Ina Garten, the 77-year-old chef and author, said she has no regrets about her decision not to have children, a choice she made early in her marriage to Jeffrey Garten. Garten spoke candidly about the topic during a Nov. 25 appearance on the podcast Good Hang with Amy Poehler, telling the host she “couldn’t imagine” her life any other way.
“I’ve done what I wanted to do. I’ve had a wonderful time,” Garten said. She added with a laugh that one of the benefits of being child-free is “not being responsible for them. Not having teenagers.”
Childhood Influenced Her Choice
Garten has long cited her difficult childhood as a major reason behind her decision. In her memoir “Be Ready When the Luck Happens”, she described growing up in a household marked by emotional and sometimes physical abuse, which left her wary of replicating the same environment.
“People in my family didn’t really have fun. I just didn’t want that for anyone,” Garten told People magazine in 2024. She said the experience shaped her understanding of what she wanted in life and helped her make an early decision not to pursue parenthood.
Garten married Jeffrey Garten in 1968, and the couple agreed not to have children. She said the decision was personal and not primarily tied to her growing career. “I had a clear sense of what I could handle emotionally,” according to Yahoo Entertainment.
Building a Life Around Food and Partnership
Instead of raising children, Garten devoted herself to her culinary career and to her marriage. She opened a specialty food store in the Hamptons in the 1970s, which later became the foundation of her Barefoot Contessa brand. Over the decades, she published 13 cookbooks and built a devoted television audience.
“She and Jeffrey have always supported each other,” Good Morning America reported. Garten said her husband would have been a great parent, but accepted her choice from the beginning. “He wanted me to be happy, and it was OK with him,” she said.
Despite occasionally missing the social connections that parenthood can bring, Garten said she feels fulfilled. She said her life reflects the values, creativity, and independence she sought.
No Regrets, Just Gratitude
Garten repeatedly emphasized that she does not regret her choice. On the Good Hang podcast, she said she cannot imagine her life having taken any other shape. Her story highlights that personal fulfillment can take many forms beyond parenthood. For Garten, happiness has meant cooking, love, and the freedom to chart her own path.
“I feel that I would never have been able to have the life I’ve had if I had children,” Garten told E! News.
