Jeffrey and Ina Garten have been married for over 50 years ... but there was a time they doubted their marriage would last. Photo: @inagarten/Instagram
The TV cook and economist, ex-White House official and dean emeritus at Yale University have been married for over 50 years, but almost got divorced once …
America’s darling chef, television host and author Ina Garten has a new memoir coming out soon, named Be Ready When the Luck Happens, where she writes about how her marriage was almost derailed once, and what she did to get it back on track.
Mr Garten’s hopes for a traditional wife clashed with Mrs Garten’s ambitions of running her Westhampton speciality food store Barefoot Contessa (also the name of her television cooking show). Her need for freedom ultimately led to her asking for a separation and when he wanted her back, she gave him an ultimatum: therapy or divorce. He picked the former because “he was that determined to convince me he was serious about making our marriage work”, she writes candidly in the book, adding, “It changed him … but it also changed me too.”
So, who is Jeffrey Garten, whose secret to a happy marriage, per People, is to “love Ina to death”?
How did Ina Garten meet her husband, Jeffrey Garten?
Jeffrey Garten met Ina Garten when she was only 15. Photo: @inagarten/Instagram
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Per People, Ina was 15 when she met Jeffrey, who is a little over a year older than her. They first crossed paths at Dartmouth College, where he was majoring in government and she was visiting her older brother. “I had a very lonely childhood, but everything changed when I met Jeffrey,” the Food Network host writes in her new memoir. The couple married in 1968, and Ina is now 76.
He supported her decision to not have kids
Jeffrey Garten is still very much in love with his wife, Ina Garten. Photo: @inagarten/Instagram
Early on in their relationship, the couple decided not to have children. “I had no interest in having children. None. I just had a terrible childhood, and it was nothing I wanted to recreate,” the Be My Guest star revealed on Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ Wiser Than Me podcast. She admitted that Jeffrey would have been a great parent, but he wanted her to be happy.
He has a diverse career
Jeffrey Garten has had an illustrious career in several fields. Photo: @inagarten/Instagram
The son of a war veteran, Jeffrey was once a US Army paratrooper and wrote to his wife every day while away. With his master’s and PhD from Johns Hopkins University, he eventually went from vice-president to managing director at Lehman Brothers, co-founded an international consulting firm, and served as dean at the Yale School of Management, where he is now the dean emeritus and Juan Trippe Professor in the Practice Emeritus of International Trade, Finance and Business. He also briefly worked at the White House with his wife. Like her, he is the author of several books, including A Cold Peace: America, Japan, Germany and the Struggle for Supremacy.
