Ina Garten Opens Up About Childhood Abuse In New Memoir

Content warning: Please note that this story discusses childhood abuse.

In her new memoir, "Be Ready When the Luck Happens," which will be released on October 1, celebrity chef of "Barefoot Contessa" fame Ina Garten reveals painful details about her childhood, characterizing it as lonely and fearful. In an interview with People, Garten said that her parents, Charles and Florence Rosenberg, were emotionally and physically abusive to her and her brother in their childhoods. In a different People interview last year, Garten also shared that the reason she never had children is, at least partly, because of her childhood experience: "It was nothing I wanted to recreate," she explained.

In the more recent interview, Garten said her father — who she said would hit her and pull her hair — terrified her as she was growing up. "I literally remember thinking he would kill me if I did something," Garten said. She recalls hiding from the abuse in her bedroom, where she spent most of her time alone.

Garten also said her mother was unsupportive and overbearing. She wasn't even allowed to decorate her room the way she wanted, with her mother saying it would "turn out badly," something Garten said she heard often from her mom. "She really didn't know how to have a relationship," Garten told People, "which is why I think, as I've gotten older, having relationships is so important to me."

If you or someone you know may be the victim of child abuse, please contact the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child (1-800-422-4453) or contact their live chat services.

Ina Garten's life was never the same after "Barefoot Contessa," and meeting her husband Jeffrey also greatly impacted her. "Everything changed when I met Jeffrey," she told People. The couple, who are now relationship goals for many fans (they've been together for more than 50 years), met when she was just 16 years old. After dating for a few years, they tied the knot in 1968. Garten recalled her mother objecting because of her age but said it was the first time she told her mother she didn't care what she thought. Ina and Jeffrey did briefly separate in the early years of their relationship, but things have been smooth sailing between the two since they worked out those issues.

Garten said she never made up with her mother, but her relationship with her father did improve. "He, in his own way, apologized and my mom never acknowledged it," Garten said. Her dad walked her down the aisle, as evidenced by a wedding photo Garten shared on Instagram. It's captioned saying things between her and her father were "complicated," but they made progress after she was married.

Ultimately, Garten says she was determined to change the course of her own life by living on her own terms. However, Jeffrey was a big part of helping her chart that course. "I met Jeffrey and he just showed me a totally different way to live," Garten shared.