Ina Garten has revealed she briefly split from her husband after launching her culinary empire because he “expected” her to play a “certain role” and felt she wasn’t “paying enough attention” to him.
From the outside, it seemed like Ina’s 56-year marriage to Jeffrey had been perfect every step of the way.
But now the acclaimed cook and author, 76, has revealed that she and her husband, 77, split in the 1970s when she was just starting out in her career.
The Barefoot Contessa star said People that her husband had certain ‘expectations’ of herwhich he found “really annoying.”
“He expected a wife who would cook dinner,” she said. “There were certain roles we played that I found really annoying.”
Ina Garten has revealed she briefly split from husband Jeffrey after launching his culinary empire because he “expected” her to play a “certain role”.
Ina and Jeffrey married in 1968, at which time she was working as a White House budget analyst.
But in 1978, she quit her government job and bought a New York grocery store called Barefoot Contessa.
In an excerpt from her upcoming memoir, Be Ready When the Luck Happens, Ina She explained that after she started running her own business, she realized she could no longer “live with him in the traditional ‘man and woman’ relationship.”
“When I bought Barefoot Contessa, I broke our traditional roles: I gave them a baseball bat and beat them to pieces,” he wrote.
‘While I was still cooking, cleaning, shopping, running the store, I was doing it as a businesswoman, not as a wife.
“I just couldn’t live with him in a traditional ‘husband and wife’ relationship. Jeffrey had done nothing wrong.
“He was simply doing what every man before him had done. But we were living in a new era and that behavior no longer seemed right to me. I had changed.”
The 76-year-old admitted that her immense “responsibilities” as a shop owner made it “impossible to even think about anything else” and confessed that she “did not pay enough attention” to her husband.
The 76-year-old cook and author revealed to People that she and Jeffrey, 77, split in the 1970s when she was just starting her career. They are seen together early in their marriage.
“He expected a wife who would cook dinner,” he explained. “There were certain roles we played that I found really annoying.” They are seen at their wedding in 1968.
“There was no expectation about who came home from work first and what they were supposed to do, because I never came home from work,” he continued.
‘I didn’t pay enough attention to it. I just wanted everyone to leave me alone so I could focus on the store.
“Jeffrey was fully formed and living the life he wanted to live. I wasn’t, and I wouldn’t be able to figure out who I was or what I wanted unless I was alone. I needed that freedom.”
Ina revealed that she considered divorcing Jeffrey, but in the end, she opted for a separation as she took the time to figure out what she really wanted.
In the book, she described it as “the hardest thing she ever did,” but stressed the importance of “being alone.”
“I didn’t say if it was for now… or forever. In typical Jeffrey style, he said, ‘If you feel like you need to be alone, you have to do it,'” she recalled.
“He packed his bags and went home to Washington with no plans to return. I buried my emotions and immersed myself in my work.”
In the end, Ina suggested that Jeffrey see a therapist, and he agreed, which changed everything for them.
They spent six weeks apart before they finally decided to give their love another chance as “equals.”
“Jeffrey’s willingness to see the therapist was as important as anything that might happen during the session,” Ina added.
‘He was determined to convince me that he was serious about making our marriage work.
‘Six weeks went by. We talked, we listened to each other, and most importantly, we heard each other when we expressed our concerns.
In an excerpt from her memoirs, Ina explained that after she started running her own business, she realized she could no longer “live with him in the traditional ‘man and woman’ relationship.”
They spent six weeks apart before they finally decided to give their love another chance as “equals,” and have been happily in love ever since. They are seen in 2015.
The star wrote: “In the future, we could be equals and look out for each other. It won’t happen overnight, but if we work towards the same goal, we could change things together.”
“In the future, we could be equals and look out for each other. It won’t happen overnight, but if we work towards the same goal, we could change things together.”
Over two decades, Ina built Barefoot Contessa into a thriving business before releasing her first cookbook in 1999.
It was a huge success and launched her into stardom in the culinary world.
She then began making frequent appearances on the Martha Stewart show before landing her own show on the Food Network, called Barefoot Contessa, in 2002.
Since then, Ina has published a total of 13 cookbooks and embarked on a number of other business ventures; her show ran for 29 seasons before coming to an end in 2021.
Since their brief split, Jeffrey has been by her side through everything, and they are still happily in love now, decades later.
On his 77th birthday last November, Ina shared an emotional tribute to him.
“Happy birthday to my dear husband Jeffrey. I have loved you madly for almost 60 years and I’m just getting started,” she gushed.
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