Chip and Joanna Gaines Facts
1. Chip and Joanna Gaines both attended Baylor University.
There were no campus run-ins, however: They didn’t meet until after Chip graduated.
2. Joanna Gaines’ favorite flowers even have a bit of a rustic name.
Joanna’s favorite flowers are pink antique roses. How on brand!
3. Believe it or not, “Chip” is Chip Gaines’ real name.
Take it from the man himself!
4. Chip Gaines wasn’t born in Waco.
Chip was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
5. Chip Gaines wasn’t raised in Waco, either.
He grew up in Dallas, Texas, and moved to Waco when he attended Baylor University.
6. Chip Gaines has a marketing degree.
He got it from Baylor University’s Hankamer School of Business.
7. Chip Gaines donated his hair for a great cause.
Chip raised $230,092 for child cancer research when he donated his hair to St. Jude.
8. Chip and Joanna Gaines’ first shop holds a special place in their heart.
Chip and Joanna launched their first Magnolia Market in their beloved “Little Shop on Bosque” in 2003.
9. Chip Gaines isn’t actually 6'3".
Though Chip likes to joke that he’s 6'3", his actual height is around 5'10".
10. Flipping homes wasn’t Chip Gaines’ first business out of college.
He also sold fireworks, ran a few landscaping businesses and had a laundromat.
11. Joanna Gaines has a communications degree.
Her career took her into a different direction than she expected, but it’s served her well!
12. Joanna Gaines interned for Dan Rather at CBS News.
Joanna Gaines was an intern for Rather at 48 Hours, but was disillusioned with news in part because she had to read so much bad news.
13. Joanna Gaines developed her passion for design thanks to her New York internship.
While the journalism field didn’t work out for her, Joanna discovered her love for aesthetics that reminded her of home while she was in the Big Apple.
14. Chip Gaines was smitten with Joanna after seeing her in ads for her father’s tire shop.
Chip Gaines saw Joanna in commercials for Jerry Stevens Firestone.
15. Chip Gaines met Joanna at her father’s tire shop.
After seeing Joanna in the commercials for Jerry Stevens Firestone, he deliberately brought his truck in for work to the shop, where he finally met Jo.
16. Joanna Gaines’ parents met when her father was a soldier in the Korean War.
Her mom, Nan Stevens, is Korean; dad Jerry Stevens is of German and Lebanese descent.
17. Chip and Joanna Gaines don’t own a TV.
She explained simply, “We didn’t buy a TV when we first got married, and we have yet to buy one.”
18. Chip and Joanna Gaines do, however, watch Fixer Upper and their other programming.
“When the show comes on, we get to go to some of our really good friends’ house and have a little mini watch party,” Joanna admitted.
19. HGTV discovered Joanna Gaines’ home designs from a blog.
“Our production company saw pictures of one of our flip homes that was being featured on a popular blog, Design Mom,” Joanna told Hooked on Houses. “They contacted us through our website and the rest is history.”
20. When HGTV first called Joanna Gaines, Chip thought it was a hoax.
Thankfully, she called them back, and the rest is history!
21. Chip Gaines was super late for his first date with Joanna.
In their joint memoir, The Magnolia Story, Joanna Gaines wrote that Chip was an hour and a half late to pick her up. Chip, however, says he was only delayed by 20 minutes.
22. Chip Gaines didn’t call Joanna back for a while after their first date.
Chip Gaines made a bet with his roommate “Hot John” that whoever called their dates back first had to pay the other $50, and he “really wanted that $50.”
23. Joanna Gaines always leaves Chip a note in his overnight bag whenever he travels.
Chip says he’s saved every single one.
24. Chip and Joanna Gaines have weekly date nights.
Joanna says there’s a rule against talking business on date night with Chip, explaining, “We really enjoy the problem solving, but there comes a point when we need to focus on us.”
25. Chip Gaines wanted to be a baseball player growing up.
Chip’s dad, Bob Gaines, told The Dallas Morning News, “I thought we were raising the next great superstar baseball player. Instead, I raised the next great father, husband and businessman, and now he’s famous.”
26. Chip and Joanna Gaines’ farm covers 40 acres.
That is a lot of room for their kids to play.
27. Chip and Joanna Gaines have 60 animals on their farm.
Joanna has said that the goats are her favorites.
28. Joanna Gaines’ first job was at an all-you-can-eat buffet restaurant.
Perhaps that’s where she first developed her fondness for cooking (and indulging)!
29. Joanna Gaines is a much bigger worrier than Chip.
She explained that Chip “thrives with risk,” and that it’s paid off big time for them to trust his instincts.
30. Chip and Joanna Gaines’ first fixer upper together was also their newlywed home … and it needed a lot of work.
Joanna recalled, “We started renovations on it immediately after we came home from our honeymoon. All I could remember is the smell. The house was bad. Chip did all the construction, and I remember many nights he was on his hands and knees staining floors or laying tile.”
31. Chip and Joanna Gaines likely won’t take their business outside of Texas.
Chip Gaines previously noted, “It would be very difficult for us because we have an actual construction company in Waco, Texas. What makes me great is just the fact that I’ve been with these folks—our electricians, our plumbers, our carpenters—we’ve got 25 employees that have been with us, at least some of them, since the very beginning. So who we are as a company really stems from our relationships there locally.”
32. There’s a reason Chip and Joanna Gaines love magnolias so much.
The couple reportedly uses magnolias in all of their branding as a nod to their early days in love: Chip would bring Joanna magnolia flowers. Aw!
33. Chip Gaines indulged Joanna’s musical goals.
Joanna said she casually mentioned once that she’d like to learn to play the drums, and Chip duly noted it. “The next day there was a brand-new set of drums in the living room,” she gushed at the time. “This theme of pushing me to follow my dreams has continued in our 12 years of marriage. Whether it is drum lessons or starting a business, he has always been the wind at my back that encourages me to go for it.”
34. Chip Gaines has three big fears.
While he isn’t afraid of taking a risk in business, Chip Gaines is scared of three things: snakes, skydiving and grizzly bears!
35. Chip Gaines was camera shy at first.
He admitted that he was terrible on camera during the first filmings for Fixer Upper, in part because he was so interested in the behind-the-scenes action. “I got all jazzed about the equipment itself,” he confessed. “You know, I was behind the camera with the camera operator, being like, ‘What does that button do?’”
36. Chip and Joanna Gaines love Waco, but love three other cities, too.
Their roots remain in Waco, Texas, but Chip Gaines says he and Joanna also love Salt Lake City, Kansas City and New York City.
37. Though she loves open floor plans and a great kitchen, Joanna Gaines’ favorite room in her house is her laundry room.
“I love my laundry room,” she gushed. “I know that’s a funny thing to love, but this summer I gave it a complete makeover and now it’s a place that inspires me.”
38. Joanna Gaines is an early bird.
She wakes up at 5:30 a.m. every day to make a hot breakfast for the family.
39. Chip Gaines’ favorite meal of the day is also the most important
“I’ve always been a breakfast connoisseur,” he said. “I always do a heavy, bigger breakfast.”
40. Chip and Joanna Gaines plan to keep their kids off the grid.
In addition to not having a TV, Joanna admits that the family farm doesn’t get great wifi, and they don’t mind one bit. “Honestly, we wouldn’t have it any other way,” she said. “A big part of moving out to the country was to disconnect and enjoy being with our family.” She also revealed that their kids probably won’t have cellphones until they go to college! Next, learn all about how Chip and Joanna Gaines became the first couple of home improvement!
