Celebrity Barefoot Contessa star Ina Garten reveals childhood abuse made her 'physically afraid' that father would kill her The Food Network star opened up about past trauma in a new interview. By Joey Nolfi Joey Nolfi Entertainment Weekly's Oscars expert, 'RuPaul's Drag Race' beat reporter, host of 'Quick Drag' Twitter Spaces, and cohost of 'EW's BINGE' podcast. Almost all of the drag content on this site is my fault (you're welcome). EW's editorial guidelines Published on September 4, 2024 08:56AM EDT Barefoot Contessa star Ina Garten has opened up about a difficult past that included childhood abuse and a difficult relationship with her parents. The 76-year-old Food Network personality has revealed that growing up in Connecticut often included traumatic experiences with her father, a surgeon who she said would hit her and pull her hair if she disappointed him. "I was terrified. I was physically afraid of my dad. I literally remember thinking he would kill me if I did something," Garten told PEOPLE in a new interview to promote her upcoming book, Be Ready When the Luck Happens. "I was physically afraid of him. And my mother just was unsupportive." Garten continued, adding that "a threat of violence" led her to isolate in her bedroom, and that the fear of abuse was constant throughout her early life. Ina Garten. Theo Wargo/Getty Images Shelley Duvall was so much more than a victim "You're always afraid, even when it's not happening," she said. "So, I basically spent my entire childhood in my bedroom with a door closed. I think it was just protection. It was just to keep myself safe." Garten speculated that her mother might've had Asperger's Syndrome as well, because "she really didn't know how to have a relationship," which led the Daytime Emmy-winning celebrity cook to focus on maintaining strong bonds in her adult life. "Everything changed when I met Jeffrey," she said of her husband, whom she first met when she was 16 years old. Want more movie news? Sign up for Entertainment Weekly's free newsletter to get the latest trailers, celebrity interviews, film reviews, and more. "I think I overcame my childhood just by sheer determination," Garten continued. "I just wasn't about to spend my life like that. And I think, a lot of times, people make a decision to live their lives differently and they end up sliding back into what they feel is familiar and I was determined not to do that. And then I met Jeffrey and he just showed me a totally different way to live." Though Barefoot Contessa ended its nearly two-decade run in 2021, Garten launched a new show, Be My Guest, on Discovery+ in 2022, ahead of her book's release on Oct. 1.