"Pioneer Woman" star Ree Drummond is opening up about her foster son, Jamar.
Last week, the celebrity chef from Oklahoma announced that she's been fostering the young man, now 18, for a year and a half.
Recently, Drummond, 51, spoke about her experience fostering Jamar during an appearance on "Fox & Friends."
"That's really the first time that I've introduced Jamar to the world," the chef said of her recently released book of essays titled, "Frontier Follies." "He's been living with us for about a year and a half."
REE DRUMMOND ANNOUNCES SHE'S FOSTERING A TEENAGE SON NAMED JAMAR
Drummond said that fostering a child "wasn't really anything my husband and I sought out to do or necessarily felt called to do," but one thing led to another and they ended up taking Jamar in.
"He's basically been a full-fledged part of our family for over a year and a half," she added, noting that she had to avoid speaking publically about Jamar for a time "because of regulations with the state agencies."
"Also, I was pretty protective of him, and I didn't want to just suddenly put him on my social media and put him in the public life," she explained. "He's 18 now and he started sort of saying 'I feel like you're hiding me from the world,' so once he turned 18, I felt like it was time to share and he's very happy to have his story told."
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Drummond and her husband, Ladd, share four other children: daughters Alex, 23, and Paige, 21; and sons Bryce, 18, and Todd, 16. She's quite open about her kids' lives and major milestones. Last month, she shared photos of her daughter Paige trying on her wedding dress from 1996 despite it being her eldest child, daughter Alex, who is currently engaged.
According to Drummond, the married couple did not consider fostering until Ladd was introduced to Jamar during high school football practices in Pawhuska, Okla. Upon learning of Jamar, Drummond says the couple "couldn't ignore" the possibility of welcoming him into their home, she said in the book, per People magazine.
She also describes the 18-year-old as "an inextricable part of our wacky family."
"Through a ton of determination, Jamar has excelled in football, and he’s already received a couple of college offers, with more sure to come in!" Drummond adds about Jamar.
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"I’m proud of the kid, and I can’t wait to see where life takes him," she concludes. "I’ll be in the stands cheering him on."
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Ree and Ladd Drummond wed in 1996 and continue to live in Pawhuska, where in addition to being the location where she films her Food Network show, she's also running a hotel, restaurant, bakery and general store.
Fox News' Ainsley Earhardt contributed to this report.