Chip Gaines Talks Working Less: ‘We Don’t Have to Get Back to Working 100 Hours a Week’
HGTV’s Fixer Upper introduced fans to Chip and Joanna Gaines. The couple made a name for themselves thanks to their incredible ability to fix homes in Waco, Texas. Since the beginning of the series, they’ve built an empire worth millions — and they’re certainly no strangers to hard work. While speaking to podcasters, Chip spoke about taking a step back and working less. Here’s what he said.
‘Fixer Upper’ star Chip Gaines talked about stepping back and evaluating his work/life balance
Chip and Joanna Gaines spent years of their lives restoring homes for Fixer Upper. And that’s not all they did. The couple had other businesses they worked on together while also raising their five kids. When Chip and Joanna took a step back from Fixer Upper in 2018, they had a lot of work to do in fixing their work/life balance.
Chip spoke to the Kennebec Cabin Company about his time on the series. While talking to the podcasters, he noted that the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic changed people’s thoughts about working and living. And he also took the time to reevaluate how he spent his time.
“We talk about that a lot, and I know we kind of have to tread lightly because that pandemic was just so tragic on so many levels,” Chip started. “But I think you two hit on something that Jo and I talk about pretty frequently in that it revealed some really beautiful things about family and about life and work and balance and all of that.”
“Somehow we kind of got off track as a culture you know, that it was like, busy is always the best option,” he continued. “Twenty-four hours a day you’re always available and seven days a week is good if it’s good by you. You wake up and you’re like, five days a week feels right. And turn it off at five or six or seven feels right, you know? I appreciate that sentiment because I feel like we’ve wrestled through some of those post-pandemic learning lessons. … Hey, we don’t have to get back to working 100 hours a week. Let’s enjoy our life, let’s enjoy our kids, let’s enjoy our communities.”
Joanna Gaines said her youngest son helped her to ‘live’ and ‘notice things’
While the pandemic helped Chip Gaines slow down, Chip and Joanna Gaines’ youngest son, Crew Gaines, assisted Joanna in having the same mentality.
“He’s like my little wisdom,” Joanna shared with Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager while visiting TODAY in November 2022. “I’m like, I can learn more from Crew — just the way he teaches me to live and to notice things.”
Joanna went on to jokingly apologize to her older daughters, Ella and Emmie, for the uptight parenting they received. “I’m sorry, girls,” she said. “I’m a little more light, and, like, a little more airy. Not so controlling.”
Joanna’s more willing to go with the flow now. “At 44, I feel like I’m stepping into a new season,” she added. “Like, I have half my life, it’s been great, but now I want to really be intentional about what I carry with me as I move forward.” While she’s still involved with TV (she and Chip release Fixer Upper: The Hotel on the Magnolia Network in November 2023), she’s also working on other projects. Joanna just released a new cookbook, Magnolia Table, Volume 3, in May 2023. In an excerpt from the cookbook, she explained how eating invites people to slow down.
“The taste of something truly delicious slows us down and invites us to enjoy a moment completely,” she wrote, according to the Magnolia Blog. “That was my aim with this third collection: to share recipes and stories that help us pause — paving the way for connection and delight. Even more than the meal, it’s the moments they shape that are worth holding onto.”
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