Do you remember “Down Home With the Neelys”? This Food Network show was so popular because it seemed to show a happy couple working together to create delicious food. While the food was real, and just as yummy as it looked, the perfect couple aspect was evidently a big sham. Sadly, by the time the show first aired in 2008, former high school sweethearts Pat and Gina Neely were already kind of over each other. As Gina told People, by this point in their 20+ year marriage, having to go in front of the camera and fake a loving relationship “wasnt healthy or happy.”
As it turns out, Gina had wanted to end her marriage before the show even began. In another People interview, she revealed, “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.” Well, in 2014, the show — and the marriage — came to an end when Gina finally walked out on both. “I remember leaving with my purse and my duffle bag, and I was out of there,” she recalled.
After the show and the breakup, Patrick remarried and returned to the restaurant business, while Gina did a bit of reality TV, motivational speaking, and authored a book.
What happened to Pat Neely after the show was canceled?
These days, both Neelys are living entirely separate lives. Pat Neely still has fond memories of his years spent as a celebrity chef, saying, “I truly had a blast… 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.” While he told People the divorce was devastating, he met the second love of his life just a year later and is now happily remarried and a new father and stepfather (in addition to his adult children shared with Gina). He summed up his life circa 2018 by saying, “You just never know what wonderful things are in store for you.”
In addition to enjoying family life with his new brood, Pat is still cooking up a storm. Last December he appeared in a special holiday program at the Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church, where his mom is a member, sharing videos of his at-home quarantine recipes. The Memphis Business Journal notes that he has also released a line of his own merchandise, while another MBJ article says hes also returned to the restaurant business and has been involved in promoting an Atlanta-based chain called This Is It! Southern Kitchen & BBQ,
What’s Gina Neely up to these days?
Gina Neely hasnt spoken with her ex in years, but shed most likely agree with Pat that her life has also taken a turn for the better since they split. She returned to the small screen in a reality show called “To Rome for Love” where she went to the Italian city looking for romance. While no Roman relationship ever seemed to get off the ground for her, Gina has been quite successful in her new career as a motivational speaker. During a conversation with Ming Zhao, CEO of PROVEN Skincare, Gina revealed that she was also writing a book called “These Are My Rules, This Is My Life and I Want It Back”, a self-help manual meant to help other women starting over in midlife (via Thrive Global). Shes now finished the book and its available for purchase on her website.
According to Ginas Instagram, shes now a wellness advocate, but it appears that she means “wellness” in the holistic sense of the word as it applies to the mind as well as the body. Among her recent projects is an Instagram Live series called “the Comfort of Me.” One recent guest was a relationship coach that would help participants, in Ginas words, “feel what you need to feel, so you can heal what you need to heal!”
Here’s Why The Food Network Canceled Down Home With The Neelys
FAQ
Why were the Neelys cancelled?
Where are the Neelys from Food Network?
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What happened to Gina and Pat Neely on Food Network?
Food Network fans fell in love with married duo Gina and Pat Neely when their show, Down Home With the Neelys, premiered in 2008. A few years later, the series abruptly came to an end after the pair made some huge changes in their personal lives. Scroll below to find out what happened to Pat
What happened to ‘where chefs are today down home with the Neelys’?
Where Chefs Are Today Down Home With the Neelys was a ratings success immediately after its release, with 143 episodes dedicated to sharing delicious recipes in the comfort of the duo’s Tennessee home. In September 2014, the celebrity chefs announced they were divorcing after two decades of marriage and subsequently ending their cooking show.
Why did Gina Neely break up with Pat Neely?
Even as “Down Home With The Neelys” was becoming a perennial jewel in the Food Network crown, Gina Neely found herself disengaging from Pat Neely, to the point where their relationship no longer felt like a marriage to her. “I wasn’t sexually attracted to him,” she told People in 2018. “He became my business partner, whereas I needed a husband.”
Was ‘down home with the Neelys’ canceled?
For seven years, the two co-hosted Food Network’s now-canceled “Down Home With The Neelys,” which ran from 2008 to 2014, per IMDb. The show featured longtime restaurateur Pat and his former bank branch manager wife, Gina, cooking in their Memphis, Tennessee home kitchen.