The TV personality opened up about the dynamic with her husband of nearly 20 years in the premiere episode of her new podcast, "I'll Sleep When I'm Dead." Rachael admitted to her guest Jenny Mollen that she has trouble calming it down in skirmishes with John ... citing her hot temper and vociferously loud personality as the culprit.

She added ... "We have huge screaming matches all the time, but I think that’s healthy. I really do. And I don't trust people that are too quiet."

As Rachael put it ... she wants to know what her significant other is thinking ... as she would rather he just "get it all out there" in an argument.

Despite the heated dynamic in their union, Rachael confessed they don't usually apologize to each other after a fiery exchange.

She elaborated ... "Eventually I pat him on his ass or he kisses me on the head, and that's just sort of it. That’s the apology. It's just sort of understood. 'I still like your ass.' 'I still like your head.' It's kind of in that zone."

Of course, this wasn't the only confession Rachael shared during her inaugural episode ... also noting she initially thought John "was gay" during their first meeting.

The Food Network star recalled ... "He told me what he had made for dinner the night before, and it was so impressive, and he told me he was a lawyer. There's no way a straight guy knows what tilapia is."

Yet, Rachael's first instinct was wrong ... with the pair going on to date and later marrying in Italy in September 2005.

Rachael's new podcast comes more than a month after she sparked concerns about her health when she slurred her words in a cooking video on social media. RR never addressed that ... instead going about business as usual, posting different recipes to her Instagram feed.