This TV chef is still haunted by ‘soul crushing’ childhood
To the millions of viewers who tuned into the Food Network in the early 2000s, she was the quintessential blonde hostess with a knack for “Semi-Homemade” hacks and a vibrant, aspirational charm. But behind the coordinated “tablescapes” and the televised smiles lay a backstory so harrowing it reads more like a Dickensian struggle than a…