Why Pioneer Woman Ree Drummond’s Daughter Paige Quit Her Corporate Job to Work on the Ranch

“College didn’t prepare me for this,” Paige said in the fall issue of The Pioneer Woman Magazine

From a surprise proposal to moving back to her hometown, Ree Drummond’s daughter Paige has lots of life changes on the horizon.

In the fall issue of The Pioneer Woman Magazine, the 24-year-old gets top billing as she opens up about her (not-so) new role as cowgirl on the Drummond Ranch. The issue includes stunning photos of Paige on the saddle, tending to cattle and manning pastures.

While Ree has shared that her youngest daughter moved back to Pawhuska, Okla., to work with Ladd as a cattle rancher, it’s just now that they’re opening up about how Paige came to that decision. Per the magazine, she quit her corporate job in Dallas last fall after finding it was difficult being cooped up in an office all day.

“College didn’t prepare me for this,” Paige said of her role on the ranch. “But my childhood prepared me for it. I’m proud to be back here.”

And Ree agrees. “She can really hold her own with the cowboys,” the Food Network star said. “She’s not learning it for the first time. She grew up doing this.”

Related: Ree Drummond Reveals Daughter Paige Isn’t Living at Home as She Works on the Ranch: She's 'One of the Cowboys'

Some days for Paige start at 3:30 a.m. as she feeds the horses and commutes an hour to feed the cattle and vaccinate calves, among other tasks. The University of Arkansas alumna wants to dispel any “glamorized” television portrayals of ranch life.

“You see people riding horses and it looks wonderful. If you could ride your horse all day, every day, everyone would want this job. But 90 percent of the time it’s just hard, hard work,” she said.
“You’re getting kicked, you’re getting crap on you, you’re fixing fence, you’re doctoring cattle...it’s a time-consuming, exhausting—yet rewarding—profession."

She does admit that she questions her “decision a little” on the hot and rough days, but ultimately she “will always love it here.”

While she may be working with her dad all day, she’s not living at home. In a June interview with PEOPLE, Ree said her daughter isn’t staying in their newly built home.

“She is actually living in town, in the house that was my in-laws' house,” Ree told PEOPLE. "So it's kind of nice that we still have that house, hadn't sold it and so she's 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.

Related: Pioneer Woman Ree Drummond Wanted Husband Ladd to Stop Working on the Ranch After a ‘Rough Summer’

At the time, she said that Paige — whose now-fiancé David Andersen proposed earlier this month — is taking the job day by day.

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

Ree and Ladd are also parents to Alex, 27, Bryce, 21, Jamar, 21 and Todd, 20.

While ranch life is the Drummond’s bread and butter, it doesn’t mean it’s easy all the time. In an August post on the Pioneer Woman blog, Ree said that her husband had a very challenging past few months at work.

“Ladd has had...a busy, slightly rough summer. I think I say this ever [sic] year, but the work, the early mornings, the unrelenting grind, the exhaustion...it has been a little much,” she said.

The hard summer even had Ree questioning if he should continue.

Related: Pioneer Woman Ree Drummond's Daughter Paige Is Engaged to Boyfriend David Andersen

“A couple of weeks ago, after watching him limp inside, covered in dust and blood after a particularly long day, I actually said the words, ‘I don't think we can do this anymore.’ It was partly in jest, but also maybe a little bit not,” she said.

Ree added: “How much harder can you work, how much longer can you do this, are you okay, is what I was really thinking.”

In the blog post, which was a recap after Paige’s engagement, she hearkened back to how their family’s happy moments make the rocky ones that much more bearable.

“So to see him smiling and walking around and enjoying the celebration of his second child and the man she's gonna marry...well, it made me feel a little better about things. 😂” she continued. “And summer will be over soon!”

The fall issue of The Pioneer Woman Magazine is available now.

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