Rachael Ray spoke to "Nightline" co-anchor Cynthia McFadden recently, and she defended (among other things) her decision to pose provocatively in lad mag FHM.
"I thought if I'm gutsy enough to do this, this is a good thing for everybody," Ray said of being 35 and asked to pose in the magazine in 2003. "This is the everywoman, here she is. And I thought, what the heck? I asked my husband what he thought of it and he said, oh, kinda cool. And I did it and it was the most scared I've ever been and I wouldn't change a thing. I'd do it again tomorrow."
Ray also said her mother "remains furious" over her decision to participate in the shoot, and that she initially thought FHM stood for "Food and Home" not "For Him Magazine."
In the interview, which airs tonight (Monday) at 11:35 ET on ABC News' "Nightline," Ray also discusses the origin of her famous phrase "EVOO," defends her endorsement deal with Dunkin' Donuts, and explains that she is "not a chef."
See Rachael's FHM photos and Watch the minisode below or read more at ABCNews.com:
Some of Rachael's FHM shots below:
Transcript:
Cynthia: All right, I have to ask you about those pictures.
Rachael: Bring it! First of all, when F-H-M called, I thought it was food and home. I didn't even know what F-H-M was. And I mean I got the request from the P-R person.
Cynthia: I mean, I would be like oh, that's-
Rachael: The P-R person at Food Network said we actually have an unusual request from F-H-M magazine. And I thought about it-I think I was thirty-five at the time. Thirty-four or thirty five. And I thought about it for a while, and I said, you know what? This magazine has as young as seventeen, eighteen-year-olds in hottie bikinis, and these are all actresses, models, pin-up girls. I don't belong to any, even remote, club of theirs. And I thought if I'm gutsy enough to do this, this is a good thing for everybody. This is the everywoman, here she is. And I thought, what the heck? I asked my husband what he thought of it and he said, [giggles] oh, kinda cool. And I did it and it was the most scared I've ever been and I wouldn't change a thing. I'd do it again tomorrow.
Cynthia: Now I heard your mother told you not to do it.
Rachael: My mother was furious. Remains furious. You don't have to do that kind of trash, you don't need to sell yourself that way, blah blah blah. I was proud of it. And I would do it again, even though my mom would be really mad at me. I know she still loves me.
Cynthia: So no regrets. You sound like a-
Rachael: Not for a heart-not for a minute.