The final episode of 'Fixer Upper' is here - take a look back at how the couple behind the reality juggernaut went from undergrads in a small Texas town to household names
Chip and Joanna both attended Baylor University in Waco. While he was flipping houses on the side, she was majoring in communications and working at her father’s Firestone Tire shop.
They ended up meeting through her job, rather than at school. “Her dad made the mistake of putting a pic of the family behind the counter at his shop," Chip told PopSugar. "I knew I'd marry her one day just by the picture on the wall."
Sources: Country Living, PopSugar
The two met at the store in 2001, and Chip asked her out. “And for some reason I said okay — just like that, without any hesitation,” Joanna writes in 2016’s “The Magnolia Story.” “It wasn’t like me at all.”
Sources: Country Living, “The Magnolia Story”
Things got off to a bumpy start: Chip showed up 90 minutes late for their date—complete with a bald head (he shaved it to support a friend with cancer). “I still don’t remember what he said that convinced me to walk out the door with him,” she writes in “The Magnolia Story.” “He had so much confidence. I don’t know. I can’t explain it.”
Source: “The Magnolia Story”
But, within a few months, Chip had won over Joanna. Soon, she fell in love with him—and his most successful business venture: flipping houses. Within a year of their first date, they got engaged, and they married in Waco’s historic Earle Harrison House in 2003.
They honeymooned in New York City and New England, finding inspiration in downtown shops and rural farmhouses alike. When they returned to Waco, pretty much broke, they decided to buy and flip a small home. “And Chip carried me over the threshold. Right into a nightmare,” Joanna writes in “The Magnolia Story” about their rocky renovation.
Sources: “The Magnolia Story”, INSIDER, Realtor.com
Soon after, looking to foster Joanna’s newfound interest in interior design, the couple borrowed $5,000 and opened a home decor shop in Waco. “Chip and I had decided together that our little shop would be named Magnolia. … There’s something so beautiful about a magnolia blossom. It demands attention.”
Sources: Texas Monthly, “The Magnolia Story”
Over the next decade, they ran the retail store, continued flipping houses, and grew their business. Meanwhile, their family grew, too. Today, they’re the proud parents of Drake (12), Ella Rose (9), Duke (8) and Emmie Kay (7) — with one more on the way, due in July.
Sources: Texas Monthly, Good Housekeeping
In 2011, a production company executive saw a blog about Joanna and thought the couple would be a great fit for a new HGTV show about full home renovations. “They have the kind of marriage and family you’d want,” Allison Page, general manager at HGTV and DIY networks, told Texas Monthly. “It’s not perfect. ... There’s an authenticity in their relationship and that comes through in the show.”
Source: Texas Monthly
They filmed a pilot, rehabbing a nearly uninhabitable home, which aired in 2013. It was an instant hit, drawing 1.9 million viewers. “That we get to have a show like this on national television, doing exactly what we’re passionate about, is really a gift,“ Joanna writes in “The Magnolia Story.“ Around the same time, they bought a farm and began renovating it.
Sources: INSIDER, “The Magnolia Story”
Since then, they’ve grown the business even more. It currently encompasses the Magnolia Homes renovation business, Magnolia Realty real estate agency, Magnolia Silos marketplace, “Magnolia Journal” magazine, Magnolia House and Hillcrest Estate luxury rental properties, and Magnolia Table restaurant.
Source: Town & Country, Country Living
Plus, the duo has released two books, the best-selling “The Magnolia Story” and “Capital Gaines: Smart Things I Learned Doing Stupid Stuff.” A cookbook, “Magnolia Table: A Collection of Recipes for Gathering,” is due out April 24.
Source: Amazon
Today, Chip and Joanna are worth anywhere from $5 million to $9 million each, and they reportedly received $30,000 per episode of “Fixer Upper.” Now, they’re planning on spending more time with family. “We really want to focus on this break and take a step back to let this all soak in," Joanna told “People.”
Source: Town & Country, People
A spinoff show, “Fixer Upper: Behind the Design,” will debut April 10, featuring a deeper dive into previous reno projects. “I can’t wait to show our fans how every piece of the design comes together before the final reveal,” Joanna said in a press release. “I want to nail every detail so that, when we walk away, Chip and I know we’ve given a family the one-of-a-kind home of their dreams.”
Source: People
Like any relationship, Chip and Joanna have experienced their share of ups and downs, like recent divorce rumors. (To which Chip replied on Twitter: “Won't ever happen.. you can take that to the bank!”) “Jo and I both made a commitment pretty early on that the two of us are the most important variable," Chip told “People.”
Source: People, Chip Gaines Twitter
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