Originally appeared on E! Online
Ina Garten proved she is much more than a stereotype.
The "Barefoot Contessa" host revealed that she nearly divorced husband Jeffrey Garten during their decades-long marriage. And it all came down to the fact that she felt like she was playing the role of housewife.
“There were certain roles that we played, and I found them really annoying,” Ina told People Sept. 17. “I felt that if I just hit the pause button, I would get his attention.”
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But the 76-year-old, who tied the knot with Jeffrey Garten in December 1968, shared insight into the role her business played in their relationship dynamic after buying her specialty food store in Westhampton Beach.
"When I bought 'Barefoot Contessa,' I shattered our traditional roles — took a baseball bat to them and left them in pieces," she wrote in her memoir Be Ready When the Luck Happens — releasing Oct. 1. "While I was still cooking, cleaning, shopping, managing at the store, I was doing it as a businesswoman, not a wife. My responsibilities made it impossible for me to even think about anything else. There was no expectation about who got home from work first and what they should do, because I never got home from work!"
"I thought about it a lot, and at my lowest point, I wondered if the only answer would be to get a divorce," she continued. "I loved Jeffrey and didn’t want to shock — or hurt — him, so I’d start by suggesting we pause for a separation."
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And amid feeling like they were “caught between two worlds,” the Food Network star pushed to break the mold of a “traditional ‘man and wife’ relationship,” and insisted that they see a therapist.
"Jeffrey’s willingness to see the therapist was as significant as anything that might happen during their session," she wrote. "He was that determined to convince me he was serious about making our marriage work."
And luckily, the couple is stronger than ever as they prepare to reach 56 years of marriage this December.
"Six weeks passed. We talked, we listened, and more important, we heard each other when we aired our concerns,” she continued. “Moving forward, we could be equals who took care of each other. It wouldn’t happen overnight, but if we worked toward the same goal, we could change things together."
As for where it all started, the two knew it was love at first sight after first laying eyes on each other in a college library. And that very same day, the Yale alum took her on their first date.
"After the date, Jeffrey said to his roommate, 'Are you interested?' 'Oh no, I've known her since I was 5,'" Ina recalled in a 2018 episode of Sunday Sitdown With Willie Geist. "So he asked if he could write to me. And he wrote me a letter...I remember running through the house — he sent me a photograph — and I remember saying, 'Mom, mom, this guy's adorable!'"
But despite Ina’s confession that she didn’t expect a second date, their love would prevail for years to come.
"I had no idea I needed fake ID to get into a bar when I was 16," she admitted on "The Drew Barrymore Show" in November 2022. "So many years later, I said [to Jeffrey], 'What did you think? Why would you want to take me out again?' He said, 'I thought you needed taking care of.' Which is so sweet, and he was so right."
