It's been a long time since anyone has seen Pat and Gina Neely together onscreen.
The two used to co-host Food Network's "Down Home With The Neelys," which ran from 2008 to 2014.
The show featured Pat,a longtime restaurateur, and his charmingly effervescent wife, Gina, cooking in
their kitchen at the home they shared in Memphis, Tennessee, and it was an unprecedented smash hit.
"Sprinkle some and tell me who you are." "I am the spice fairy!" Laughter.
Viewers loved watching the warm, funny, and seemingly typical married couple dynamics between
Pat and Gina, not to mention the down-home wisdom the two had to offer about food and cooking,
especially Southern cooking and barbecue. Sadly, however, all was not as it seemed.
Despite the seemingly pleasant demeanor between the Neelys, the former high school sweethearts,
each of whom were married and divorced once before, shocked the foodie world in September
2014 by announcing their separation in a joint statement, and their divorce came swiftly after.
In the years since, both Pat and Gina have spoken out about their split. And, from the sound of
things, the show and its success may have had something to do with the end of their marriage.
Although both Gina and Pat had been undertaking individual projects in the year prior to
announcing their separation, the news took fans of "Down Home With The Neelys" by surprise.
It also appears to have taken Pat, himself, by surprise. However, as Gina told People magazine,
the bubbly, affectionate relationship they showcased on TV, quote, "wasn't healthy or happy."
"Remember, we had butter on it,
so it should come right out." "That's my man! Wooooo!"
Although things may have seemed rosy onscreen,
the Neely's marriage had been rocky right from the very start of the show. Gina told People,
"I never wanted to be a TV chef. I was a branch manager at a bank. 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."
On top of that, the show's incredible success
may have made Gina question what she really wanted to be doing with her life.
Pat was a lifelong foodie and came from a family of restaurateurs. Meanwhile, Gina had other dreams
that she appears to have set aside for the sake of Pat and their show. She told People,
"That was Pat’s dream. Everybody was over the moon
except for me. This wasn’t the life I planned for me."
Filming "Down Home With The Neelys" also forced the couple to be around each other all the time,
which would have been difficult for any marriage, let alone one that was already on the rocks.
Gina told People the dynamic was not good for their relationship,
with Pat becoming more of a colleague to her than a husband. She explained,
“The TV show became bigger than the marriage.
He became more my business partner than my husband. I didn’t ask for a business partner.
I needed my husband. [...] I was always seen as this person that has it together. I would cry
in my pillow at night. I would cry in the car. I would cry anywhere anyone couldn’t see me."
While Gina's dream was never to be a TV chef, she does recall some good times on the show,
specifically getting to share her family's history and stories with her audience. She
also did not want her daughters to grow up without a father, as she had, so she put
in effort to try to make their marriage work, including attending couples therapy. But after
five failed attempts to leave the marriage, Gina finally had to admit she was done.
By 2014, the strain on their marriage had all become too much for the couple,
and they finally called it quits after over 20 years together. Following their divorce,
Gina starred on Bravo's "To Rome for Love," where she tried, unsuccessfully, to find love
in Rome. After they split, Pat said he thought he'd never get married again, but that changed
a couple years later, when he met a registered nurse named Tamika Parks, whom he married in 2017.
And despite the fact that it was Gina's choice to end their relationship,
Pat says he respected her decision and harbors no ill feelings towards his ex-wife. He told People,
"One of the things that I'll always cherish about 'Down Home with the Neelys' was that I had an
opportunity to get on television every day and invite people into our home. And I was able to
share that with my high school sweetheart, a woman I truly loved, and to be me. I never had to act."
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