Chip Gaines is the likable star of the American reality television series Fixer Upper, which aired on HGTV for five seasons and 79 episodes between 2013 and 2018. Alongside his wife, Joanna, Chip’s role on the show was working with clients to buy and remodel homes in his hometown of Waco, Texas.
The couple announced the show was ending via their Magnolia blog on September 26, 2017. The statement is below:
It is with both sadness and expectation that we share the news that season 5 of Fixer Upper will be our last. While we are confident that this is the right choice for us, it has for sure not been an easy one to come to terms with. Our family has grown up alongside yours, and we have felt you rooting us on from the other side of the screen. How bittersweet to say goodbye to the very thing that introduced us all in the first place.
Earlier in 2017, the Gaineses endured some legal issues when they were forced to pay $40,000 for violations relating to the safe handling of lead paint. As per The New York Times, they “settled with the United States Environmental Protection Agency over allegations that they violated rules for the safe handling of lead paint during home renovations.”
But what has happened since then, and what is Chip Gaines up to now?
Chip Gaines today
In November 2018, Chip and Joanna Gaines announced their television return during an interview on The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon. The return would occur on their own network, Magnolia Network, officially launched in January 2022 with an intriguing assortment of design and lifestyle programming shows — many of which they appear in.
The network was embroiled in an unwanted controversy in 2022 when home renovators Andy and Candis Meredith were forced to deny allegations they “scammed” former customers when the Gainses canned their show, Home Work.
The couple keep themselves busy in other ways, too. They own the luxury boutique Hotel 1928 and the Magnolia Market shopping center at the Silos in their hometown, and have written multiple books (including 2021’s No Pain No Gaines).
Moreover, they have five children — Drake, Ella, Duke, Emmie, and Crew — to occupy them thoroughly.
Suffice it to say that Chip and his family are doing fine, and long may that continue. You can check out the Magnolia Network here.