Ina Garten Reveals Why She’s ‘Really Happy’ She and Husband Jeffrey Didn’t Welcome Any Kids

Kayla GrantMon, August 31, 2026 at 3:30 PM UTC

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Ina Garen and her husbandCredit: Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty -

Ina Garten is opening up about her decision not to have kids

During a recent interview with The New York Times, the Food Network star got candid about why she’s “really happy” that she and her husband Jeffrey decided not to have children

Ina, who tied the knot with Jeffrey in 1968, revealed that she and her husband would have had entirely different lives if they welcomed little ones

Ina Garten is opening up about her decision not to have kids.

During a recent interview with The New York Times, the Food Network star, 78, got candid about why she’s “really happy” that she and her husband Jeffrey Garten decided not to have children. Ina, who tied the knot with Jeffrey in 1968, revealed that she thinks that she and her husband would have had entirely different lives if they welcomed any little ones.

“I think it would have been difficult, and I think Jeffrey and I would have had a different life together,” she told the outlet. “I’m not saying it’s a better life or a worse life, but there were times when Jeffrey decided that he wanted to start a business in Japan, and so he moved to Japan. I was in East Hampton, we went back and forth and we figured it out.”

“I think that probably couldn’t have happened if we had kids, and I couldn’t have stayed long hours at the store, doing catering and running the store. I think it would have been much harder,” she continued. “I’ve never looked back on the decision and thought, I should have done it differently. I understand how my friends have wonderful families, and they really enjoy being parents, but it’s just not something I ever wanted to do. I’m really happy that I didn’t.”

Jeffrey Garten and Ina Garten attend 40th Annual Daytime Entertaimment Emmy Awards on June 16, 2013 in Beverly Hills, California.Credit: Allen Berezovsky/WireImage

Back in November, Ina also opened up about her decision to not have any children. During the Tuesday, Nov. 25 episode of the Good Hang with Amy Poehler podcast,she sat down with host Amy Poehler and shared that she’s thankful her husband was okay with not having any kids.

“I mean, it’s amazing to me that I made that decision so young and that, thank God, Jeffrey was okay with it,” she said. “I just can’t imagine my life any other way.”

She added, “I’ve done what I wanted to do. I’ve had ... just a wonderful time.”

The Be My Guest host went on to joke about her favorite thing about not having kids.

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“Not be responsible for them,” she told Poehler, before adding, “Not having teenagers.”

Ina Garten and Jeffrey GartenCredit: Ina Garten Instagram

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Back in April 2024, Ina made an appearance on Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ podcast, Wiser Than Me from Lemonada Media, and spoke about her relationship with her husband and how she knows he would have been a “great parent.”

“I think Jeffrey would have been a great parent. He would have really loved having children,” she told the Seinfeld alum. “But, he wanted me to be happy, and it was okay with him.”

As a working woman in the ‘70s, Ina’s choice to not have kids “wasn’t a struggle at all,” she said.

“I had no interest in having children. None. I just had a terrible childhood, and it was nothing I wanted to recreate,” she added.

While she doesn’t regret her choice, she said that by seeing her friends with their children, “I understand what it could be.”

“But when I was 20, I didn’t want to have anything to do with it,” she told Louis-Dreyfus.

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”