NEWSIna Garten Grew Up 'Physically Afraid' of Her Father After Suffering Abuse Throughout Childhood: 'I Was Terrified'
Ina Garten has never publicly spoken about the abuse she experienced as a child.
Ina Garten has a lot to be proud of after overcoming childhood trauma and going on to make it big as a celebrity chef and famed cooking show host.
In a new interview ahead of the Tuesday, October 1, release of her upcoming memoir, Be Ready When the Luck Happens, the Food Network star recalled the physical and emotional abuse she suffered from her late parents, Charles and Florence Rosenberg.
Ina Garten reflected on her childhood trauma in her upcoming memoir, 'Be Ready When the Luck Happens.'
Opening up about her difficult past for the very first time, Garten admitted her father, who was a surgeon, would hit her and pull her hair if she did something he disapproved of.
"I was terrified," Garten — who grew up in Connecticut with her brother, Ken — confessed to a news publication. "I was physically afraid of my dad. I literally remember thinking he would kill me if I did something. I was physically afraid of him. And my mother just was unsupportive."
The Barefoot Contessa star explained: "If there's a threat of violence, you're always afraid, even when it's not happening. So I basically spent my entire childhood in my bedroom with a door closed. I think it was just protection. It was just to keep myself safe."
While she spent most of her time as a kid in fear of her father's wrath, Garten also suffered trauma from her mother, who the 76-year-old described as controlling.
Ina Garten denied drifting from Martha Stewart because of her prison stint.
"I wouldn't be surprised if she was diagnosed with Asperger's [Syndrome]," the cookbook author suggested. "She really didn't know how to have a relationship, which is why I think, as I've gotten older, having relationships is so important to me."
Garten provided an example of how her childhood bedroom was decorated in the colors peach and white — even though she wanted purple — because her mom insisted the darker shade would "turn out badly."
"It was something she said to me a lot," the television personality remembered.
Fortunately, at age 16, the star met her now-husband, Jeffrey Garten, and "everything changed."
The celebrity cook grew up 'afraid' of her dad.
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The lovebirds got married in 1968 after dating for four years and are still going strong to this day.
"[My mother] thought I was too young to get married," she noted, "but it was the first time in my life when I just said to her, 'I know you don't think this is a good idea. And for the first time, I'm really sorry to tell you this, but I don't care. I'm doing this.'"
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Later in life, Ina came to terms with her childhood and even reconciled with her dad before his death in 2004.
"He, in his own way, apologized and my mom never acknowledged it," she claimed of Florence, who passed in 2006.
Ina Garten tied the knot with her husband, Jeffrey, in 1968.
Overall, Ina said: "I think I overcame my childhood just by sheer determination."
"I just wasn't about to spend my life like that. And I think, a lot of times, people make a decision to live their lives differently and they end up sliding back into what they feel is familiar and I was determined not to do that," she declared. "And then I met Jeffrey and he just showed me a totally different way to live."
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People interviewed Ina ahead of her memoir release.
