Rachael Ray feels her ‘time might be shorter’ after turning 56 as fans suspect she’s suffering from health problems

RACHAEL Ray has admitted she feels her "time might be shorter" as fans fear she may be suffering from health issues in recent months.

The celebrity chef, 56, spoke about growing older with her longtime friend, The Biggest Loser trainer and fitness guru Bob Harper, 59, on her new podcast, I'll Sleep When I'm Dead.

During the wide-ranging conversation about their lives and careers, Bob told Rachael he enjoys "living in the moment" and "wanting to learn new things on any given day," despite being long out of formal school.

Rachael revealed she "gets up at 4 o'clock in the morning."

"I've gotten worse as I've gotten older, because I feel like time might be shorter, and I want my time to be more, every minute of it," she told Bob.

'DARK DAYS'

Rachael and Bob also spoke about choosing not to have children, and how their dogs have helped them get through difficult times.

"God love all the people that have kids," Bob said.

"Me too. And boy, did I get bashed for it over the decades!" Rachael chimed in.

Bob, who said he is currently single, said he receives "unconditional love" from his pets.

"It just brings you a ray of light," Rachael, who's married to musician John Cusimano, agreed. "Like it's that unconditional love, but it really gets you through dark days, right?

"For me, if I have the absolute worst day or I'm sick as a dog, as the expression goes, the thing that makes me feel best is to go home and literally climb into bed under a blanket with my dog."

SPARKING CONCERN

Rachael's latest comments come after fans expressed their fears for the beloved chef after she appeared to slur her words and struggle in a recent cooking video shared on her Instagram.

In early September, Rachael seemed unable to speak clearly while sharing a story about her late friend, Tony Bennett, in a clip from her FYI Network show, Rachael Ray in Tuscany.

One fan commented they were "seriously concerned" about Rachael, and others noticed her speech was "slurred."

"Omg is she ok? What happened?" a follower said.

Other fans defended Rachael.

"She got emotional talking about her friend is all," one said.

"She's aging like the rest of us. Maybe she has a medical condition, maybe she is on medication. Regardless, no need to be mean," a second chimed in.

She has not commented on the speculation, and simply limited comments on her social media in the aftermath.

She largely lives a private life, but did make a rare appearance at the annual Food and Wine festival in New York City last month.

RACHAEL'S HARDSHIPS

The star has been hit with some tough times recently, including her beloved dog Isaboo's death in 2020, and a terrifying house fire the same year.

In August 2020, Rachael and husband John's upstate New York mansion erupted into flames.

"On August 9, my house burned," she told fans on her long-running talk show, which ended in 2023 after 17 seasons. "15 years of memories. 40 years of notebooks, drawings, thoughts, my life's work."

The family managed to escape the tragedy without injury.