In more ways than one, Chip and Joanna Gaines have spent the past decade building an empire from the ground up.
The stars of HGTV's massive hit "Fixer Upper," the husband-and-wife team are a household name, known for their ability to transform rundown properties into beautiful homes.
Since the show first aired in 2013, the Gaineses' flagship store, Magnolia Market, has grown into a lifestyle brand that is often credited for revitalizing the small town of Waco, Texas. In 2015, the two converted an abandoned Waco site into a bustling retail marketplace, complete with a bakery, food trucks, and more. One year after that, the couple published a tell-all memoir that quickly became a national best-seller.
As the Gaineses celebrate 15 years of marriage in 2018, we've compiled everything you need to know about how they met, fell in love, and became the beloved, house-flipping duo we know today.
SEE ALSO: 18 behind-the-scenes secrets about Chip and Joanna Gaines' 'Fixer Upper'
FOLLOW US: Follow us on Facebook
1982: Chip moved to Texas with his family when he was 8 years old.
Born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in 1974, Chip moved to Colleyville, Texas, when he was in third grade. According to Us Weekly, Chip, now 43, spent much of his childhood at his grandfather's ranch in North Texas.
1990: As luck would have it, Joanna also ended up moving to Texas with her family.
Born in Wichita, Kansas, in 1978, Joanna moved to Austin, Texas, when she was 12 years old. She later moved to Waco during her junior year of high school.
No stranger to love stories, Joanna, now 39, has described her parents' relationship as "one you hear about in the movies" — "an example of how to love, fight for, extend grace to, and honor" one another in a marriage. Joanna's parents, who met in 1969 when her father was stationed in Korea, celebrated their 45th anniversary back in June.
1998-2001: Chip and Joanna both graduated from Baylor University in Waco, Texas — three years apart.
Chip, a self-described "serial entrepreneur," graduated from Baylor in 1998 with a Marketing degree. In college, he started a few small businesses including a prepaid laundry service, a fireworks stand, and multiple landscaping companies.
Joanna, who graduated in 2001, majored in Communications and hoped to become a broadcast journalist. "I always dreamed of the idea of television but never thought it would have to do with design or renovations," she told POPSUGAR. The aspiring newscaster also starred in local commercials for her father's auto shop, Jerry Stevens Firestone, and worked the front desk.
See the rest of the story at INSIDER
0 Comments