"Down Home with the Neelys" ended its Food Network run after 11 seasons,
with both hosts making big changes after. Here's a look at the untold truth of host Gina Neely.
On television, the Neelys presented an image of equal partners in both life and food. Both Pat
and Gina demonstrated some serious expertise with barbecue and all-American food on their Food
Network series, "Down Home with the Neelys." But before the series entered production,
it was primarily Pat Neely who knew his way around a kitchen — he was part of a multi-generational
family of cooks and restaurant operators who ran several barbecue outlets in Tennessee,
according to Food Network. Gina told Working Mother,
"He was in business for about ten years before I came onboard."
And while she helped Pat run things, Gina didn't necessarily look to bigger
and bolder duties in the restaurant kitchen or beyond. She told People magazine,
"I never wanted to be a TV chef. I was a branch manager at a bank."
"I never wanted to live my life quite out loud like that."
Even when she did actually become a chef on the small screen, Gina still wasn't interested in
that life and was uncomfortable with the implications of being on TV. She told the
publication that she would, quote, "cocoon" herself and cry before shooting episodes.
"I was really afraid, honestly, I was just afraid to do it. I just kind of went with it."
The Neelys were total couple-goals for many viewers who witnessed them cooking
in the kitchen together. They were almost constantly snuggling one another amidst
all the smoked pork and spice blends. But as it turns out, that wasn't all genuine,
or at least it was a little bit forced for the sake of the cameras.
"My beautiful wife has added a great spin to it by putting bacon in it."
In 2014, according to TMZ, Gina filed for divorce from Pat, her husband of 19 years,
following a two-year separation. That means that during the final seasons of "Down Home
with the Neelys," the couple that looked so perfect on TV wasn't even a couple at all.
Sources close to the Neelys told the publication that their marriage was headed for divorce by
the time "Down Home" entered production, and that the rigors of the show and fame
only made their relationship suffer more. Gina told People magazine,
"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."
Gina later told OWN's "Where Are They Now?" that she realized her marriage
was beyond repair in the early years of "Down Home with the Neelys." She explained,
"He felt like we didn't spend enough time together.
I felt like we did and we needed a little space."
Still, the Neelys tried to save their relationship, attending therapy
together about a dozen times before Gina realized she was done. She went on to say,
"I tried to leave five times and I just didn't have the strength
but the fifth time I held on to that. It became necessary for me to find my path."
That split was at least a very clean one, by all accounts. In 2018, four years after her split
from her husband, Gina told People mag that she hadn't spoken with Pat since she left. She said,
"I don't wish him any harm, but he's never reached out to me. I guess he's well?"
Co-parenting or child support battles never became an issue,
as the couple's two daughters were well into adulthood by the time Pat and Gina broke up.
By the time they became big Food Network stars as experts on Southern-style comfort
cooking — and barbecue especially — Gina and Pat had opened two restaurants in Memphis and
a third satellite location. According to Grub Street, every one of those Neely's Bar-B-Que
outlets shut down temporarily in the fall of 2012 for corporate restructuring and re-evaluation.
But in July 2012, the Neelys announced that
the closures were permanent. Gina told the Memphis Commercial Appeal,
"We're gone so much and involved in so many projects that it's
been really difficult to concentrate on the restaurants here like we need to."
In a statement on social media at the time, the Neelys reminded fans and customers that they still
operated Neely's Barbecue Parlor in New York, which had opened in 2011. It would continue to
stay open in spite of the other closures — but not for very long. According to Eater New York,
in October 2015 Neely's Barbecue Parlor shut down forever. At the outset, it received poor reviews,
with rumors of its closure surfacing a mere two months after it opened.
With the exception of a lost episode airing in January 2014, the last stretch of original "Down
Home with the Neelys" installments finished airing on Food Network in the spring of 2012.
About two years later, Gina announced her divorce from her husband and cooking co-star.
But after taking a few years off, Gina was back, both romantically and professionally — and in
a way that combined both pursuits. In 2018, Bravo debuted "To Rome for Love,"
a documentary-style reality show in which a relationship guru took five single Black
women with spotty love histories to the historic and romantic city of Rome. Gina was arguably the
biggest name in the cast. Speaking to People mag about why she did the show, she revealed,
"I want to find love again, love being in love. I want to get married again. I
love being married. I'm not against marriage and I'm not against love."
She hadn't exactly found a soulmate after casually dating in the years following her
divorce. And while she didn't ultimately find a lasting romantic spark with anyone
on "To Rome for Love," the show at least got Neely back on television.
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