The Pioneer Woman was a mainstay on Food Network, but she’s been relatively quiet the last couple of years. Her husband was in a pretty bad accident back in 2021, which took its toll on the couple Then, this year she reported that her husband was in rough shape from a long summer on the farm. The family also made a big move out of their longtime home.
Life on the Farm
The Pioneer Woman’s real name is Ree Drummond and she lives on a ranch with her husband Ladd and their kids. While she plays up the homemaker persona, there is actually a lot more going on behind the scenes.
Ladd is related to a long line of ranchers in Oklahoma. In total, the family owns nearly 500,000 acres, making them one of the largest private landowners in the United States.
While The Pioneer Woman may appear to be the breadwinner in the family, the truth is her husband has an insane amount of wealth. With that said, Ree is certainly not struggling for money as her business ventures are very profitable.
With all that fame and fortune, Ree and her husband could easily ride off into the sunset and never work a day for the rest of their lives. However, the two don’t look like they have any plans to retire soon.
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Things for the family took a major turn back in 2021 when Ladd and his nephew were in a head-on collision with two fire trucks. The vehicle Ladd was in didn’t have adequate frontal impact protection and the wreck crushed the front of the vehicle into the cab.
Ree detailed in a post on her site that Ladd was airlifted to a hospital and underwent surgery for a broken neck. The injury was a major setback for life on the farm as Ladd had a lengthy recovery. Not only did the accident affect life on the farm, but it also had a minor impact on Ree’s film schedule.
A Life of Fame
The same year as her husband’s wreck, Ree and the family moved into a new home. They built a new house right next door to their old one, but a bit smaller. It was essentially a guest house for the aging farmhouse next door. Ree reported their home had foundation problems and that it wasn’t as charming as some would think.
While the Drummond family has gone through a lot of changes in recent years, their popularity certainly isn’t what it once was.
The Pioneer Woman has been called out by many viewers for leading a fake lifestyle. Some even claim that the show perpetuates a narrative that women should only be in the kitchen while the man is working.
Clearly, that isn’t the case, but it is a stereotype the show and many articles play into. The Pioneer Woman is not the strong brand that it once was, but Ree Drummond is far from irrelevant in the cooking world.
