Ina Garten has written bestselling cookbooks, become a Food Network favorite, and shared a loving marriage with Jeffrey Garten for decades. But despite her many public accomplishments, curiosity has long lingered around one private decision: her choice not to have children.
Motherhood was never part of that picture, and the beloved celebrity chef does not wish it had been. Garten, 78, whose career spans cookbook publishing, television hosting, and culinary entrepreneurship, recently reflected on her decision not to have children, saying she never felt drawn to parenthood and has no regrets about the life she chose.
What Did Ina Garten Say About Not Having Children?
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“I think it would have been much harder,” Garten told The New York Times. “I’ve never looked back on the decision and thought, I should have done it differently. I understand how my friends have wonderful families, and they really enjoy being parents, but it’s just not something I ever wanted to do.”
Her answer left little room for regret. “I’m really happy that I didn’t,” she said.
When Did Ina Garten Make the Decision?
Garten discussed the subject during a 2017 conversation with former Today co-host Katie Couric, saying the choice came early. “We decided not to have children,” Garten said. “I really appreciate that other people do, and we will always have friends that have children that we are close to, but it was a choice I made very early.”
Be Ready When the Luck Happens author added, “I really felt, I feel, that I would have never been able to have the life I’ve had [with children].”
Garten offered more insight into that choice during an interview with Hoda Kotb on Today in October 2024. She explained that her difficult childhood shaped the way she once viewed family life.
“When I got married, I just thought I would be the wife and we would have children and we would have a traditional relationship,” Garten said.
“In my 20s, I kind of resisted having children. I was like, why would I want to re-create that nightmare that I just came from? And I thought that’s what life at home with children would be. (It) never occurred to me that other people’s lives were different because that was my experience.”
How Did Ina Garten Build Her Career?
At 30, Garten left her government job after spotting a classified advertisement for a specialty food store in Westhampton Beach, New York, according to Business Insider. She bought the business, called Barefoot Contessa, despite having no professional food-industry experience.
Garten made the store’s name synonymous with her relaxed approach to cooking and entertaining. She sold the business in 1996 and turned her attention to cookbooks and television, as per Today.
What Is Ina Garten Known for Today?
The Barefoot Contessa name followed Garten into her next chapter. She published more than a dozen cookbooks and became a Food Network favorite through Barefoot Contessa and Be My Guest With Ina Garten.
Her husband, Jeffrey Garten, has remained a familiar presence throughout her public life. The couple married in 1968.