Joanna, Chip Gaines of 'Fixer Upper' talk marriage and season of change in their family

By Angeline Jane Bernabe

Joanna and Chip Gaines are known for transforming homes, but the couple is going through a period of transformation too.

"We've had so much change in our lives, and the proof is there," Joanna Gaines, 45, said in an interview with People for this week's cover story. "Change is hard, but it's always beautiful."

The couple, who celebrated 20 years of marriage this year, opened up about their current relationship, calling it "the second part of our marriage."

"Jo and I are in this beautiful moment," Chip Gaines, 49, said. "We're evolving into each other."

"As we're getting older, I'm shifting and I'm more like Chip," Joanna Gaines added. "And Chip is more like me."

Stefani Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images, FILE

Television personalities Chip Gaines and Joanna Gaines arrive for a State Dinner with US President Joe Biden and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol at the White House in Washington, D.C., on April 26, 2023.

Over the years, fans of the couple have seen them flip homes on their hit reality television series "Fixer Upper." The Gainses have also built the Magnolia brand together, which includes a quarterly lifestyle magazine, Magnolia Journal, a lifestyle collection called "Hearth & Hand with Magnolia," and a coffee shop, Magnolia Press, in Waco, Texas.

In 2022, they launched the cable channel Magnolia Television Network, which is a rebranding of the DIY Network. They kicked off the launch of the network on "Good Morning America."

Recently, they completed work on Hotel 1928 in Waco. Their journey with the project is highlighted in the show "Fixer Upper: The Hotel" on Max.

The couple said their daughters Ella, 17, and Emmie, 13, are impressed by the property.

"They kept saying, 'I can't believe something like this is in Waco," Joanna Gaines said. "They kept saying, 'We feel like we're in New York City.' That was the biggest compliment."

Joanna and Chip Gaines also share sons Drake Gaines, 18, Duke Gaines, 15, and Crew Gaines, 5.

In their interview with People, Joanna Gaines also opened up saying goodbye to Drake as he started college earlier this fall.

"It's this tension of joy and pain, all in one breath," she said. "Even now when I'm setting the table, I have to consciously go, 'Oh, there's only six here.'"

"The greatest gift of having a kid go off to college and having a 5-year-old is that perspective," she added. "It's not here forever. We don't want to waste these moments."