The Pioneer Woman Just Revealed This Surprising Fact About Her Family

Ree Drummond, better known as The Pioneer Woman, is a successful Food Network personality whose cookbooks, blogs, and television show have garnered her a large and lively fan base. She began her career in 2006, blogging about food, family, and her life on a 433,000 acre cattle ranch in Osage County, Oklahoma. She has always shared snapshots of her unique life and close-knit family with her fans, who love getting to peek into their adventures together on the ranch.

This week, Drummond had some extra exciting news to share with the world. Over a year ago, she and her husband, Ladd, decided to expand their family by opening their home to a foster son, named Jamar. She describes Jamar as their "bonus kid" who came into her life unexpectedly a year and a half ago.

"Fostering a kid was never something Ladd and I pursued or felt called to do, but Jamar's circumstances presented themselves to us in a way we couldn't ignore — so, long story short, all six foot five inches of him showed up at our house one afternoon, bag in hand, ready to move in," she wrote on her blog. Jamar recently turned 18, and "he's cool with my talking about him now, and he thinks it's about time, considering he's been in the family for over a year."

While Jamar has become "an inextricable part of our wacky family," Drummond wrote, she has waited to talk about him publicly, both because she feels "protective of Jamar and have always wanted his story to be his own and not fodder for my social media" in order to respect his privacy, and because "the state agency that handles fostering has strict rules against posting about foster children on social media, which I get."

The Drummonds already had a fairly full house, with four children — Alex, Paige, Bryce and Todd. Alex and Paige are both attending college away from home, while Todd and Bryce are in high school, according to CheatSheet. Bryce attends Pawhuska High School part-time, where he plays quarterback. It was at football practice where Bryce, Todd, and Ladd first met Jamar. When Ladd heard about Jamar's situation, he was the one who suggested the Drummond family welcome him into their home.

After some initial stumbling blocks, including a foot injury and an incorrect fishing gear fiasco, Jamar appears to have settled into the family and is doing well. He is now in his final year of high school and has already received football offers from a few colleges. He's almost ready to go out and chase after his dreams, but it seems he'll always have a home to come back to on the ranch.