Chip and Joanna Gaines are still leaving HGTV now that this fifth season of Fixer Upper has ended. My guess is that after a year or so, they’ll make a huge deal with some network and come back with a different kind of home-reno show. I say that because Chip and Joanna are crazy-popular and there are a lot of networks that want to get in business with them. I think they’ll wait though, because Joanna is pregnant. Joanna and Chip cover this week’s issue of People Magazine, and they confirm something I sort of suspected: that they made the decision to leave Fixer Upper before she even knew she was pregnant. Her pregnancy is not the reason they’re leaving the show.
Joanna on how her pregnancy was a surprise: “I had been feeling a little emotional and crazy and thought, ‘Wow, this isn’t me.’ Then all of a sudden I realized, ‘Hey, I remember this.’ When I saw the results of the test, my jaw dropped. Chip was in the driveway about to leave when I called him back and said, ‘We’re pregnant!’ He was so excited. We’re both just so excited.”
They learned they were expecting their fifth as they made the decision to leave HGTV: “We had a lot on our plates, and at some point you have to call those shots when you feel like you need a break,” Joanna says of ending the show. Still, she admits a new baby was not part of that particular equation. “When we were done, we had no plan like, ‘Let’s have baby No. 5.’ It was a total surprise. But when we found out, it solidified that it was the right decision to leave when we did.”
When they announced the end of Fixer Upper last year, there was a lot of speculation about the reasons behind their decision. The one piece of speculation that didn’t get enough attention was this story: they had a bad deal with HGTV. They weren’t making as much money as they should have been making because of HGTV’s janky contract. I believe that. Which is why my theory is that they’ll welcome their new baby in peace, chill out and regroup for a year or so, and then they’ll take meetings with other networks about getting another show.
Photos courtesy of Getty, cover courtesy of People.
I always feel like Chip totally outkicked his coverage in landing Jo. He seems like a goober, but they seem like lovely people. I wish them the best on #5!
Oh, for god sake. If I were a superfan I could tell you exactly what episode and season she mused about having another one… I think her sister was preggers and it gave JG a pang. Regardless, this wasn’t unplanned based on those televised wishes.
Women get baby pangs all the time. That doesn’t automatically mean that this pregnancy was planned. It’s obvious she’s happy about it ao it was a pleasant surprise.
@VV,
Hmm. I guess my train of thought wasn’t well articulated. My thoughts were that she openly mused back then about expanding their family, and so perhaps this pregnancy was kind of a “well, let’s see what happens” thing (especially when you aren’t young anymore) , like when a couple doesn’t really try hard to conceive, but doesn’t also actively guard agains conception, you know? I know that’s how things were for us- we were laissez- faire about trying (I, 35, he, 39- not spring chickens), then ended up with twins.
Anyway, having been there, that’s my take, and that does not minimize their joy.
Also, see my response to Jess, below, that I remembered after I first responded to you. That was another bit that entered my process.
I rarely watch their show but I did catch that one with her sister and she did seem to get a little baby fever! Seems like I saw another episode where she lit up around a baby or a pregnant woman and I got the feeling she might not be done, it’s sweet.
I seem to recall that she dropped that bomb on Chip, and he wasn’t immediately receptive. Maybe he took some goading to eventually get on board, maybe it was an oops, maybe it was a unilateral decision. Who know.
I can only take him in small doses but he seems fun to have a beer with and I’d definitely sit on a nice patio and have wine with her lol
Sucks that they had a bad contract with HGTV but I do hope they come back to TV after they settle in with new baby. Their show is so positive and relaxing
I know someone who has worked with them frequently through a nonprofit in Waco, for years. She said both are lovely, committed to the community, and despite Chip’s goof off persona (which the last 2 seasons was too much!) both are type A, super driven, smart. Chip started flipping/renos to pay his way through Baylor.
I find these two super obnoxious. I can’t watch their show at all. Their choice to attend a hateful church, solidified my dislike of them.
I know so many of yall love them and that’s cool but MAN I have just always gotten such an off vibe from them. >_> Like if it comes out tomorrow that they kept 20 people trapped in their basement for years I would be on here like I FREAKING KNEW IT I CALLED THIS YOU GUYS
Haha this!!!
I’m with you. I’ve never cared for them, though I like her more than him.
The trapped basement people make all the shiplap.
Oh, my god, the shiplap. What a one trick pony.
This is awful, but my first thought when looking at the cover was: “Wait, Carol Burnett is still alive?”
Me, too!! That, and if she weren’t in her signature pose, the filler and facelift has made her nearly unrecognizable.
Love her. Sometimes when I feel blue, I watch segments of the Carol Burnett Show on youtube, and am dying over their improvisation as they try to hold it together ( and so often fail, which is wonderful to watch).
I only started watching their show recently. I have no idea if i’m watching current or re-runs, but I enjoy it. I think the whole shiplap thing is simply based in the kind of historical house construction they had in Waco. Removing Sheetrock to expose the shiplap is a great idea. I prefer actual wood to that nasty stuff.
And I noticed in Barnes & Noble that they now have a magazine titled, ‘Magnolia’. And if she’s writing a cookbook, I think she’ll end up being a southern Martha Stewart.
Anyway, they’re quite the power couple.
The rumor is they are “quitting” going to take a 2-3 month break and start the new season after the beginning of the year
Agree! If they take a day off it would be shocking. Wouldn’t be surprised if they’ve been filming something this whole time. Sadly, they are addicted to fame, just another victim of the limelight.
Bullsh*t! She was begging for a baby on multiple episodes and during TV interviews. Chip even specifically said she’d bring up the number 5 a lot like as a corny hint. But of course, now it was “all Chip’s idea” and a total surprise. Would have so much more respect
For her if she was real about this and said, timing felt right and I felt a strong calling from God to have another baby. Women need role models like this to help them when they’re making these kinds of difficult decisions. Not lies. And PS- Chip hasn’t made a single decision in that household since never!
I like a few elements of her design style, but so much is overplayed and revisited in every damn reno.
So much white, gray, shiplap, open shelving in the kitchen, etc.
I do love windows framed in black, however. It really brings the outdoors in.
Sorry but they are creepy.
These people are so boring. Who cares about what they’re doing. They’re not even celebrities.