It takes a lot to become a celebrity chef. For Ree Drummond, known as “The Pioneer Woman,” it all started due to a popular blog. Launching in 2006, Drummond likely never knew that she’d get her own show on The Food Network someday. But soon, she became a household name. And members of her family more or less became members of her viewer’s family.
One of the positive things about Drummond is the fact that she’s usually open when it comes to her personal life.
In fact, her story is one of the reasons why she became such a notable public figure to begin with. Biography is quick to name her husband since 1996, Ladd Drummond, and their children, Alex, Paige, Bryce, and Todd. But Nan Drummond was also a big part of her family.
Nan, Ladd’s mom, passed away at the age of 74 last year, devastating the family.
Nan was diagnosed with terminal cancer. But upon hearing the news, Drummond chose not to pause filming. She was under the impression that Nan’s condition would allow for plenty of family time after the cameras rolled, but Nan passed away earlier than expected.
And since Drummond has been filming her show since 2011, the news hit the crew pretty hard.
“Our family celebrated Nan yesterday — with family, friends, good food, and more cowboy hats that I’ve ever seen in one location,” Drummond wrote last June.
“She lived a good life and fought the good fight. We love you, Grammie!”
Watching the "Celebrating Nan" episode of The Pioneer Woman. I read that Ree decided to go ahead & film the show while preparing the family plot for her funeral. The episode feels so raw & real. 😢@thepioneerwoman had me crying!
— Wrecka Stow Manager (@EarthWindFire82) September 18, 2018
Anyone who’s lost a loved one will be able to tell you that it’s hard to try to balance business and emotion. Especially when you assume you have more time.
So, Drummond admitted she had a difficult decision to make. Either the show could mention Nan’s passing, or they could pretend it didn’t happen.
But knowing Drummond’s personality, she knew she had to be honest with her fans.
What a wonderful episode of Pioneer Woman! Ree Drummond my thoughts and prayers are with PaPa and your whole family and all of Nan's dear friends. It all brought tears to my eyes. What a way to remember a dear lady.
— Catherine (@catfox30) September 8, 2018
“‘Look, we can either completely pretend this didn’t happen on the show and just not acknowledge it at all, or we can show what’s really going on,'” she said on her blog.
“It seemed strange just to take a pause in filming, then resume after the funeral as if our family hadn’t experienced this major loss.”
I just watched Pioneer Woman honoring Nan. Very touching. I barely got through it with dry eyes. Our condolences 😢
— @joshdamien1 (@joshdamien11) September 8, 2018
The episode aired last September, but is still making headlines. Probably because everyone can relate to the fact that work often expects us to shove our emotions aside.
I’ll give a personal example. Sure, I’m not Ree Drummond — but plenty of years ago, I was a college student who lost my grandmother. In order to get permission to miss class for the funeral, I had to present the actual obituary, which seemed so grim.
This is a situation that happens in workplaces everywhere. Death is an unfortunate part of life, but sometimes we’re still expected to separate our emotions from work.
When death occurs, so much is shaken up that it’s often hard to go back to normal.
And for someone like Drummond, who honors family so much, she has a choice.
Either pretend she’s not emotionally devastated over the loss, or open up and prepare to tell the full story to a large audience.
“Folks who’ve watched our show through the years have gotten to know Nan, too. So we decided to devote an episode to one of the days just after Grammie died,” Drummond wrote.
“We were all working at the cemetery, and we have a family lunch together. It’s sad, but it’s real. And we all held ourselves together pretty well.”
Drummond wanted fans to know that she wasn’t pressured at all by her network.
And that proves that perhaps these days, people realize that taking time to grieve the loss of a loved one is crucial for your mental health.
“Originally we had nine episodes planned; I think we finished up with four, maybe four-and-a-half. But we received zero pressure from Pacific or Food Network; on the contrary, they basically said ‘Don’t even think about us, don’t worry about the shows this block — just take time with your family,'” Drummond continued.
So, if you’re in a position of power like Drummond and have also been through a loss, just know that it’s okay to cry. And sometimes, you need to take some time off to properly process someone’s death.
The episode of The Pioneer Woman, titled “Celebrating Nan,” was Episode 13 of Season 19.
The Food Network notes that the episode includes a Build-Your-Own BLT bar, since those were Nan’s favorites.
Even though Nan was Drummond’s mother-in-law, the two were very close.
And while it may be hard to grieve a loss in public, she’s one of the many celebrities who’s had to face news of a parental death while still making headlines.
@thepioneerwoman Thank you for letting us join you in #CelebratingNan. Sending love & hugs to you all. ❤️
— Rose Marie B (@OKRoserock) September 8, 2018
Prince Harry had an incredible way to summarize loss in a 2017 BBC documentary. His mother, Princess Diana, tragically passed away in 1997 at the age of 36.
“I still feel, 20 years later about my mother, I still have shock within me,” he said.
“People say shock can’t last that long, but it does. You never get over it. It’s such an unbelievably big moment in your life that it never leaves you, you just learn to deal with it.”
Even though it’s hard when a public figure loses a loved one, often times it’s important for others to see all of the ways you can grieve. Death of a loved one is, unfortunately, something we can all relate to.
Watching the @thepioneerwoman episode #CelebratingNan and I’m crying. It’s like losing a family member. It’s beautifully done. 💙
— Tim Green (@Timmiejoe27) September 9, 2018
Hopefully, Drummond was able to take a break from The Pioneer Woman, so she could have some off-camera time with her kids to remember Nan.
At least the family will always have a touching episode of the show to keep her beautiful memory alive.
