Ina Garten 'Thought' About Divorcing Husband Jeffrey During Lowest Point in Their Marriage

Ina Garten admitted there was a point in time where her marriage might not be strong enough to make it.

"I thought about it a lot, and at my lowest point, I wondered if the only answer would be to get a divorce," she shared, reflecting on her marriage of over five decades.

"I loved Jeffrey and didn’t want to shock — or hurt — him, so I thought of suggesting a separation first," the former White House nuclear policy analyst added.

Ina, 76, in her upcoming book, Be Ready When the Luck Happens, mentioned that her relationship with Jeffrey started to go downhill after she bought a specialty food store in Westhampton Beach. While she was busy balancing between running the business and being a wife, she felt that her husband was already "fully formed and living the life he wanted to live."

When Jeffrey would come to visit her every weekend from Washington, D.C., he “expected a wife that would make dinner."

"When I bought Barefoot Contessa , I shattered our traditional roles — ­took a baseball bat to them and left them in pieces," she penned, referring to the specialty food shop she bought in 1978 with the same name.

"While I was still cooking, cleaning, shopping, managing at the store, I was doing it as a businesswoman , not a wife. My responsibilities made it impossible for me to even think about anything else. There was no expectation about who got home from work first and what they should do, because I never got home from work!" the TV host added.

As a result, Ina and Jeffrey, 77, were separated for six weeks. However, the pair continued to work on fixing their marriage .

"Jeffrey’s willingness to see the therapist was as significant as anything that might happen during their session," she noted. "He was that determined to convince me he was serious about making our marriage work."

“Thank god I did," Ina said, referring to their short-lived split. "I think how crazy that was and how dangerous it was, but we wouldn't have the relationship we have now if I hadn't done it. It changed him, but it also changed me too."

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In the end, the duo saved their 56-year marriage.

People spoke to Ina.