Chip and Joanna Gaines may be best known for renovating homes on TV, but to their five children, they’re just mom and dad.
The couple married on May 31, 2003 in their hometown of Waco, Texas and built a successful home renovation business. The The upper part of the fixator since then, the stars have had five children: Drake (18), Ella (17), Duke (15), Emma (14) and Crew (5).
The father of five said he and his wife managed to juggle their work and parenting responsibilities by finding a balance between enforcing the rules and giving their children some freedom.
“I grew up in an environment that was mostly ‘forever’ — [my parents] I generally didn’t know what we were doing, and it was all good, pure fun,” Chip told PEOPLE in 2018. “So I thought, ‘Oh, I’m going to be a wild parent.’ ”
Joanna Gaines Instagram
He continued: “When I become a parent, I don’t know what it is about … sometimes I feel like a drill sergeant. Some elements of my personality, as a parent, I’m not really crazy about.”
But no matter how much success the Gaines family experiences with their Magnolia empire, they always try to make sure their children have a “normal” upbringing.
“They are so young and we want to give them a chance to have a normal childhood,” Joanna shared with PEOPLE. “When we wake up in the morning, I think we’re normal. But then you go to Target and it’s definitely different. We’re both in awe.”
The couple also tries to “instill kindness” in their children. “Every day we try to teach our own children to be kind to themselves, to each other, to their neighbors, and especially to those who seem to be alone,” Joanna told PEOPLE in November 2019.
Here’s everything you need to know about Chip and Joanne Gaines’ five children.
Drake Gaines, 18
Chip and Joanna became parents for the first time when they welcomed their son Drake on February 5, 2005. Drake was named after the Drake Hotel in New York, where the couple went on their honeymoon.
Drake, who is interested in baseball and water sports, seems to have a good sense of humor, often joking with his father. Fans got a glimpse of their father-son relationship during The upper part of the fixatorlast season when Drake made a brief appearance on the show.
“When you were on the mound, did you think, ‘I wish I was as good-looking as my dad?’ Chip asked Drake after watching his baseball game.
“Uh, no, because it’s already true,” Drake joked.
As Drake grew up, Chip and Joanna had to adjust to big life changes — like helping their elder get his driver’s license. “I was so excited before that, and so was Jo, in a way,” Chip shared with PEOPLE in 2021.
However, the excitement for Joanna was short-lived: “Then we take this kid’s license away, and the first morning when he goes to drive, Jo cries. She was devastated and wanted no part. The chauffeur wants to hire him!”
In August 2022, Joanna reflected on sending her son to college in an essay for Magnolia Journal. “Soon our oldest son, Drake, will be leaving home for college,” she wrote. “In the grand scheme of heartbreaking things, this one comes with a lot of gratitude and excitement… But still, my first child is moving, and our family dynamic will change because of it, and it can feel like a loss of our own.”
Joanna Gaines Instagram
Joanna marked Drake’s high school graduation in May 2023 with an Instagram video showing childhood pictures of her oldest child.
“It seems like just yesterday we were cheering him on as he took his first steps,” Joanna wrote in the caption, “but last weekend, as he walked across the stage to receive his high school diploma (!!), we cheered him on as he took his first steps into a world beyond what he knows.”
Ella Gaines, 17
Joanna Gaines Instagram
Chip and Joanna welcomed their first daughter, Ella Rose, on October 20, 2006.
In 2019, when Ella was 13 years old, Joanna shared that her daughter was following her. “Ella is like me,” she told PEOPLE. “I think she’s going to follow in my footsteps and have a hand in a lot of things. Right now she wants to cook, be the head designer and have a donut truck.”
Ella has already started in the food industry, managing a bakery from the family kitchen. “Her new summer job is selling baked goods in the office when she goes to work with me,” Joanna wrote on Instagram in 2018. “We stayed up late tonight and she made Aunt Opal banana pudding and chocolate chip cookies from my cookbook. ”
The current teenager also seems to have a green thumb. During the episode The upper part of the fixatorElla and her younger sister Emmie helped Joanna arrange their rose garden in the backyard.
“I love teaching the girls about everything that goes into gardening, but I’d say my favorite part of it is just spending some time with them,” Joanna said in the episode.
In October 2022, Ella turned 16 and got her driver’s license. The proud mom was emotional about her birthday, and along with a video of their house decorated for the occasion, she wrote: “My sweet girl is turning 16. I’m doing my best not to cry like a big fat mom when she drives off by herself tomorrow 🥹.”
Duke Gaines, 15
Chip gets Instagram
The The upper part of the fixator The stars welcomed their second son, Duke, on May 23, 2008.
Duke follows big brother Drake and their father with his good sense of humor. In season 5 of The upper part of the fixator, Duke, Chip and Tim Tebow were working on a wheelchair accessible house when Duke decided to look for scrap metal. He later handed over the metal for cash and went shopping.
“Duke and I went to work a few weeks ago, we salvaged a bunch of metal and we kept some of that money on the side so we could bless the Copp family,” Chip shared in the episode. “And sweet Duke decided he just wanted to buy some supplies.”
Joanna Gaines Instagram
Duke wanted to give the family a tricycle and baseball cards, but his dad was distracted by various items in the store. “Shopping with my dad is kind of impossible,” Duke said.
“Why is it impossible to shop with me?” Chip asked.
“Because you look at everything and think ‘Ooh, we should buy this,'” joked Duke.
His sense of humor came to the fore again in October 2022 when he wore a giant inflatable Minion costume from Despicable me for Halloween. Joanna shared a photo of Duke posing with a group of friends in simple costumes, captioning it: “Duke didn’t get the memo 😂. She also included a video of Duke hilariously trying to get through a door.
Emmy Gaines, 14
Joanna Gaines Instagram
Chip and Joanna’s second daughter, Emmie Kay, was born on January 5, 2010.
Like her older sister, Emmie started her own food business. She and her brother Duke sell groceries and eggs door to door and even asked their parents for a farm truck for the business.
“We printed stickers for them and once a week they go out and sell,” Joanna told PEOPLE in 2019. “They’re like Chip: They don’t take no for an answer!”
And with her older sister, Emmie is in charge of looking after the chickens on their family farm, something dad Chip is “really proud of”.
“We have some young chicks that Ella and Emmie are responsible for raising to mature chicks,” he said in one episode. The upper part of the fixator. “All those chicks were hatched, cared for accordingly. Those girls were personally responsible for those things.”
Emmie also likes to bake and even made her own cookie recipe. “She was determined to come up with her own cookie recipe and I left the kitchen so she could surprise me (and so I wouldn’t be directing her work in the kitchen😅). Let’s just say this was one of my favorite cookies I’ve ever tried!” Joanna wrote on Instagram in November 2019. “I also love how she called them in her little cookbook, ‘Emmie Kay’s chocolate chip kisses cookie’ ❤️.”
crew, 5
Chip gets Instagram
Chip and Joanna’s fifth child, son Crew, arrived on June 21, 2018.
Chip announced his son’s arrival on Twitter, secretly including the child’s nickname before sharing it publicly. “Gaines crew is now 1 stronger!” he wrote. “For 10 beautiful toes and 10 beautiful fingers, Big Mom is great!” Crew’s name is a break with tradition, as both of his older brothers have names beginning with “D.”
Despite the age difference, Crew and his older siblings are very close. “I think it’s sweet because they’re older now and I can see that they want to be a part of this,” Joanna told PEOPLE shortly after Crew’s birth. “We are all rallying around this baby, who I feel is a sweet gift to our family.”
Crew’s energy also gave Joanna a new perspective on life. “I feel younger than ever because now I see the world the way Crew sees it,” she told PEOPLE in 2020. “I’m so grateful.”
She continued, “When Crew is in the car with me, it’s always, ‘I see the sun, I see the tractor, I see the boat.’ He finds the simplest things and in his mind it’s an amazing discovery, but to us they’re just things. When you see things through your children’s eyes, it brings you back to a place of awe and wonder.”
Joanna Gaines/Instagram.
Crew followed in his parents’ footsteps from an early age. He accompanied Chip and Joanna to work and served as his mom’s sous chef in the kitchen.
“He’s my little helper,” Joanna said of Crew when he was just 9 months old. – He comes to work with me every day and goes to all my meetings.
She added, “I always tell Chip, ‘This boy will be able to run a company by age 5!’ ”
When not helping out with the family business, Crew indulges his creative imagination. In October 2022, Joanna shared a video on Instagram of the mother-son duo enjoying outdoor adventures together.
“He woke up this morning and said he wanted to be a ‘rubberman,’ and then he changed his mind and wanted to be a butterfly catcher, and that turned into lighting a fire,” Joanna wrote alongside the video. “This little guy makes life fun ✨.”
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Source: HIS Education