Ree Drummond Says She and Husband Ladd ‘Savor’ the ‘Two Nights a Week’ That They’re Actually Empty Nesters (Exclusive)

Ree Drummond has five grown children who come and go from her ranch, so time with her husband Ladd is rare.

The Food Network star and her rancher husband are parents to Alex, 27, Paige, 24, Bryce, 21, Jamar, 21, and Todd, 20. Their youngest was the last to officially move out when he began playing football at the University of South Dakota in January 2023.

“I say I’m an empty nester, and that’s not exactly true,” Ree tells PEOPLE, “because the nest is never really empty for very long. Bryce and Todd were actually home most of the summer. Paige is home, of course [working on the ranch].”

Ree’s oldest, Alex, and her husband, Mauricio Scott, who just announced they are expecting their first child, are also at home in Pawhuska, Okla., quite often.

Ree Drummond and her family.

Ree Drummond/Instagram

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“Alex and Mauricio have been here for quite a while,” says Ree, who launched Walmart’s new line of small appliances. “Alex actually works with me on the Pioneer Woman side, so she comes to Walmart shoots, clothing shoots and things like that and coordinates.”

With her children in and out of the family’s newly built home, Ree has a short window to enjoy quality time alone with Ladd.

“So it’s funny because Ladd and I, when Todd left for college in January of ’23, it was a period of mourning. I mean, we felt pretty empty,” she explains. “And then we kind of settled in and thought, ‘Oh, wait a minute, there are some amenities, and we’re barely buying food and almost no laundry.'”

“But then they start coming back. So now maybe one or two nights a week our house is empty, so we enjoy those nights and then enjoy ourselves. And we are glad that our children still want to be with us. It’s kind of nice,” she says.

Ree Drummond and Ladd Drummond.

Ree Drummond’s Instagram

Ree and Ladd have recently been alone for more than a few days. In June, they went on a couple’s trip to Vail, Colo. While there, they kept to their own schedule.

“We got out on our own. We can go to dinner at 4:00 if we feel like it. 5:00 if we feel like party animals,” Ree captioned a June 5 Instagram post.

She continued: “I’m sure we’ll be bored in the next few days without the kids, dogs, horses, thunder, garden, livestock and life buzzing around us, but for now let’s go with it and smile these silly relaxed smiles. ”

At home, Ree and Ladd are enjoying themselves with their youngest daughter on the ranch as Ladd’s newest “cowboy.”

Ree Drummond and her daughter Paige.

Ree Drummond/Instagram

“It’s really great to have her home,” Ree tells PEOPLE.

But despite returning to work with Ladd, the University of Arkansas alumna is not staying in the family home.

Ree Drummond reveals daughter Paige isn’t living at home while working on the ranch: She’s ‘one of the cowboys’

“She actually lives in town, in a house that used to be my in-laws’ house,” says Ree. “So in a way it’s nice that we still have that house, we didn’t sell it so she moved in and made it her own.” Ladd’s father Chuck, also known as Pa-Pa, died in 2022, while his mother Nan died in 2018.

Ree previously revealed that Paige returned to work at the ranch full-time in January. Since then, he has been taking on the job day by day.

“As far as how long she’s going to stay or whether it’s going to be a period of her life or forever, we’re not really trying to predict or think too far in advance,” says Ree. “I love that it’s here. She is the first of our kids to really come back and work on the ranch full time.”

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Source: HIS Education