Ina Garten Jokes She's the 'Worst Kind of Childless Cat Lady': 'I Don't Even Have a Cat!'

Mar. 15, 2025

Ina Garten.Photo:Austin Hargrave

Austin Hargrave

Ina Gartenisn’t a childless cat lady — she’s just childless.

“Technically, it’s not an ugly word. It’s being used as an ugly word. It’s being used in a way that says if women don’t have children, they have no value. It’s that simple. And they have no value to society. They have no value to other people. It’s obviously ridiculous," said Garten.

Diamond pointed out that Garten might not have kids, but she’s not a “cat lady.”

“I’m not just childless. I don’t even have a cat," laughed Garten. “I’m the worst kind of childless cat lady!”

The Food Network star said that her andhusband Jeffrey’s“simple” life has granted them many freedoms.

“We do what we love to do. We spend a lot of wonderful time together. We’re not responsible to anything except each other and the people who work with us and our friends. The things that people fight about, we don’t even have,” she laughed.

And when it comes to having pets, the Gartens are happy just the way they are.

Ina Garten and Jeffrey Garten.Ina Garten Instagram

Ina Garten Instagram

“I know people love their pets. I know people love their children, and I admire that. I just don’t have it in me,” she quipped.

During her September cover story with PEOPLE, Garten elaborated on her decision not to have kids.

“I grew up in a family that wasn’t a happy family, so I couldn’t understand why people had kids,” she said. “Nobody had any fun in my family. Now I understand it, but at the time, when I was 25 and 30, I just didn’t. It was nothing I really wanted to do.”

Able to push public scrutiny and expectations aside, Garten has no regrets.

“Dolly Partononce opened up toOprah Winfreyabout why she didn’t have children. She said, ‘If I hadn’t had the freedom to work, I wouldn’t have done all the things I’ve done.’ I feel the same way,” she wrote in her memoir.

Be Ready When the Luck Happenscomes out Oct. 1 from Crown Publishing Group and is available for preorder now, wherever books are sold.

source: people.com