’s love for Italy isn’t new, as she revealed as far back as 2021 how much she adores the country, with which she has familial ties.

At the time, she had already purchased her Tuscany home the year before and expressed how excited she was about owning the property.

“I’m writing this just before I go to Italy for the first time in three years,” she wrote in her magazine, Rachael Ray In Season. “I love it there and have missed it. My mother’s family and both of John’s parents’ families hail from there. My husband and I got married there. And three years ago, I achieved my life’s goal of buying a property there, in Tuscany.”

Ray went on to praise the beauty of Tuscany, which she first visited over two decades ago.

“In Tuscany, the air smells different from any other place on earth I’ve visited,” Ray gushed. “It’s sweet and filled with the scent of agricultural wonder. The olive trees, vineyards, fecund gardens, incredible landscapes, and views … it overwhelms you.”

Living in Tuscany initially came with its own set of challenges for Ray.

The home they purchased lacked basic amenities like plumbing and electricity, which made her husband describe it as a “war zone.”

However, after some convincing on Ray’s part, and driven by her love for the view and the property’s potential, the couple decided to go through with the purchase.

“I fell in love with the fields and the views, and I thought, for the money we’d pay for a house, we could build something that’s really, truly ours,” the cookbook author shared at the time.

Much of the renovation they did on the house is seen in her 2022 limited reality series called “Rachael Ray’s Italian Dream Home.”

Ray and Cusimano married in 2005 after first meeting in 2021. In 2015, they celebrated their 10th anniversary by renewing their vows at the same Tuscan castle where they first said “I do.”

Their 20th anniversary, which occurred last month, was also celebrated in Italy, although the couple decided to mark the milestone with a different approach.

“We went to see some of our friends and [went] to our favorite restaurants in Florence and Rome,” Ray told US Weekly.

She added, “We live in Tuscany, so we can bop back and forth to both of those places pretty quickly. So we just … we were very chill this year. We had parties for 60 to 100 people over the decade, but this year we just went with us. Two nights in Florence, two nights in Rome.”