Fans of The Food Network will be sad to learn that one of the station's dynamic duos, Pat and Gina Neely have decided to divorce after 20 years of marriage. The two starred for years on Down Home With the Neelys and Road Tested With the Neelys before deciding to focus their time and energy primarily on their own restaurants. The Neely's offered up an official statement the other day saying:
"Today we announce that we are ending our marriage of 20 years for irreconcilable differences. This was a tough decision, but we believe it is the best decision for us. As parents of two beautiful adult daughters that we love dearly, we will continue to be involved in each others' lives as parents and friends. Together we have built a strong brand as The Neely's. Moving forward our focus will be on our individual brands and we are optimistic about our respective futures. We ask for your prayers as we go through this transition and honor our request for privacy at this time.'
The high school sweethearts married back in 1994 and have two daughters, Spenser and Shelbi that they co-parented. They were one of those couples that appeared to be pretty inseparable until the last few years. Gina recently went through a physical transformation, losing over 20 pounds and Pat has been working with My Family Dollar to help fight hunger. While many splits end up complicated and ugly, this doesn't seem like either of those things.
The Neely's claim to still love each other but simply grew apart as their personal interests shifted. It will be interesting to see what individual projects they embark on now that they are going in opposite directions. Breaking up a brand is usually a pretty risky venture. Do you think that the Neely's will be as successful in business on their own as they have been together?
