When the world was first introduced to Chip and Joanna Gaines, they were trying to make
a living flipping houses, and had no idea how successful they'd become.
Here's how the couple has changed since their show, Fixer Upper's premiere.
What started as a small way for Joanna Gaines to share her love of design with the world
turned into a massive media frenzy.
Her world completely changed when a producer from HGTV just happened to stumble across
her small blog in 2012.
She later admitted to Today -
"I don't think we ever knew it was going to be this national thing."
By the time fans had followed Fixer Upper into Season 3, it was the number show one
on cable television.
By Season 4, it was taking up 10 percent of HGTV's air time, and by the time their television
series came to an end after five seasons, it had received two Emmy nominations.
In 2018, after becoming the most popular duo in HGTV history, Joanna and Chip Gaines left
HGTV for a special reason, with Joanna telling People -
"We really want to focus on this break and take a step back to let this all soak in,"
"And I'm wanting it to look-"
"A little more aged."
"Chip…babe"
"Oh dude I'm sorry, oh my gosh, didn't even see you there."
Understandably, fans were frazzled that Fixer Upper was ending, but it was just the beginning
of what the Gaines were building.
As if they weren't busy enough, Chip and Joanna decided to continue to tackle television while
also working a construction business and chasing after four kids.
However, when the couple signed on for Fixer Upper, their dance card wasn't full yet.
Alongside their growing businesses came a growing family as well.
In 2018, the Gaines welcomed their fifth child, Crew and decided to take a break from TV.
Watching their kids grow up while working on Fixer Upper had already been enough of
a whirlwind for the overwhelmed family.
"Those years just flew by because there was so much happening in the moment.
I feel like I can really take this one in and relish these moments."
However, the Gaines family decided to take on television once again in 2021, and they
show no signs of slowing down - in all aspects of their life.
So are Chip and Joanna Gaines having another baby?
She hinted at the possibility in 2019 by telling Today -
"I think Chip just loves a full plate."
Before they were famous, few people knew that the couple was having trouble financially.
Money was tight when it came to making their mortgage and feeding their family of six.
Chip even admitted to Success Magazine -
"There was a good ten year run to where Jo and I were literally consistently worried
about things that most people take for granted."
It was thanks to the successful show that the couple was able to make a real change,
building the foundation for their futures.
However, this Hollywood-type career took the pair even further than that.
So just how much are Chip and Joanna Gaines really worth?
The two now have a net worth of $20 million.
However, becoming multi-millionaires was never the Gaines' end goal - it was much simpler
than that.
"I was wanting to support my family.
I wanted to live, you know, the American dream."
A year before Fixer Upper premiered, Chip and Joanna Gaines fell in love with a farmhouse
outside of Waco, Texas.
Its 40 rolling acres seemed like the perfect place to raise their family - and dozens of
farm animals.
However, much like all the properties the pair work on, it required a bit of labor.
Throughout Season 1 of Fixer Upper, Chip and Joanna released a series of YouTube videos
showing fans how they were renovating their home.
As their fame came to fruition, so did their own fixer upper.
Joanna updated their fans on the house via her blog, posting -
"Just like all of us, our homes have a journey of their own."
While the Gaines family have a busy life running their businesses and appearing on our television
screens, Chip and Joanna still claim to be homebodies at heart, with Chip writing on
their blog,
"You can drag us out and make us travel and even put us up in some fancy place way nicer
than where we live, but the reality remains the same, we want to go back home."
Needless to say, fans quickly fell in love with Fixer Upper.
So to share their in-demand designs, Chip and Joanna Gaines launched their Texas based
retail businesses, Magnolia Market at the Silos – but countless viewers all over the
country wanted to bring the heart of Waco into their own homes, too.
In 2017, the Gaines family finally made a deal with Target and created a collection
called Hearth & Hand to share with the world.
Joanna sounded excited about the development in her press release about the deal -
"When guests visit [our shops at] the Silos in Waco, Texas, they get to experience the
true essence of what Magnolia is.
We know that not everyone can come visit, so we are excited to bring some of our home
to yours."
That was a welcome change for eager fans!
To preserve the Magnolia image in the Hearth & Hand collection, Joanna made sure that the
national collection shared a similarity to their small store in Waco.
Chip provided a glimpse of what customers could expect to see via their blog -
"It's like a little shop inside of Target.
Jo keeps calling the look 'modern farmhouse,' whatever that means."
The Gaines didn't have to leave the small world of Waco, Texas, in order to get famous
- rather, the fame came to them instead.
This Fixer Upper couple now has fans all across the country, and the entire world now knows
them by name.
In fact, in 2017, the pair's social media presence earned them a spot on The Hollywood
Reporter's list of Top TV Personalities.
With over 12 million followers on Instagram alone, Joanna was named the number one personality
that people loved to follow across all platforms.
It turns out that she had more fans posting to her social media pages than Jimmy Fallon
and even Oprah Winfrey.
Joanna didn't sound like the fame has gone to her head, admitting to Today that they
still get starstruck -
"We get tweets from celebrities.
It's very surreal."
So as of now, these two homebodies turned household names are hopeful that they can
still lead normal lives outside of the limelight; the urge to live the simple life hasn't changed
for them.
What makes Fixer Upper so successful isn't just the fact that fans love to watch Chip
and Joanna Gaines flip houses.
People also love that these two Texans come across as an average family that fans can
relate to.
In 2016, the Gaines realized there was more to them than renovations - and that publishers
were interested.
To that end, the couple gave fans an inside look at their lives in their book The Magnolia
Story.
Within its pages, Chip and Joanna explain how they began their businesses, what life
lessons they've learned, and how they've changed.
Not surprisingly, the book quickly became a New York Times Best Seller.
In a statement, Joanna said -
"Getting to tell this story together was like uncovering and reliving half-a-lifetime's
worth of happy memories, failures, and adventures."
Chip and Joanna have also published additional tomes to the delight of Fixer Upper fans.
That includes the countless cookbooks they've written, as well as a children's book inspired
by their own little ones.
When Chip and Joanna signed on to star in Fixer Upper, they originally thought no one
but locals would tune in.
Boy, were they wrong.
In fact, the Gaines family can't go anywhere anymore without being recognized, with Chip
telling the New York Times -
"No matter how many times someone asks me to sign their hat or asks Jo for a picture,
it still feels surreal.
We don't think of ourselves as 'famous' even now."
Rather, they view themselves simply as a family of fixer uppers.
Even as they've gotten super famous, the Gaines always remember to stay grounded.
Joanna explained this in an interview with People -
"We're trying to make it to where it's as normal as possible for our kids, that they
don't get the magnitude of this."
So while television has treated them well, raising their kids right will always come
first.
Joanna Gaines had always dreamed of opening her own businesses, something Chip during
a chat with BUILD Series -
"She had this whole book, a notebook, full of businesses that she would hypothetically
start one day."
Impressed by Joanna's ideas, Chip wanted her to make what she wrote down a reality.
"I just dreamed about them and he really encouraged me to step out and make one of those dreams
happen."
After television, another industry seemed to be calling out to Chip and Joanna.
And after releasing countless cookbooks, it really should be no surprise that the pair
wanted to get into the restaurant business.
So in 2016, Chip and Joanna Gaines fixed up an abandoned restaurant that the locals had
always loved.
They turned it into Magnolia Table, and when that was a hit, they also opened a quaint
coffee shop called Magnolia Press in 2020.
At the end of the day, fixing up a food business wasn't so foreign to Chip and Joanna either,
writing on their blog -
"We're especially excited about the custom furniture Jo designed that you'll find throughout
the Press."
Since the first episode of Fixer Upper aired in 2013, Chip and Joanna Gaines have had quite
an effect on audiences everywhere - so much so that in 2019, a whole year after they wrapped
up their show, they made Time's list of the 100 Most Influential People.
During the awards gala, Chip and Joanna found themselves rubbing shoulders with celebrities
- quite the change from their humble Texas roots.
Chip shared what was going through their minds in an interview with Today -
"It set in really quickly and overwhelmingly.
It was like, what are we doing here?"
Truly, the Gaines never dreamed they'd be where they are today.
Their initial plan for Joanna was to eventually take over her family's automotive business,
after all, as she explained in The Magnolia Story -
"If I had planned my life, it never would have ended up like this.
So maybe it's kind of fun not to plan."
Everywhere Chip and Joanna Gaines go, they want it to feel homey.
They want others to feel the same, too, so bringing people to Waco is what they're most
passionate about, with Joanna explaining on their blog -
"What it really comes down to is our desire to create a place where people feel welcomed."
Fans can spend the night in homes that were featured on Fixer Upper, but in 2019, Chip
was dreaming bigger.
He decided to buy a boutique hotel close to their downtown shops, and naturally, fix it
up.
But at nearly 53,000 square feet, it was a much larger project than the pair was used
to with Joanna initially hesitant and summing up her thoughts during a chat with Today -
"Let's just stick with houses."
But after hearing Chip's plans for the place and getting over the fact that it may or may
not be haunted, she began to share his vision.
They aren't done either, as later that year, Chip and Joanna Gaines purchased a historic
castle in Waco as their next fixer upper.
Two years after Fixer Upper ended, Chip and Joannccca Gaines let fans know that they were
bringing it back in 2021 - finally!
"What did you do Chip?"
"I signed us up for another season of Fixer Upper…"
"Are you serious?"
"Yes.
I answered the office phone like you tell me never to do."
However it turns out that these two Texans have more to share than just their love of
fixer uppers.
To that end, in 2019, the Gaines announced that they're launching their own network on
television, appropriately called Magnolia Network.
Set to replace the DIY Network, the Gaines family are creating their own lineup of original
content, from cooking to crafting.
Truly, fans have become obsessed with Chip and Joanna, something that Magnolia Network
president Allison Page is keenly aware of telling Variety -
"It was their authenticity, relatability, family focus and zest for life that made America
fall in love with them."
During Joanna Gaines' time on Fixer Upper, she found herself falling in love with cooking.
But with dozens of growing businesses and her five kids to contend with, how could she
possibly find time to cook?
By being paid do it on TV!
So after authoring cookbooks and even whipping up some at-home cooking videos on YouTube
"And once it sits, it hardens and I'm gonna crumble it on top of the salad, and THAT is
why my kids eat salad."
"We don't actually eat the salad."
Joanna will host her very own cooking show on Magnolia Network, announcing on her blog
-
"I want to share recipes with you that I love.
But, even more than sharing recipes, I hope it reminds you of what a gift it is to spend
time in the kitchen, being creative and making good food for people you love."
To tease her new television show, Joanna starred in a special on the Food Network; three million
viewers tuned into In the Kitchen with Joanna Gaines to see her cook.
Waco, Texas wasn't necessarily a tourist destination before Chip and Joanna Gaines featured the
town on television.
But ever since Fixer Upper became a massive hit, more people make the pilgrimage to Magnolia
Market than the Alamo; over 30,000 visitors from all over the world stop by the shops
each week according to the Waco Tribune-Herald.
"All the way from Bakersfield, California!"
"Albany, Oregon!"
"New Orleans, Louisiana!"
"Seattle Washington!"
Joanna admitted on her blog -
"This entire business idea was born completely out of a dream I didn't know could ever come
to life."
While Fixer Upper may have started out as a show about flipping houses, for the Gaines,
it's so much more than that: it's special footage of their family, town, and way of
life.
In an interview with Today Chip said -
"It makes sense that we like it, it makes sense that my grandmother likes it, but why
does everybody else like it?"
While their mass appeal is something that Chip and Joanna still can't wrap their minds
around, they have revitalized Waco and given it a new energy, but they remain humble with
Chip saying -
"We just feel extremely thankful."
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