Meet Rishia Haas: Andrew Zimmern’s Former Wife, Family, and Personal Life

Rishia Haas is best known to the public through her former marriage to chef, television personality, and food writer Andrew Zimmern. Unlike her famous former husband, Haas has generally maintained a private life, which has left much of her personal background less documented than Zimmern’s highly public career.

Their relationship began in Minnesota before Zimmern became internationally recognized through Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern, and the couple eventually built a family together.

Rishia Haas and Andrew Zimmern married in 2002 and welcomed their son, Noah, in 2005. Their marriage lasted roughly 16 years before they separated and divorced in 2018. During those years, Zimmern’s career expanded dramatically, involving international travel, television production, writing, and public appearances.

In discussing the end of the marriage, Zimmern openly acknowledged that his demanding career and absence from home had affected his relationship with both his wife and son.

Quick Bio Table: Rishia Haas

Who Is Rishia Haas?

Rishia Haas is a private American professional whose public profile developed primarily because of her relationship with Andrew Zimmern. While Zimmern built a recognizable career in food television, Haas did not pursue the same level of media exposure.

Public accounts place Haas in Minnesota during the period when she met Zimmern. Although the exact details of their first meeting vary between secondary sources, the broader account is consistent: their relationship began in Minnesota during the late 1990s, before Zimmern became a major television personality.

That timing is important when understanding the story of Rishia Haas and Andrew Zimmern. Their relationship began before Bizarre Foods premiered in 2006 and before Zimmern became a familiar face to international television audiences. A 2017 profile also described Haas as Zimmern’s wife and noted that the couple had a son, Noah, while Zimmern was maintaining his Minnesota home despite his extensive travel schedule.

Rishia Haas and Andrew Zimmern’s Marriage

Rishia Haas married Andrew Zimmern in 2002. Some biographical records give December 26, 2002, as the wedding date, although the precise details of the private ceremony are not extensively documented in major contemporary publications.

Their marriage therefore covered a significant period of transition in Zimmern’s professional life. He moved from restaurant work and local food media into national television and eventually international food and travel programming. His work on Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern required extensive travel, while additional television, writing, speaking, and business commitments further expanded his professional schedule.

A 2018 report described the couple’s separation as difficult but amicable and explained that Zimmern himself connected the breakdown of the marriage to his career demands. He said he had not been sufficiently present for his wife or son and acknowledged that he had underestimated how much his ambition and public career would affect family life.

Family Life and Their Son Noah

Rishia Haas and Andrew Zimmern have one publicly known child, their son Noah Zimmern, who was born in 2005. A 2017 profile of Zimmern identified Noah as the couple’s son and noted that he was then 12 years old.

Noah’s childhood coincided with the rapid growth of his father’s television career. Andrew Zimmern was frequently traveling to film food and travel programs, meaning that family life existed alongside a professional schedule that could take him around the world. For Rishia Haas, that period was therefore connected not only with being the spouse of a growing television personality but also with raising their child while the family navigated increasing public attention.

Unlike his father, Noah has generally remained outside the center of entertainment coverage. That limited public presence makes it difficult—and inappropriate—to draw detailed conclusions about his private life. The publicly documented point is simply that Noah is the son of Rishia Haas and Andrew Zimmern and became an important part of their family story.

What Did Rishia Haas Do for a Living?

Rishia Haas’s professional history is less extensively documented than Andrew Zimmern’s culinary career. Public biographical accounts have associated her with administrative work and later with organizations involved in addiction recovery. One recurring account identifies her as an admissions coordinator at The Retreat, a Minnesota recovery organization, and later connects her with the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation.

These career details also create an interesting connection with Zimmern’s own public history. Zimmern has spoken extensively about his recovery and the role that sobriety played in rebuilding his life and career. His professional biography includes his years in Minnesota, restaurant work, food media, and eventual television success.

However, readers should be careful with online claims about Haas’s employment timeline. Numerous biography websites repeat specific job titles, dates, certifications, and later career developments without providing strong primary documentation. The safest description is that Haas has been publicly associated with administrative and recovery-related work rather than presenting every repeated internet claim as an established fact.

Why Did Rishia Haas and Andrew Zimmern Divorce?

Rishia Haas and Andrew Zimmern’s marriage ended in 2018 after approximately 16 years. The available reporting does not point to a single publicly documented event as the definitive cause of the separation. Instead, Zimmern himself discussed the effect of his career, ambition, travel, and absence from home.

In a 2018 report, Zimmern was unusually candid about his role in the breakdown of the marriage. He acknowledged that he had not been there sufficiently for his wife or son and said that Haas had given him numerous opportunities to make things right. He also reflected on his dependence on the attention and lifestyle associated with being a public figure.

That firsthand acknowledgment is more useful than speculative explanations found on celebrity websites. There is a difference between documenting what Zimmern publicly said about his marriage and claiming to know every private reason the relationship ended. Rishia Haas has largely avoided public discussion of the divorce, so details beyond the documented statements should be treated cautiously.

Rishia Haas After the Divorce

After the marriage ended, Rishia Haas largely remained outside the entertainment spotlight. While Andrew Zimmern continued to work in television, food media, travel, and related projects, Haas did not build a highly visible public career around her connection to him. This is one reason reliable information about her post-divorce life is relatively scarce.

Several recent biography articles have claimed that Haas continued working in Minnesota and developed an interest or professional connection with beekeeping and the University of Minnesota Bee Lab. However, these claims are not as strongly documented in established sources as her earlier connection with administrative and recovery-related work. They are therefore better described as reported information rather than definitive facts about her current occupation.

Her low public profile is itself an important part of understanding Rishia Haas. Being married to a recognizable television personality can create continuing public curiosity, but it does not mean that every aspect of a former spouse’s private life is publicly available. Haas appears to have maintained a distinction between her family history and her personal identity.

Rishia Haas and Andrew Zimmern Today

Rishia Haas is no longer Andrew Zimmern’s wife; she is his former wife. This distinction matters because many older articles and photographs continue to identify Haas as Zimmern’s wife simply because they were published while the couple were still married.

The former couple share a son, which means their family connection did not disappear when their marriage ended. However, specific details about their current relationship, private conversations, living arrangements, or co-parenting routines have not been extensively documented by either party. It is therefore more responsible to focus on the confirmed family connection than to speculate about their present-day personal relationship.

Zimmern has continued discussing family, fatherhood, recovery, and the lessons he learned from earlier periods of his life. His comments about the marriage have generally been notable for his willingness to acknowledge his own shortcomings rather than publicly assigning blame to Haas.

Why Rishia Haas Continues to Attract Public Interest

Searches for Rishia Haas often begin with a simple question: “Who is Andrew Zimmern’s wife?” But because the marriage ended in 2018, the more accurate search intent today is “Who is Andrew Zimmern’s former wife?” Her story remains connected to Zimmern because their marriage covered the years when he transformed from a Minnesota food professional into an internationally recognized television figure.

For readers researching Rishia Haas, the most useful approach is to separate established facts from claims repeated by biography websites. Her marriage to Zimmern, their son Noah, their 2002 wedding, and the 2018 end of their marriage are central parts of the documented story. More detailed claims about her finances, exact current employment, relationships, or private residence should not be presented as fact without reliable evidence.

Rishia Haas, Privacy, and Her Own Identity

It is easy to describe Rishia Haas only as “Andrew Zimmern’s ex-wife,” but that label explains her public recognition rather than her complete identity. Her reported professional work, family responsibilities, and decision to remain away from celebrity culture represent a different side of her life.

Her connection to Zimmern is historically significant because she was with him before and during a major transformation in his career. Yet the available public record also shows that Haas did not attempt to turn that relationship into a permanent media career. In an age when celebrity relationships can dominate headlines, her relative absence from the spotlight is notable.

Conclusion

Rishia Haas is best known as the former wife of Andrew Zimmern, but her story extends beyond that association. She met Zimmern in Minnesota before his rise to international food television, married him in 2002, and became the mother of their son, Noah, in 2005. Their marriage continued through the years when Zimmern’s career expanded into extensive television production and international travel.

The couple separated and divorced in 2018. The clearest public explanation comes from Zimmern himself, who acknowledged that his demanding career, ambition, and frequent absence contributed significantly to the problems in the marriage.

The most trustworthy portrait is therefore a measured one: Haas is a private mother and professional whose public identity became linked to one of America’s best-known food television personalities, while much of her life has remained outside the media.

FAQs About Rishia Haas

Who is Rishia Haas?

Rishia Haas is an American woman best known publicly as the former wife of chef and television personality Andrew Zimmern.

When did Rishia Haas marry Andrew Zimmern?

Rishia Haas married Andrew Zimmern in 2002. Some biographical records identify December 26, 2002, as their wedding date, although detailed contemporary reporting about the private ceremony is limited.

Do Rishia Haas and Andrew Zimmern have children?

Yes. Rishia Haas and Andrew Zimmern have one son, Noah Zimmern, who was born in 2005. He has largely remained outside the public spotlight.

Why did Rishia Haas and Andrew Zimmern divorce?

Their marriage ended in 2018. He specifically said that he had not been sufficiently present for his wife and son.

What is Rishia Haas doing now?

Earlier public accounts associate her with administrative and addiction-recovery-related work in Minnesota.