Chip and Joanna Gainesare entering a new phase of their relationship — and loving it.
“I would say, as we’re getting older, I’m shifting and I’m more like Chip, and Chip is more like me,” says Joanna of her husband of 20 years in this week’s PEOPLE cover story.
“Jo and I are in this beautiful moment. We’re evolving into each other,” says Chip, “It’s the second part of our marriage.”
For Chip, 49, it’s taking things a little easier and helping his partner shine. “I want to be her biggest cheerleader,” he says. “I’m like, ‘Hey, you go do whatever. My knees are killing me.’ ”
Joanna jokes about chalking the switch up to a “midlife crisis,” but at 45, she says, “we just see life differently now.”
Kimberly Salmon
Their current outlooks are just about the exact opposite of what fans have come to expect from the pair. Over the past 10 years onFixer Upperand its spinoffs, Joanna has remained even-keeled, contained and organized, and Chip has often been found goofing around atop a ladder or busting through drywall.
The truth is, everything is changing for the Gaineses these days, as a couple, as a family and as entrepreneurs.
Courtesy Magnolia Network
The parents of five justsent their oldest son, Drake, 18, off to college;launched a podcast network; announced a slate ofMagnolia reality shows; completed work onHotel 1928in Waco, one of the biggest projects of their careers; and debutedFixer Upper: The Hotel,a new limited series about the venture,airing on Maxand Magnolia Network.
They only opened the boutique property Nov. 1, but they’ve already received the one sparkling review that really counts: the approval of theirteenage daughters Ella, 17, and Emmie, 13. “They kept saying, ‘I can’t believe something like this is in Waco. We feel like we’re in New York City.’ That was the biggest compliment,” says Joanna. “I was like, ‘Ah, they’re finally impressed.’ It felt like a big win.”
Fixer Upperfans have watchedthe Gaines kids— which also includes Duke, 15, and Crew, 5 — grow up on screen, but these days, their brood are finding their own paths. “Chip is really good at saying, ‘You need your own identity. When you’re finished with college, go do some stuff on your own. Learn some stuff. And then if you want to come back years later and teach us, we’re here,’ ” says Joanna.
Joanna Gaines/Instagram
Having Crew at home has been a meaningful counter to that emptiness.
“The greatest gift of having a kid go off to college and having a 5-year-old is that perspective,” she says. “It’s not here forever. We don’t want to waste these moments.”
“You’ve rubbed off on me,” says Joanna. “I think that’s the beauty of relationships in general. If Chip weren’t my partner, I would probably still be in the corner. From the moment I met him, he’s always experienced change in a positive way. Even if it was negative, it was, ‘All right. What do we do next?’
“I believe it now, she adds. “We’ve had so much change in our lives, and the proof is there: Change is hard, but it’s always beautiful.”
“I hope that it’s just the beginning,” says Chip. “I hope that we get to look back in 20 years from now, and feel just as confident that we were meant to be. We really feel like we are in some ways just getting started.”
For more on Chip and Joanna Gaines, pick up this week’s issue ofPeople, on newsstands Friday.
Fixer Upper : The Hotel is airing now on Max and Magnolia Network.
source: people.com
