It’s Impossible to Pick Sides in This Reese/Ina/Martha Online Debate About Self-Care

Rochelle Bilow
Rochelle Bilow
Rochelle Bilow is a graduate of the French Culinary Institute, and the former social media manager at Bon Appétit and Cooking Light magazines. She has also worked as a cook on a small farm in Central New York and a Michelin-starred restaurant in New York City. Her first book, a food and farming memoir titled The Call of the Farm, was published in 2014. Her second book, a romance novel set in Scotland, will be published in February 2023.
Follow
published Jan 28, 2022
pinterest
comments
We independently select these products—if you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. All prices were accurate at the time of publishing.
ins garten and Martha Stewart
Credit: Getty Image/Michael Loccisano; Shutterstock/lev radin

Who’s ready for a little drama just in time for the weekend? **looks around with both hands raised** Okay — drama may be too strong of a word, but there’s definitely an interesting new development in the unexpected online debate over self-care between Reese Witherspoon and Ina Garten.

Here’s a quick reading of the tea: Earlier this year Reese shared some wellness tips on her Insta, including starting the day with water, reading without distractions, and nixing streaming binges. While Reese meant to inspire her followers, Ina Garten (yep, that Ina!) chimed in with a different sort of inspo in the comments. “That sounds great but I’m probably not doing any of those things! LOL!!” Ina wrote, before sharing her own tips. Included in the list? Watching aaaall of the shows, luxuriating in bed with Sudoku, and — woo-hoo— drinking “more large Cosmos.”

I seriously doubt that Ina was advocating binge drinking, because she always keeps things light and fun around cocktail hour. But not everyone agrees. Martha Stewart (yep, that Martha) was asked in a People mag interview how she felt about Ina’s comment. The verdict? Not so great. “I do not agree about taking to drink to cope with things like the pandemic,” was Martha’s terse reply. (It’s probably safe to say Martha will not be indulging in all Vegas has to offer as she prepares for the launch of her first restaurant in Sin City.)

The internet no doubt has zillions of hot takes on who’s right in this debate, but here’s my two cents: All three of these successful, cool women are right. I think that most of us are balancing wellness goals, à la Reese, with indulgent self-care tactics, like Ina. And if the past two years have taught us anything, it’s to take our mental health seriously — just like Martha suggests.

One idea for dealing with stress that no one has suggested yet? Baking. Personally, I’ve been whipping up a lot more cookies since March of 2020, and it’s done wonders for my mood. I bet that a good chocolate chipper is something all three of these ladies could agree on. 

Do you agree with Reese, Ina, or Martha? Or all three?

Filed in:
Ina Garten
Martha Stewart