HGTV's Fixer Upper is our favorite home improvement show to marathon on a lazy Sunday, and that's
thanks to the husband-and-wife duo of Chip and Joanna Gaines. He's goofy and lovable;
she's laid back but all-business. That's lovely, but let's learn some lesser known details
about the series and the couple who makes it all happen.
What is Joanna's ethnicity?
Let's go ahead and get this one out of the way. At some point while watching Fixer Upper,
you've probably wondered about Joanna's ethnicity. Is she Native America? Asian? Both?
"So a lot of people have asked what my nationality is, I'm half Korean."
Okay, so what about the other half? Joanna set the record straight on her blog, saying
her father is half-Lebanese and half-German.
"That's good!"
"Thanks Chip"
They met when Chip needed car repairs
Chip first set eyes on the love of his life in the most unlikely place: an auto-repair
shop.
When he saw a family photo that Joanna's father hung behind the counter of his store, he was
smitten, telling PopSugar:
"I knew I'd marry her one day just by the picture on the wall."
When he came into the shop another day, he saw Joanna working in the office, and he made
his move.
Joanna recalled:
"We met in the waiting area and hit it off immediately. He was genuinely engaging and
he had such a sincere smile."
"At first, I couldn't believe how kind Chip was—he had kind eyes, and made me laugh
a lot. I knew he was the one because I knew I could trust him."
D'aww. Adorable.
A blog post was their lucky break
Fixer Upper's big break began in January 2012, when the Design Mom blog published a post
titled, "Living With Kids: Joanna Gaines." A production company reportedly saw the post,
liked a photo of one of her and Chip's designs, and reached out.
Joanna told Glamour:
"They called us and said, 'Hey, we love that you guys do real estate and you guys work
together, that's intriguing.’ From there, that's where the whole courtship began."
What's the deal with "Magnolia" anyway?
Viewers of Fixer Upper will notice a reoccurring theme: magnolia. The Gaines' various companies
include Magnolia Realty, Magnolia Home, Magnolia Villas, Magnolia Market, Magnolia Flour, Magnolia
Houses, and they call their home Magnolia Farms. What gives?
Chip explained to Glamour:
"When we were just dating, I would pick these blooms from Magnolia trees. If you've ever
seen them, they are almost just bowl-like, and that whole thing always inspired us. So
when we had the opportunity and were trying to figure out what to name her little boutique,
Magnolia Market just stood out to us."
The furniture leaves when the cameras stop rolling
At the end of each episode, homebuyers experience the big reveal—their completely renovated
dream home filled with gorgeous furniture. The buyers love it! The audience loves it!
But the bookkeepers? Not so much. The furniture on the show is from Joanna's Magnolia Market,
and appears for staging purposes only. If they want to keep it, they can take out a
second mortgage. But IKEA is probably the first destination for clients once the cameras
stop rolling.
HGTV's contributions
Unlike ABC's Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, nobody on Fixer Upper donates services or
materials. However, HGTV might throw in some money if the property lacks curb appeal. According
to the Waco Tribune, the network "doesn't fund the renovations, though producers may
throw some extra landscaping or design flourishes."
High cost of entry
Fans of the show know the format: Chip and Joanna show homebuyers three potential properties.
The buyers fall in love with one, and the co-hosts work their magic. But according to
the Hooked On Houses blog, Fixer Upper prefers "you already have a fixer upper before applying
to be on the show. That means the house-hunting we see in the first half hour is probably
just for entertainment purposes." Meanwhile, the blog also said homeowners must be prepared
to invest at least $30,000 in the project.
Fixer Upper is fixing Waco
Between the deadly government raid on the David Koresh-led cult televised in 1993 and
the fatal biker shootout in 2015, Waco, Texas, has been struggling with its reputation. But
the city's battered image may be improving thanks to Fixer Upper. In a 2016 article in
the Dallas Morning News, residents of Waco credited the show's popularity with rejuvenating
the community's public image. Baylor Professor Robert Darden explains the way the perception
of the city is changing:
"And all around the world you can say Waco and people automatically have images. I think
now there's more Fixer Upper than David Koresh."
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