Fieri recounted the gruesome details of his harrowing leg injury in a new interview with EW.

Why Guy Fieri defied doctor’s orders for emergency surgery after scary fall: ‘Tape me up’

Fieri recounted the gruesome details of his harrowing leg injury in a new interview with EW.

By Ryan Coleman

Ryan Coleman

Ryan Coleman is a news writer for with previous work in MUBI Notebook, Slant, and the LA Review of Books.

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February 6, 2026 7:30 p.m. ET

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Guy Fieri in New York City in 2025. Credit:

Bryan Bedder/Getty

- Guy Fieri tells EW that he refused to take it easy after suffering a nasty fall while shooting the new Food Network series *Flavortown Food Fight*.

- After slipping down a set of stairs and snapping his quad muscle, Fieri says an on-set medic told him to visit the hospital immediately.

- Fieri shares why he told them to "tape me up" instead.

Guy Fieri loves only one thing more than diners, drive-ins, and dives: his staff.

The restaurateur, celebrity chef, and Food Network star stood up for his employees — literally — after taking a nasty fall on set. Fieri first revealed in November that he slipped down a set of stairs while on set for the upcoming series *Flavortown Food Fight*. "I'm kind of halfway doing the splits going down the stairs, about a three-foot drop, and then it just took that leg and compressed it, snapped my quad muscle on the center of my leg in half. Literally in half," he tells EW in an interview tied to his partnership with Bosch for a big Super Bowl commercial.

Fieri is fortunately well on his way to a complete recovery. But even moments after the fall, he says he was determined to carry on, business as usual, telling a paramedic at the scene, "Okay, let's go finish the show."**

Guy Fieri on 'Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives'. Scott Brinegar/Food Network

Fieri recalls, "The paramedic on set came and looked at it and could see the dent, because the muscle was gone. She goes, 'You need to go to the hospital.' But I said, 'Okay, well, tape me up. Let's go finish the show.' Because we were right in the middle of the show."

Fieri says the medic pushed back, and so did the rest of the *Flavortown Food Fight *crew, worried about his health. But he held firm, explaining, "I got 125 people on set. I got two chefs that are losing their minds in the middle of this competition. We gotta get this done."

The *Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives *host says the adrenaline helped him get through the rest of the day. But even when he finally went to see a doctor, he was hesitant to take immediate action. "They did the MRI and they're like, 'This is not a tear. This is full blown. You've got to get to surgery immediately.' And I'm like, 'What does immediately mean?'"

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Surgery was urged "within the next 24 hours," prompting one question: "'Can I mess it up any worse?'" Ultimately, Fieri decided to "go back and finish, because I had one more show to shoot, a whole show. The doctor was like, 'Yeah, why would you listen to me? Why would you go put it up and get off?' I said, 'Well, you said I can't do anything worse,'" Fieri recalls with a laugh.

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With the help of Lori, his wife of over 30 years, and their sons, Hunter and Ryder, Fieri successfully got through surgery, out of a wheelchair, and off crutches. He was thinking of the hardworking people who depend on him for stable work the whole time.

Fieri returned to work just three days after surgery. "We had 12 more episodes to do, and I've got a lot of people — 125 people that are counting on Christmas money, and no unemployment's going to come in that period of time," he shares. "It was a lot of negotiations, we had to make pants with Velcro in the back and the whole thing. But we pulled it off and we got all the shows done, and I don't think people will really be able to tell. I'm just standing there on one leg, you know, holding onto a street sign or holding onto a picnic bench or something."

Guy Fieri debuts a startling new look on Instagram in 2026.

Guy Fieri/Instagram

Fieri previously told EW that the injury and ensuing recovery have majorly shifted his outlook on life.

"It does give you appreciation for being healthy. You look at people that have disabilities and realize, we take a lot of things for granted. Folks that are on crutches and stuff, you know, the next time you see somebody on crutches, maybe clear a little bit of a path," he said. "Open the door for them."

Look out for Fieri's game-day ad for Bosch during Super Bowl LX, airing on NBC and Peacock on Feb. 8.**

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