What You Didn't Know About Ree Drummond, The Pioneer Woman

Ree Drummond has been a household name for some time. In 2011, she launched her Food Network series, "The Pioneer Woman," which has won multiple Telly Awards and New York Festival Bronze World Medals, not to mention Drummond's devoted audience of 3.7 million Instagram followers. "The Pioneer Woman" invites the viewers at home into the host's world, a sprawling Oklahoma ranch and a kitchen full of legendary recipes. 

And before she arrived on Food Network? The Pawhuska, Oklahoma-based star was known for her food and lifestyle website, but she's not your average mommy blogger. In fact, her background and previous ambitions might be surprising in light of the path she's on today. The home cook-turned- entrepreneur has created quite a hub for herself and her fans, some of whom have visited Drummond's establishment, The Pioneer Woman Mercantile.

From her sunny mornings on the small screen to her famous cinnamon rolls and her business empire, Ree Drummond has become an instantly recognizable food celebrity. What don't people know about this woman and her life on the ranch in Pawhuska, Oklahoma?

Motherhood and marriage weren't Ree Drummond's introduction to Oklahoma. Drummond grew up in Bartlesville, a city about 25 miles east of Pawhuska. Ironically, the tourism site for Bartlesville now suggests on its homepage that visitors travel to Pawhuska to see the Food Network star.

The New Yorker painted Ree Drummond's upbringing as a privileged one: "Her life revolved around ballet classes, her parents' country club, and summer trips to Hilton Head, South Carolina." Her father was an orthopedic surgeon, her mother a stay-at-home mom, and she grew up with three siblings.

The Pioneer Woman seems to be a nostalgic soul. At her 20-year high school reunion, Drummond spoke about the little things that defined the class of 1987 — card catalogues, trapper keepers, mixtapes, art class ashtrays, and even mimeograph paper. In 2021, she posted a picture on Instagram of herself and her friend Joanie in the ninth grade. Drummond wrote, "We're still friends, she's still amazingly cool, and I don't know...I turned a year older this week, I'm taking my third kid to start college tomorrow, and this is just a time that I'm appreciating sweet old friendships from the Pat Benatar days." Though she didn't return to live there intentionally, Drummond clearly has affection for the Sooner State. She told News on 6 in 2011, "I love Oklahoma so much. I love the kindness here and the openness. People are drawn to that."

During that trip home, Ree Drummond first laid eyes on Ladd Drummond in an Oklahoma bar, and the rest is history. She wrote in "Black Heels to Tractor Wheels," "Gracious, but he was a vision, this Marlboro Man-esque, rugged character across the room." Before making her move, Ree "needed to see his hands" and was satisfied with what she found: "They were big and strong." Enough said. The couple married on September 21, 1996. 

Speaking of the "Marlboro Man," why does Ree call Ladd that? Well, on her website, Drummond mentioned the old-fashioned Marlboro Man from cigarette ads before recounting the story of a baby shower she threw at her ranch for Hyacinth, her BFF. "Ladd was on the porch, and as guests were arriving, I heard one of them say, 'My gosh, who is that Marlboro Man sitting on the porch?'"

Here's what Ladd said to The New Yorker about his nickname: "I catch a lot of grief from all the cowboys about that. We'll go to a ranch rodeo or somethin' and they'll all go...'Oh, there's the Marlboro Man!'" Even though the rancher is teased for his nickname, Mr. Marlboro Man is an established piece of the folklore surrounding the Pioneer Woman brand.

The Drummond family grew rapidly after Ree and Ladd tied the knot. Ree Drummond wrote in "Frontier Follies: Adventures in Marriage and Motherhood in the Middle of Nowhere" that she and her husband "had a really awful first year of marriage." Still getting used to her new life, Ree learned that she was pregnant five weeks after her wedding date. The Drummonds' first child was Alex, then another daughter, Paige, and two sons, Bryce and Todd. Food Network fans might think the Drummonds have been a family of six since Todd's birth, but there's more to the story.

In 2020, Ree revealed on her website that she and Ladd have a foster child named Jamar. The Pioneer Woman calls Jamar her "bonus kid" and said she refrained from mentioning him previously due to state agency rules concerning social media. The Drummonds are there for all of Jamar's milestones, with Ree sharing her congratulations on Instagram for his high school graduation and posting about another huge event: Jamar signed on to play football at the University of Central Oklahoma in 2021. According to Ree's site, Bryce is also committed to the sport and plays football for the University of North Texas at the time of writing.

Alex got married in May 2021, so Ree has a son-in-law, too. As the birds fly away from their nest at the ranch, there's still a lot of love in the Drummond family.

What all does Ree Drummond sell these days? It's a long list that includes household wares, a clothing line, and, of course, her book collection. Yes, the collection does include cookbooks, but that's not all. Want to read a juicy romance? Check out "Black Heels to Tractor Wheels." A memoir-esque essay collection about various aspects of Drummond's life? Go with "Frontier Follies." In addition to these volumes, the Pioneer Woman has branched out with a couple of children's book series. There's an homage to Drummond's deceased Basset Hound called "Charlie the Ranch Dog" and "Little Ree," a series that covers its author's "experiences, as seen through the eyes of a little girl named Ree," Drummond's website states.

It makes sense for a long-time blogger to try her hand at longer volumes, and Ree Drummond has succeeded in her market. On top of everything else she does, Drummond is a #1 New York Times bestselling author.

Making dietary changes can be tough, but Ree Drummond left behind her meat-free lifestyle long ago. Readers will learn on her website that the cook spent seven years as a vegetarian. Almost halfway through that time span, the Food Network personality slipped up and ate a burger. Little did she know, she'd be whipping up plenty of those on a cattle ranch someday.

In a 2019 CBS Sunday Morning special about the star of "The Pioneer Woman," reporter Alina Cho mused that Ree's former vegetarianism "could have been a dealbreaker" for Ladd Drummond. He agreed, "It probably would have been, 'cause there's just no way we could have survived 25 years with her not eating any steak!" When Ree enters the kitchen of The Lodge (the family's guest house) to film her show, she's certainly working with meat. It seems to be a necessity for the hungry cowboys.

Over the years, Ree Drummond has been reminded of how unbelievably fortunate she is. The food star doesn't deny it, and she wants her followers to believe that they "can embody the pioneer woman way of life," too, as her website says.

In the intro to her Food Network series, Drummond calls herself an "accidental farm girl." She told The New Yorker, "I'm as flawed as the next person. But maybe I inspire women because I'm an example that you should never assume that where you are in life or what you're doing is going to remain exactly as it is forever. If this can happen to me, who knows what you might be capable of doing?" 

Ree Drummond doesn't make too much of her place in the world. She's too busy living it and keeping her creative wheels turning. She told BookPage, "I contend that I am not an extraordinary person; there's nothing extraordinary about me or my story. I think everyone has a story — I've just found a fun way to tell my story and convey my day-to-day life."