It’s been 10 years since Chip and Joanna Gaines burst onto screens with their breakout HGTV home renovation show Fixer Upper – and now they’re looking back at their first moments on TV and reflecting on just how much they’ve changed in the past decade.
Appearing on the Today show on Wednesday to promote their new HGTV series, Fixer Upper: the Lakehouse, Chip, 49 and Joanna, 46, jokingly acknowledged they’ve aged just a bit in the 10 years they have spent on-screen.
Looking back on old footage from their first casting tape in 2012, as well as snapshots of their first episodes on air, Chip joked that he’s got some similarities to how presidents look at the end of a term – at least in terms of how he’s aged.
‘I feel like it’s one of these presidential scenarios where you know, these guys go into office and then four years later look like they’re 200 years old,’ Chip said to hosts hosts Hoda Kotb and Savannah Guthrie, as old footage played on the screen.
‘We look like babies,’ he continued in disbelief, as he and Joanna laughed.
It’s been 10 years since Chip and Joanna Gaines burst onto screens with their breakout HGTV home renovation show Fixer Upper – and now they’re looking back at their first moments on TV
Looking back on old footage from their first casting tape in 2012 (seen) during an appearance on the Today show, Chip joked that he looks ‘about 200 years old’ now
‘We look like babies,’ Chip continued in disbelief, as he and Joanna laughed
Chip added: ‘Wow 10 years, it certainly has created quite the evolution on my face.’
The couple, who have been married for 21 years, share five children: Drake, 19, Ella, 17, Duke, 16, Emmie, 14, and Crew, five.
Speaking to Hoda and Samantha, the couple shared what it has been like raising a family in the public eye, how they are dealing with their children getting older and how they keep their person lives as ‘normal’ as possible.
‘For us the kids, family – that’s what grounds us the most,’ Joanna shared, adding that even ‘before’ the cameras, they always ‘moved’ together.
Joanna went on the say that when Fixer Upper started, they made sure the kids were always with them.
‘We always [made sure] to bring them in on the journey, no matter what it looks like – but knowing they are the most important thing,’ she shared.
The hosts praised the couple for their ability to ‘hit pause’ and ‘step back’ when it comes to their public appearances and spend time with their kids.
Then couple also shared insight into why it was so important to take time out for family time.
While promoting their new HGTV series, Fixer Upper: the Lakehouse, Chip, 49 and Joanna, 46, jokingly acknowledged they’ve aged just a bit in the decade on-screen
Hoda and Savannah praised the couple for their ability to ‘hit pause’ and ‘step back’ when it comes to their public appearances and spend time with their kids.
Chip added: ‘Wow 10 years, it certainly has created quite the evolution on my face’
Chip and Joanna Gaines sparked backlash following the release of the trailer for their newest show, Fixer Upper: The Lakehouse, which dropped last week (seen in 2021)
Chip likened it to running a marathon, pointing out it’s important to take breaks in between races.
According to Joanna, the Gaines’ breaks range from a weekend of ‘doing nothing’ to saying no to other jobs when they’re still working on a project.
The Today hosts commented on the couple’s individual evolution, nothing that Joanna was shy when she first started our on TV and making appearances on TV.
‘She and I have passed like ships in the night,’ Chip joked, saying he has gotten quieter as the years have gone on.
‘She’s become this extravert that wants to go to parties and hang out with friends [whereas] I’m like “oh not tonight, lets take it easy,”‘ he continued.
‘Before,’ Chip continued. ‘It was the exactly opposite.’
The couple have built up a loyal following since launching to stardom in the first season of their HGTV series, Fixer Upper, in 2013.
However, some fans slammed the couple over accusations that they are flaunting their wealth in the newest installment of their hit show, Fixer Upper: the Lakehouse.
The couple have built up a loyal following since launching to stardom in the first season of their HGTV series, Fixer Upper, in 2013. Pictured in 2016
While Drake has left the nest, Joanna and Chip still have four kids at home: Ella, 17, Duke, 15, Emmie, 13, and Crew, five
After watching the sneak peek of their latest fixer upper project, uploaded to Magnolia Network’s Instagram, a number of fans began commenting that the couple seemed to be ‘showing off.’
During the trailer, the duo noted that the renovation project falls on the 10-year anniversary of their hit series debuting on HGTV.
‘I think with this lake house, there’s something about it that just feels significant that this project landed on our ten year Fixer anniversary,’ Joanna said in the beginning of the trailer. So it kind of feels like…’
Chip, then interjects: ‘It was really meant to be.’
In a press release for their upcoming six-episode series, which will air on Magnolia Network and HGTV, the couple admitted that they ‘couldn’t have imagined the journey we had ahead’ of them.
‘Though a lot has changed and evolved in the decade between then and now, our love for home is still at the heart of everything we do,’ they said in a statement, which was obtained by ABC News.
