Gina Neely is a known American celebrity chef and an author known for her cooking show on Food Network called “Down Home with the Neely’s”. The show is hosted not only by her but by her ex-husband Pat.

Early life:

There are few information about her childhood. It is known that her birth surname was Ervin and that she dated her husband Pat during their highschool days in the 1980s.

She claims that she has had a nice childhood and that her teen years were confusing for her becuse she was choosing her career.

She has a sister named Ronald Pleas.

Career development:

Gina and her husband Pat had their own restaurant in Memphis where they lived. It was a very popular restaurant called “Neely’s Bar-B-Que” and it was situated in Downtown Memphis in Tennessee. They both worked there and did their job with love and dedication. They never dreamed about the fact that they might get famous.

In 2006 a Food Network producer approached them and offered them a place on Food Network’s Cook Show which was named “Road Tasted with the Neely’s” which eventually grew up into  “Down Home with the Neelys”.

They showed their way of cooking, their Southern recipes and their collaboration together as a husband and wife.

At first Gina was very worried about the success of the show because she started reading blogs with some mean comments about her. Her husband was always there for her to let her know that this isn’t true.

She was encouraged by her manager too to pursue this career so she decided to give it a try.

Their show became one of the most watched shows on Food Network and, because of their popularity, they soon became huge amongst people.

They wrote two cookbooks and after publishing the second book they invested in their New York restaurant called “Neely’s Barbecue Parlor”.

The first cookbook was named “Down Home with the Neely’s” and was published in 2009. It became a New York Times bestseller.

The second was “The Neely’s Celebration Cookbook: Down Home Meals for Every Occasion” and it was also very popular.

In 2016, Gina and her ex-husband closed their Memphis’s restaurants.

They both still live in Memphis because they love that city and because they have deep roots in the community.

Gina is a member of MRA (“Memphis Restaurant Association”) and is involved in associations such as Memphis Housing Authority, The Dreamers Club and she is very involved in the work of Cummings Street Missionary Baptist Church

Personal life:

After they broke up as a couple during highschool, Gina and Pat took different paths in life. They both got married and Gina even has a daughter Spenser from her first marriage. She gave birth to Spenser in 1989 but the marriage with her first husband didn’t last long.

She started dating Pat again after they met again on the 10th school reunion and soon it evolved into a serious relationship. They got married in 1994. It was true love that could not be avoided, the couple claims. It was only a matter of time. After they discovered that they have the same passion for cooking it was done.

They have one daughter together, named Shelbi, who is six years younger than Spenser, Gina’s daughter from the first marriage. She loves both of them very much and claims that she never differed them in any way.

They have announced their separation in the fall of 2014 and stated that tgeir divorce wasn’t a rushed decision but thoroughly thinked over.

They tried to save their marriage, which started going under in 2008, and they went to therapy 12 times. She also tried to move out four times but always changed her mind and stayed. It took her one more try and in the fifth attempt she finally moved out from their joined home.

She started losing weight before the  divorce was final and she lost over 30 pounds from that period till now. The main thing that led to her change of lifestyle was her yearly health exam where she found out that she has high colesterol. She wanted to preserve her healthy body since she had got into bad food a lot because of work.

That is how she turned to healthier diet, started to engage in workout, from CrossFit to pole dancing. She was very enthusuastic about it so it didn’t take her long to get into shape.

Another thing that scared her was her family’s medical history: her father died of a heart attack and her mother has a bypass. Other members of the family also have  high cholesterol and high blood pressure. It was an alarm for her: she realized how many of her family members have medical issues.

Quick summary

Full name:  Gina Neely

Date of birth: June 10, 1965

Birthplace: Memphis

Age: 52

Profession: TV personality, celebrity chef

Height: NA

Weight: NA

Net Worth: $2 million