Introduction
Rishia Haas is the former wife of Andrew Zimmern, the chef and TV host known for Bizarre Foods. They met in Minneapolis around 2000, married in 2002, and have one son, Noah. The couple separated in 2018, and their divorce was final by early 2020. Away from TV, she and Andrew also helped a local center that serves children and families.
In this article, you’ll learn how they met, what changed as his career grew, why their work with the Washburn Center for Children mattered, and what Andrew said about their split. You’ll also find clear answers to common questions about their family.
Let’s start with the facts that shaped their story.
Quick Facts
- Known for: Former wife of Andrew Zimmern
- Former spouse: Andrew Zimmern, chef and television host
- Marriage: 2002
- Son: Noah
- Separation: Reported in September 2018
- Divorce: Final by early 2020
- Minnesota connection: Minneapolis and the Twin Cities
- Community support: Washburn Center for Children
Who Is Rishia Haas?
Rishia Haas became known to many people through her marriage to Andrew Zimmern. He built a career in food media, while she stayed largely outside the TV spotlight. Reports about their life together focus on their home in Minnesota, their son, and the changes that came with his work.
Her public story is not limited to being a chef’s spouse. In 2014, she spoke to Mpls.St.Paul Magazine about the support her family had received from the Washburn Center for Children. She and Andrew also gave time and money to help the center. That interview gives readers a rare chance to hear her own view of family and community.
She did not host Bizarre Foods or build her name through the show. The most useful accounts of her life come from local reporting and interviews with the couple, not from claims about fame or wealth.
How Rishia Haas Met Andrew Zimmern
Their story began in Minneapolis, long before Andrew became a well-known travel host. A 2018 New York Times profile, also carried by WRAL, says they met at a cookware store in the city about 18 years earlier. That places their first meeting around 2000.
He was then making a shift in his working life. After years in restaurant kitchens, he was moving toward food writing and media. The couple married about two years after they met, in 2002.
Minneapolis was already a key place for Andrew. He had come to Minnesota in 1992 while seeking help for addiction. Over time, he rebuilt his life and found work in the food scene. By the time he met Rishia, his path was moving in a new direction.
Their relationship thus began before the travel shows, fan events, and long flights that later filled his calendar. At that point, his work was still tied much more closely to the city where they lived.
Their Wedding and the Start of Family Life
Rishia Haas and Andrew Zimmern married in 2002. The date is often listed in short profiles, but it also follows the timeline Andrew gave in his 2018 interview: a meeting around 2000 and a wedding two years later.
They went on to have a son named Noah. Their family life was based in the Minneapolis area, even after Andrew became a familiar face to viewers across the country. The Twin Cities remained a place where they had real ties beyond his work.
Andrew later recalled that leaving restaurant jobs for food media had seemed like a smart move for family life. A different kind of career, he thought, might give him more time at home. What followed was not what he had expected.
That hope and the later outcome are key to the couple’s history. Their marriage started as Andrew was changing careers, not after he had reached his peak on television.
How Bizarre Foods Changed Their Daily Lives
Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern brought the chef to a much wider audience. Viewers watched him travel, meet cooks, visit markets, and try dishes rooted in local food traditions. His work took him across the United States and around the world.
A travel show takes more time than the footage on screen suggests. There are flights, meetings, filming days, and events beyond the main scenes. As Andrew’s projects grew, so did the time he spent away from home.
The 2018 profile said he slept in his own bed for only about one-third of the year. That detail helps explain the strain he later described. A busy calendar was not a brief phase of his job. Travel had become part of how his career worked.
He also took on other shows and food projects. His work brought success, but it left less room for the family time he had hoped to gain when he left restaurant kitchens. This account comes from Andrew’s own comments. It does not tell us what Rishia felt about each trip or work choice.
Rishia Haas and the Washburn Center for Children
One of the clearest reports about Rishia’s own public work appeared in May 2014. Mpls.St.Paul Magazine featured the couple and their support for the Washburn Center for Children, a Minnesota nonprofit that provides mental health care to young people and families.
In the interview, Andrew spoke about a hard period for their household and how the center had helped them. The piece said the family received care that looked at the needs of parents as well as their child. It was not just a service for one person in the home.
Rishia spoke about the need for help from people outside one’s close family. Her message was simple: parents cannot always handle every hard time alone. A good community can give families care and support when life gets tough.
The magazine also reported that the couple backed the center with both donations and volunteer time. Their support was tied to help they had received, not just to Andrew’s public name.
Readers can find their original interview in Mpls.St.Paul Magazine. It is a short account, yet it offers direct words from Rishia rather than guesses about her personal life.
What Her 2014 Comments Tell Us
Much of the press around Andrew focused on meals, travel, and the places he filmed. The 2014 interview had a different focus. It dealt with a family’s need for care and the role of local services.
Rishia’s words showed respect for the people who help families through hard periods. She was speaking as a parent and as someone who had seen that help up close. The couple then used their platform to draw attention to a group that other parents could turn to.
Her role in that report matters because she was not merely named beside a famous husband. She spoke for herself and helped make the case for community care. It remains a meaningful part of the public record of her work in Minnesota.
Why Rishia Haas and Andrew Zimmern Divorced
By September 2018, the couple were in the process of getting divorced. In the New York Times report published by WRAL, the split was described as hard but friendly. Noah was 13 at the time.
Andrew was open about the part he felt he had played in the end of the marriage. He said he had not been present enough for his wife or their son. He also wrote that he had become drawn to the praise, work, and pace of being a public figure.
Those details are his own account. They explain how he saw his choices, but they should not be treated as a full account of Rishia’s private views. She did not give the same long interview about the end of their marriage.
The timing is clear. News of their separation was public in 2018. A 2020 Mpls.St.Paul Magazine interview with Andrew said the divorce had been finalized by then. For that reason, calling 2018 the year their divorce was final would be too precise.
The original 2018 New York Times profile on WRAL sets out Andrew’s words and the career demands he faced at that time.
Andrew’s Plans as a Father After the Split
The 2018 interview did not end with blame. Andrew spoke about wanting to do better as a father and former partner. He linked that goal to a wider effort to find more balance in a life that had long been shaped by travel.
In that same profile, he spoke about talks he had shared with fellow travel host Anthony Bourdain. Both knew the pull of being on the road and the trouble that can come with never slowing down. Their talks gave Andrew a way to think about the costs of his own work.
This is a part of Andrew’s story, not a report on Rishia’s life after their separation. It shows what he hoped to change. It does not prove how their home or parenting schedule worked in the years that followed.
What Is Known About Her Life Today?
Rishia Haas has not built a public TV career like her former husband. The main reports that identify her come from the years of their marriage and their support for Washburn Center.
Andrew has stayed active in food and media work, and later interviews have looked back on his divorce. Those public accounts do not give a detailed picture of Rishia’s current job, home, or relationships. Claims about those parts of her life should not be treated as fact without a sound source.
Her story does have clear milestones. She met Andrew in Minneapolis, married him in 2002, became a mother to Noah, and helped a local family service group. She was also part of his life during the rise of Bizarre Foods. These are the details that can be traced to strong reporting.
Final Thoughts
Rishia Haas shared many years with Andrew Zimmern before and during his rise on food television. Their story began in Minneapolis, grew into a family with their son Noah, and changed as his travel career took more of his time.
The couple’s work with Washburn Center also deserves a place in that story. It shows Rishia speaking in her own voice about the value of care from a wider community. Her public identity may be linked to a famous chef, but that local effort gives us a more personal view of her priorities.
Their marriage ended, yet the years they spent as parents and neighbors in Minnesota remain part of both their lives.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who was Andrew Zimmern’s wife?
Andrew Zimmern was married to Rishia Haas. They wed in 2002 and later divorced.
How did Rishia Haas meet Andrew Zimmern?
They met at a cookware store in Minneapolis around 2000, before his travel show made him famous.
Do Rishia Haas and Andrew Zimmern have children?
Yes. They have one son, Noah. He was 13 when news of the couple’s split appeared in 2018.
When did Rishia Haas and Andrew Zimmern split?
Their separation was reported in September 2018. A 2020 interview said their divorce had been finalized by that time.
What nonprofit did Rishia Haas support?
She and Andrew gave donations and volunteer support to Washburn Center for Children, which serves young people and families in Minnesota.
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