Sweet Details About Ina Garten's Relationship With Husband Jeffrey Garten
Who is Ina Garten's husband, Jeffrey Garten?
Joe Seer / Shutterstock Ina Garten is an American author, host of The Food Network show Barefoot Contessa, and surprisingly, a former staff member of the White House Office. She has sold almost 10 million copies of her famous cookbooks in the last 17 years. Most of these cookbooks are lovingly tested on a certain someone in her life: her husband, Jeffrey Garten. She even has one cookbook dedicated to him called Cooking For Jeffrey. But who's the man behind the food star?
Who is Ina Garten's husband, Jeffrey Garten?
Jeffrey Garten was born on October 29, 1946, which makes him a Scorpio. He got his bachelor's degree from Dartmouth College in 1968. Soon after graduating, he married Ina in her parent's home. He then went on to get his masters and Ph.D. from John Hopkins University. Garten was a Wall Street man for 13 years working as a managing director for the Lehman Brothers. He is currently the Dean Emeritus of Yale University. He was the sitting Dean of the school from 1995-2005 and has been teaching at the school since stepping down. His courses on global challenges attract many undergraduates that cut across several schools housed within Yale which include the schools of management, law, forestry and environmental studies, public health and various international relationship programs.
Jeffrey Garten is an author.
Ina has published quite a few books and so has her husband. Jeffrey Garten is an accomplished author, having written several books on the global economy. The couple both encourage each other's writing. When Ina was publishing her first-ever cookbook, Jeffrey was right by her side, effusive as ever. "She has natural talent, but it's backed by so much effort and so much focus."
How did Ina and Jeffrey Garten meet?
In 1964, Ina was on a trip to visit her brother at Dartmouth College. On her trip, Jeffrey caught a glimpse of her as he stared out of the library window. He asked his roommate if he knew her and he did; in fact, he actually had a date with her that night. When his roommate's date with Ina didn't turn into anything, Jeffrey began to write letters to her. A few months went by and he picked Ina up at her parents' house for date. The date started off awkward with them trying to get into a bar in New York but ended with a "perfectly good time" in Westport at a coffee shop —and the rest is history. The couple has been together well over 50 years now.
Jeffrey Garten served in the Army.
Jeffrey Garten served in the military for four years. He enlisted in 1968 into the Army where he served as an officer in the 82nd Airborne, an aide-de-camp to the commanding general of the Special Forces and as an advisor to the Royal Thai Army. Before serving the Royal Thai Army, he learned how to speak the language at the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center well enough to be labeled fluent.
Does Ina Garten have kids?
Ina decided very early that she wasn't going to have children. She said in the podcast Next Question with Katie Couric, "We decided not to have children. I really appreciate that other people do and we will always have friends that have children that we are close to." She further explained that she felt she would have never been able to have the life she's had if she had children, so they didn't. They made a prosperous adventure of their lives with only each other. "It was a choice and that was the choice I made," Garten explained.
Deauna Nunes is a writer who covers pop-culture, self, and love topics.