Ina Garten’s Marriage is Argument-Proof Because of Her One Rule

Television host and chef extraordinaire Ina Garten has been married to her husband, Jeffrey, for almost 50 years. Where has the time gone?! So after five decades of marital bliss, there’s one thing we’re dying to ask the Barefoot Contessa star: What’s the secret to a successful marriage?

Ina enlightened her fans on Katie Couric’s podcast, and the answer is deceptively simple.

“If Jeffrey and I disagree on something, he always agrees with me,” Garten said. As Ina would say, “How easy is that?”

Arguments are bound to happen—even in the happiest marriage—but given how long Ina and Jeffrey have been together, we’re sure they’ve found a constructive way to voice their opinions.

Ina, 69, and Jeffrey, 70, met when Ina visited her brother at Dartmouth. A 20-something Jeffrey spotted Ina, who was still in high school, and turned to his friend and said, “Look at that girl, isn’t she beautiful?” His friend must have agreed because he had a date with Ina that night! Fortunately for Jeffrey, things didn’t work out between Ina and his friend.

However, surprisingly, it almost didn’t work out for Jeffrey and Ina! According to Ina, Jeffrey sent her letters from Dartmouth before showing up at her house six months later to take her on a date. “It was a really bad date, though,” Ina told People.

But apparently, the bad date was only a little hiccup in their relationship. Ina attended Syracuse and sent Jeffrey brownies, knitted him sweaters, and took the bus to visit him in New Hampshire at Dartmouth.

In 1968, the two had a winter wedding, and the rest is history! Even today, the couple still looks as much in love as they did on the day they said “I do!”

“No matter where he is, I always know that there’s nothing more important than me in his life. We give each other enormous freedom to do what we want to do, but we’re still the anchor.”

So sweet. We’re wishing this couple many more love-filled anniversaries!