Chip Gaines Said He Was ‘Dumb’ to Involve Kids in ‘Fixer Upper’
Fans know Chip and Joanna Gaines for their popular HGTV series, Fixer Upper. The couple brought their children on screen for the show’s early seasons. And they’ve since started to taper away from thrusting their kids into the spotlight. Here’s what Chip said about feeling “dumb” to involve his children.
How many kids do Joanna and Chip Gaines have?
Joanna and Chip Gaines have five kids. Drake, Duke, and Crew are the boys, and Ella Rose and Emmie Kay are the girls. In 2023, Drake turns 19, Ella turns 17, Duke turns 15, Emmie turns 13, and Crew turns 5.
The Fixer Upper couple has kids of all ages, and Joanna’s commented on the perspective it offers her as a mother. “Just the perspective of having an almost 18-year-old and then this 4-year-old, I feel like is such a gift,” she told Today.
She then explained that she feels her job as a mom is to preserve their “youth and innocence.”
“As their mother, I think my biggest job is how do I keep them where youth and innocence is something that they relish in, that they love it,” Joanna said. “Life is coming and it is what it is. But right now, these moments are the best moments of your life. And remember these moments — they will one day be healing for you when you’re older.”
Chip Gaines said he was ‘dumb’ to involve his kids in ‘Fixer Upper’
Joanna and Chip Gaines had no reality TV experience before Fixer Upper, and they involved their kids early on. Chip spoke to Kennebec Cabin Company about how he feels about that decision.
“Where we got a little dazed and confused through it, and I think even the kids a little bit, was, you know, I don’t know, do the kids need to be a part of this? Do they not?” Chip shared. “And for sure we’ve gone through that cycle, where at the very beginning, we had a production company, and again, I’m not throwing them under the bus. I think it was a great strategy. And we didn’t even mind it. We were kind of naive and dumb, really, to be frank, enough to be like, let’s have the kids be involved.”
Chip then said that as his children “got into the fourth and fifth seasons,” people “recognized” them “out in the wild.”
“You know, Mama Bear came out and Papa Bear, and I’m like, I don’t know that I want my kids to be visible in that way unless they want to be visible,” he continued.
Joanna Gaines said she’s now more conscious of putting her kids in the spotlight
Chip and Joanna Gaines don’t feature their kids on reality television nearly as much as they did at the beginning of Fixer Upper. Joanna also said that her kids aren’t interested in being on TV. Therefore, she’s more conscious of how she presents them online.
“With our kids, I’ve just gotten more mindful of it being their decision as they’ve gotten older,” she shared, according to Yahoo. “And none of them are interested in being on TV, so now they don’t show up. … The first round, I kind of chalk it up to I didn’t know what was happening. If I could’ve redone some things, I would’ve.”
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