I know it’s difficult for some people to understand a married couple pranking each other with fake snakes.
Actually, I don’t really understand it either. All I know is, Marlboro Man and I have perpetrated this prank against each other for years. Decades, even! (Yes, we have officially been married for decades. Only two decades, but decades nonetheless.)
Like many marital feuds, I can’t even remember what or who started it. But somewhere along the way, one of us thought it would be funny to plant a small rubber snake in a place where the other person would be surprised by it. Under a pillow, inside the shower, in the console of a pickup…I can’t remember which. Then the person who was pranked jumped or otherwise reacted just enough to cause the pranker to laugh…and with that, a war was started.
One of the best moments (for Marlboro Man at least) was when I planted a small rubber snake under the quilt on his side of the bed and he discovered it when he pulled back his side of the covers to get into bed. That wasn’t the part he liked; What he liked was that after I stopped laughing at his reaction (which is always kind of a manly mini-jump) he in turn placed the snake on the floor on my side of the bed, so when I came to bed after brushing my teeth a few minutes later, I almost stepped on it, screamed, and jumped on the bed because I thought it was a snake. So I basically scared myself, effectively.
Which totally negates the concern that our pranking each other through the years would desensitize us to the threat of real snakes. Maybe, it has been suggested, we will grow so weary from seeing fake snakes that we won’t take the threat seriously anymore and won’t know a real snake when we see one. But I have found the opposite is true. Along with our fear of real snakes (which is an innate human instinct, I believe, and which is even more profound in people who live in the country), we have actually developed a fear of fake snakes. Not because we are scared of plastic toys, but because we are deathly afraid of being one-upped by the other. So we are even more vigilant than the typical fearer-of-snakes: Not only do we fear real snakes, we fear fake ones.
Gosh, we lead exciting lives out here!
Ree Drummond is the founder of The Pioneer Woman and a lover of butter, basset hounds and life on the ranch! Ree started her blog in 2006, and now millions visit ThePioneerWoman.com every month for her trusted recipes and fun family stories. Here’s what she has been up to since it all began:
New York Times Bestselling Author
Ree has written two memoirs (Black Heels to Tractor Wheels, and Frontier Follies) plus nine bestselling cookbooks:
The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Recipes from an Accidental Country Girl (2009)
The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Food from My Frontier (2012)
The Pioneer Woman Cooks: A Year of Holidays (2013)
The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Dinnertime (2015)
The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Come and Get It! (2017)
The Pioneer Woman Cooks: The New Frontier (2019)
The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Super Easy (2021)
The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Dinner’s Ready! (2023)
The Pioneer Woman Cooks: The Essential Recipes (2025)
Food Network Host
Since 2011, Ree has been sharing simple, family-friendly recipes—and the occasional kitchen prank!—on her award-winning show The Pioneer Woman, filmed right on Drummond Ranch. Ree is also a regular judge on Food Network competitions, including Christmas Cookie Challenge.
Founder, The Pioneer Woman Collection
Ree has been creating and selling kitchen and home products at Walmart since 2015 and she’s involved in designing every piece and pattern. The line now includes best-selling appliances (you have to see the floral blender!), plus hundreds of pieces of cookware, tableware, and more. Ree doesn’t like to play favorites but the Agatha print has a special place in her heart.
Restaurant and Hotel Owner
Together with her husband Ladd, Ree has opened several bustling businesses in Pawhuska, Oklahoma, including The Pioneer Woman Mercantile—a bakery, restaurant, and general store that draws visitors from across the country (many come for the biscuits alone!), P-Town Pizza, Charlie’s Ice Cream Shop, and The Boarding House, a charming hotel with eight different rooms decorated by Ree and Ladd.
Media Personality
Ree appears regularly on national TV shows like Today, Good Morning America and more—all while managing to keep flour off her shirt.
Wife, Mom and…Grandma!
Ree’s kids (daughters Alex and Paige and sons Bryce and Todd) are all grown up, and as of December 2024, Ree is the proud grandma of the cutest baby ever, Sofia Scott, born to Alex and her husband Mauricio. Ree still cooks for Ladd (and the kids when they’re home), and she also looks after a few mischievous ranch dogs.
