Food Network Star Ina Garten Opens Up About Marriage: ‘I Had No Interest in Having Children’
Barefoot Contessa host Ina Garten has been opening up about her marriage of over 55 years to former government official Jeffrey Garten, including the reason they never had children.
Appearing on the latest episode of Julia Louis-Dreyfus‘ podcast, Wiser Than Me, the Food Network star revealed it was her decision not to have kids, noting that Jeffrey “would have been a great parent.”
“I think Jeffrey would have been a great parent. He would have really loved having children,” Ina told the Seinfeld star, per People. “But he wanted me to be happy, and it was okay with him.”
Ina added, “I had no interest in having children. None. I just had a terrible childhood, and it was nothing I wanted to recreate.”
The famous cook and author said she doesn’t have any regrets about her choice, but said that seeing her friends with their children, “I understand what it could be.”
“But when I was 20, I didn’t want to have anything to do with it,” she stated.
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Ina and Jeffrey met in 1963 when she was 15 and visiting her brother at Dartmouth College, where Jeffrey was also studying. They later started dating and married in 1968.
“Jeffrey used to write letters to me when we first met, when I was in high school. And then through college. And then when he was in the military, he would write to me almost every day,” Ina previously told People. “And I kept all those letters.”
From 1993 to 1995, Jeffrey served as Undersecretary of Commerce for International Trade in the Bill Clinton administration. He would go on to be the dean of the Yale School of Management from 1995 to 2005.
Ina also worked for the government for several years, serving in the White House as part of the Office of Management and Budget. She left her government job in 1978 after spotting an ad for a 400-square-foot specialty food store called Barefoot Contessa in Westhampton Beach, New York.
She went on to grow the business exponentially and continued to establish herself in the food industry with her cookbooks and appearances on Martha Stewart’s show. She made her debut on the Food Network in 2002 with her hit cooking show Barefoot Contessa, which aired until December 19, 2021.
Ina will open up more about her life and marriage in her forthcoming memoir, Be Ready When the Luck Happens, which will be released on October 1, 2024.
Barefoot Contessa (2002) where to stream
