The Tragic Event That Tore Rachael Ray's Family Apart

Celebrity cook Rachael Ray doesn't get the luxury of privacy very often. Her high-profile career on The Food Network and beyond has ensured that plenty of Ray's controversial moments stay plastered on online, tainting her reputation for good. One headline-making instance, in the middle of her syndicated talk show fame, even involved her extended family. In 2013, Rachael Ray's tragic real-life story garnered national attention when her aunt died. A private family scandal incited a media flurry, which left a family member outspoken about her disdain for Ray.

The "Meals in Minutes" star's aunt, 77-year-old Geraldine Scuderi, was house-sitting for Ray's mom in upstate New York the day after Thanksgiving in 2013 when she accidentally locked herself out of the house, according to The National Enquirer, which first reported the story. Ray's cousin, Gina Mesnick, told the outlet that Scuderi, her mother, wasn't given a key to the house, so she was unable to get back inside. Scuderi, who had a respiratory disease, was left sitting outside, exposed to the frigid November climate (the high on Lake George that day was 32 degrees, according to Weather Underground). "There's security camera footage that shows my poor mom trying desperately to break a window with a rock to get back in," Mesnick told the Enquirer. "At some point in the evening, I suspect that, because of her con­dition, she had trouble breathing and collapsed in the driveway and basically died there."

Mesnick didn't hesitate to tell The Enquirer that she holds Ray and her family responsible for the death of her mom. She also didn't believe Ray "shed a single tear" for Geraldine Scuderi since the TV personality was absent from her funeral (via the New York Post). A spokesperson for Ray told the Post that the taping of her talk show unfortunately conflicted with the funeral, but assured that Ray was "shocked and deeply saddened" by her aunt's death.

Ray's brother, Emmanuel ("Manny"), chimed in on the public family rift, defending his sister to RadarOnline.com when they spoke to him at his aunt's funeral. "It's sad that Rachael's getting dragged into this when she really has nothing to do with it," said Manny. "She works very hard, and not only does she work for herself, but everyone she cares about." The "EVOO" trendsetter's mom was also pulled into the family drama to set the record straight, despite her niece Gina Mesnick's claims that the Ray family didn't care about her mother. According to Ray's rep, Elsa Scuderi and her sister were two of nine siblings and were similar in age. "So of course they were extremely close and spoke daily," they told USA Today in a statement at the time. "[Geraldine] was deeply loved and cared for by all."