Rachael Ray doesn’t regret not having children and says she prefers dogs

• Rachael Ray says she doesn’t regret not having children, even though she’s been “criticized for it” over the years.
• Instead, the celebrity chef said on her podcast that she prefers the company of her dog.
• And it’s not just her: millennials today choose to raise pets rather than children.

Rachael Ray, 56, doesn’t regret her decision not to have children.

On Tuesday’s episode of her podcast, “I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead,” the celebrity chef and TV host spoke to guest Bob Harper, a celebrity trainer from “The Biggest Loser,” about dealing with societal pressure to have children. .

When Harper said he chose not to have children, Ray shared the same sentiment: “Me too. And boy, have I been criticized for it over the decades.”

Instead of having children, Ray and Harper said they preferred to raise dogs.

“They never talk back, they always want to hug you,” Ray said, adding that the animals bring him “a ray of light.”

“It’s that unconditional love, but it really gets you through the dark days. Like for me, if I’m having the absolute worst day, or if I’m sick as a dog – as the expression goes – the thing that The best thing that makes me feel is coming home and literally crawling into bed under a blanket with my dog,” Ray said.

The celebrity chef also opened up about the deaths of her dogs, Boo and Isaboo, who she shared with husband John Cusimano.

“They were everything to us and they both lived very long lives. One was over 13, the other over 15,” Ray said, adding that she and her husband then decided to adopt their current dog, Bella.

She said she believes raising an animal can make a person “a better human.”

“I don’t understand people who don’t like having an animal in their life, because it just makes them happier and better,” Ray said. “And you have all this love in your life all the time, no matter what.”

During a 2009 interview on ABC’s “Nightline,” as reported by the Wall Street Journal, Ray said she didn’t feel like she was missing out just because she didn’t have children. .

“I think I’m 40 and I have to put in an awful lot of hours at work,” Ray told ABC reporter Cynthia McFadden, who pressed her on her decision not to have any more children. “For me personally, I would need more time to feel like a good mom to my own child. I feel like a good mom to my dog. So I can’t imagine if it was a human baby. “I feel like it would be unfair, not only to the child but also to the people I work with. “

The decision not to have children

A 2021 Pew Research study found that more and more Americans do not want to have children.

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This is partly due to rising child care costs: Business Insider estimates that parents could spend at least $25,714 on child care this year, an increase of 41. 5% compared to 2016.

Instead, more millennials are choosing to raise pets rather than children, pampering their four-legged companions with homemade treats, clothes and even expensive vacations abroad.

Even in China, where the population is decreasing, the urban pet population is expected to exceed the number of toddlers by 2030.

A representative for Ray did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent by Business Insider after hours.