It was a sad day for fans of HGTV’s hit renovation series “Fixer Upper” after it was announced that the show would end after five seasons. Taking place in the small city of Waco, Texas, the show follows adorable couple Chip and Joanna Gaines as they meet with families and create their dream home.
It took more than Southern charm, Chip’s hair and an eye for design to make “Fixer Upper” one of the network’s more successful series. Fans of the couple were vocal supporters of the Gaines’ morale and values — their appreciation of love and family transcended the television screen.
Even behind the scenes, it was quite evident that the love the couple has for each other is genuine and heartfelt. Over the seasons, the couple fought a handful of divorce rumors and other scandals, but the two remained strong.
8. On playtime…
“It didn’t take long after we became parents that I realized Chip was always going to be “The Fun Dad”. As I said before, Chip has a childlike way about him! He always has. At work, things are 100% about work, but as soon as he gets home, it’s phones up and playtime is on,” Jo said about her husband in a Magnolia blog post in June 2016.
7. On dating…
“I want my kids to date, I want them to go out. I just remember great experiences as a kid, you know? Driving your car for the first time, picking up a young lady on a date for the first time. All those were little milestones to some extent,” Chip said to People in December 2016
6. On cellphones…
“I don’t even know what’s gonna happen when the girls start asking to wear makeup, but we keep telling our kids they don’t get a phone until they go off to college,” Joanna explained to People in 2016.
5. On technology…
The Gaines family don’t own a television. “They’re so young and we want to give them the chance to have a normal childhood,” Joanna said, according to People in October 2016.
“So they don’t really understand that we have a show.”
4. On being present…
Joanna wrote about Chip in a 2016 blog post: “Whatever they’re passionate about, he’s right there at their side, encouraging them to follow their dreams. With our boys, it’s baseball. With our girls, it’s trips to the bookstore. Just the other day, the girls came home beaming from a daddy daughter date to the bookstore. They felt so loved and had so much fun just hanging out with dad. It’s the little things like this that make Chip a great dad,
3. On being a working mom…
“I explain that I have to work just like they have to go to school. I also let them know what I’m doing at work that day—whether it’s filming the show or going into the office—and what time I’ll be home. Taking a few seconds to let them in on this other huge part of my life has really helped them understand that mom and dad have a big job to do,” Jo wrote in a blog post in April 2016.
2. On the little things…
Jo said in April 2016 on her Magnolia blog, “I have had to find creative ways to connect with the kids during the day now that I work, to let them know I am always thinking of them. I’ll send them a little note in their lunchbox or surprise them and pick them up early from school for a fun date.”
1. On letting kids be kids…
“I tell the kids that you are probably not going to get a cell phone. We want to teach our kids that life happens outside of these devices. It’s just a simple thing to go outside and connect with nature, play with your friends and get dirty,” they said to Entertainment Tonight.
And while their four kids — Emmy, Ella, Duke and Drake — were not featured in every episode, Jo and Chip regularly spoke out about their aspirations for their kids, hoping to give them a normal life. Despite the show’s ending, we’ll always have these Chip and Jo life lessons to live by.