You know Gina Neely from her wildly successful stint on the “Food Network,” alongside her former husband, Pat Neely. The couple were a southern dream working, laughing, and taping in their Memphis kitchen, which is why it was such a shocking turn of events when they chose to file for divorce after 20 years of marriage, a successful television show, and a restaurant with a huge fanbase. Fans were shocked, but we still love both of them as much as we did when they were married and having the best time of their lives. She’s living her best life right now, and she’s not ashamed to share that with her fans, and we thought we might catch up with her and all she’s been up to lately, along with the many things we did not know about her.
1. Her Ex Secretly Married Again
We don’t know what happened with these two, but we know that he got married again a few years later. In fact, he was engaged a year after his split from his wife after meeting a woman on a cruise. They got engaged on Christmas Eve, they got married shortly after, and he had his fifth child not long after that. However, this time around, he decided to keep things to himself, and we have no idea if his ex knew about this.
2. She Got Healthy Quick
Following her very public divorce, Gina Neely took it upon herself to let out her ‘inner glow’ as she called it. She was always gorgeous, but she decided to do herself a huge favor and put her health first, which was a big change for her. She’s since lost more than 50 pounds, and she’s looking better than ever. More importantly, however, she’s feeling better than ever, and that’s a positive change.
3. She’s Got A New Gig
When her marriage ended, her television career did not. She began hosting a new food show with the Dr. Oz show in early 2019, and she’s having a good time with it. She’s starring alongside stars such as Vanessa Williams, Gail Simmons, and Daphne Oz, and she’s loving every second of what she’s been up to since the show began.
4. Old Photos Make her Sad
Not old photos of her old life, but of her old body. She once said that she looks at old photos of herself and she feels a sense of overwhelming sadness. She felt that she was going through such a rough time, and she can see that in her body and her face looking back, and she’s realized she can overcome anything as a result.
5. She and Her Ex Were High School Sweethearts
One thing that their fans knew a lot about during the filming of their hit show is that they were high school sweethearts. What people did not know so much of is that they broke up, and then they reconnected years later — when they were both married. It didn’t take them long to realize that their first marriages were not the ones that they were meant to be in, they both divorced, and then they married one another.
6. Rumors Swirl About the Divorce
There are many people who feel that one of them must have cheated to end a marriage of more than two decades. The fact that they were both married to other people when they decided to be together in their past life was only a telling sign to many that some leopards do not change their spots. However, both are adamant that this was never the case.
7. They Were Separated Two Years
For two entire years while they filmed their hit show, they were not together. They were living apart, they were separate, and they were faking their love and happiness for the camera. They knew that the show would come to an end the moment they got divorced, so they put that on the back of the table and they moved on with their lives and kept things going for the press. It was a tough time for both being that they wanted out.
8. They Divorced for Different Reasons
Pat Neely wanted to spend more time with his wife at that point in their marriage. Gina Neely wanted to spend less time together. She felt that they were together all the time in their personal lives, at home, and at work, and she was looking for a good reason to spend some more time with herself. She wanted space to breathe, to be herself, and to have her own life outside of their joint business and everything else, and it didn’t work for her husband or herself. They ended things, and she thinks it was the best decision.
9. Her Kids Hated Their Show
This is a couple who had kids, and they did not like their parents being on television. They did not like the attention that their parent’s show brought to their family. They were in a place where they felt that they couldn’t go anywhere, or do anything, or be anyone without the press there to hound them or people there to recognize them, and they hated always being “on” when they were anywhere but home. It’s a tough life.
10. She Doesn’t Speak to Her Ex
She and her husband have kids who are older, so there is little need for them to co-parent or anything of the like. She doesn’t speak to him, he doesn’t speak to her, and there is nothing left for them after they moment she finally gathered the courage to walk out of the marriage she felt was nothing more than a business partnership and no attraction in any other capacity. She has nothing negative to say about him other than that things did not work out as they wanted different things, but they she’s also not interested in spending any time with him or thinking about him anymore. Their girls have relationships with both of them, though.
Gina Neely became a household name when she cohosted her reality TV show Down Home with the Neelys from 2008 to 2014 with her then-husband Pat Neely.
The show went on to become the highest-rated show on the Food Network, but a lot has happened since fans last saw the reality star sharing traditional Southern recipes.
Reel Life Vs. Real Life
Despite being the seemingly ideal couple on their show, Gina and Pat did not have the happily married life that everyone thought they had when the cameras were not rolling.
Gina shocked everyone with the news of her divorce after eleven seasons of the beloved cooking show. And just like that, their 23 years as a married couple came to an end.
However, behind the scenes, this decision was a long time coming. In an interview with People, Gina admitted,
I was going to divorce Pat prior to the show. And then all of a sudden the train jumped on the track and I had to hold on for my life.
She further explained that Pat had become a business partner who she was not even attracted to anymore, whereas she needed a husband at that point in her life.
As soon as the divorce was made public, the premise of the fan-favorite show was no longer applicable, and Gina seemingly lost her claim to fame. Or did she?
She Never Wanted Fame
For starters, television fame wasn't really what Gina wanted for herself.
In an interview with Say it Southern podcast, she had confirmed that she did not want to be on TV but also realized that it would be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for her husband and their family business of chain restaurants.
It wasn't just her. Gina's eldest daughter Spenser from her previous marriage and her younger daughter with Pat, Shelbi, both "hated" the show and the attention it brought.
Gina After the Divorce
Regardless, after the divorce, Gina took control of her life and almost wholly reinvented herself, starting with her body.
In 2015, the reality star revealed that she had shed 35 pounds and went from a size 8 to size 0 in just over 12 weeks, thanks to her healthier life choices.
She did go on to add a little bit of that lost weight back to not look like a "bobble head," though. Apparently, fitness streak was her way of dealing with the residual emotions from the divorce.
Working out really became the saving grace for me if you will, getting me through all of that. It kept me positive, it kept me moving.
What Is Gina Neely Doing Now?
Despite her feelings surrounding TV fame, she did not stay away from TV for very long. Three years after the divorce, she became the producer of her cooking show, Chop it up with Gina Neely on Aspire TV.
In Gina's words, Food Network had a lot of control over the look and feel of the show. Because of that, the show was not really transparent and did not show her authentic self on the screen.
So, she saw to it that all those hindrances were taken care of, and the fans were able to bear witness to the real Gina Neely.
With her show up and running, Gina also set out to find new love in Italy that same year. Diann Valentine's show To Rome for Love saw Gina traverse the streets of Rome.
She has also declared to People that she was open to the idea of being remarried, but there is yet to be an answer for Who is Gina Neely married to now?
As of this writing, the reality star is keeping herself busy with motivational seminars on her social platforms.