For Food Network star Gina Neely, life has been a rollercoaster. According to People magazine,
one of her most notable career milestones was landing a show in 2008 alongside her then-husband,
"Down Home with the Neelys." It followed Gina and her husband Pat's lives as they prepared
new recipes together. However, somewhere along the way, things got a bit too much for Gina — and she
needed to get away from it all. Meanwhile, for Pat, the television gig was a dream come true.
Gina reflected on those times in an episode of Bravo's "To Rome for Love," saying,
"It's part of my life I never seemed to move past. [...] I never aspired to be
a chef. My ex and I worked together at a family restaurant BBQ business.
I thought it would be one show, we'd go back to our regular lives."
She definitely didn't anticipate that the Food Network show would become a major hit
and put her relationship under immense pressure.
Gina spoke about how everyone around her was thrilled when the couple landed the show,
but she was unhappy. She felt stuck in a situation that she never asked for. Prior
to getting their show, the Neelys had been running Neely's Bar-B-Que in Tennessee. What
was most upsetting to her was that the show took over everything else in her life. Gina recalled,
"The TV show became bigger than the marriage.
He became more my business partner than my husband. [...] I needed my husband."
Gina also claimed she wasn't her real self on camera. While she was struggling with her emotions
and would often cry by herself, her onscreen persona made it look like her life was great.
"Cause if you don't have the stuffing, you ain't got nothing going on in your holiday dinner."
Gina told OWN in 2016,
"[It] probably was edited more than you realize."
"I was really afraid, honestly, I was just afraid to do it. I just kind of went with it."
Gina and Pat finally decided to call it quits in 2014. Many women contacted
her after the announcement and wondered how she found the courage to leave. Neely said,
"I applaud myself because I didn't think I would have the courage to do it. And I did."
Gina and Pat had been a married couple for 20 years before they decided to part ways.
According to Cheatsheet, they started dating in high school and fell in love.
Things looked perfect on the outside, but unfortunately, the reality was nowhere close
to that image. They were already struggling while working on "Down Home with the Neelys."
"My beautiful wife has added a great spin to it by putting bacon in it."
Their differences became too difficult to overlook as they realized that they were
approaching the relationship differently. While Pat wanted to devote even more to the marriage,
Gina wanted space and felt suffocated in the relationship,
as she revealed to "Oprah: Where Are They Now?" She decided to file for divorce in 2014,
but what many don't know is that the Neelys were separated for two years before that.
As HuffPost reported at the time, the former couple said in their official divorce statement,
"Together we have built a strong brand as The Neely's. Moving forward our focus
will be on our individual brands and we are optimistic about our respective futures."
In 2018, Gina decided to star in Bravo's docuseries show,
"To Rome For Love." According to Bravo TV, she was blown away by her experiences in
Italy and couldn't stop talking about the adventure that gave her so much. She said,
"My experience going to Rome was just amazing.
It literally took my breath away when I got off the plane."
The food was a big plus of filming for her,
and she tried everything she could find in the city. She said,
"Everything I ate was good. I'm not even a big pastry eater — I ate pastries like a crazy woman."
"To Rome for Love" is a TV show that focuses on five African American women who set off
on an unforgettable journey for love with a relationship expert. Neely may not have
found the love of her life on the show, but she definitely couldn't stop herself from falling
for Italy's charms. It's safe to say this show was a much happier filming experience.
Check out one of our newest videos right here! Plus,
even more Mashed videos about your favorite stars are coming soon.
Subscribe to our YouTube channel and hit the bell so you don't miss a single one.