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Chip & Joanna Gaines' Son Channeled His Mom and Decorated His College Dorm
"We're in this new season where I'm really trying to embrace every moment," Joanna told the TODAY co-hosts.
Home renovation sweethearts Chip and Joanna Gaines graced the TODAY show on October 22 to dish some life updates. As the couple's eldest son Drake heads off to college, Joanna was excited to give his college abode the magic touch, but it turns out he was equally eager to flex his unique style.
Ahead of Chip's 50th birthday, the Fixer-Upper hosts chatted about how quickly their children have grown. TODAY co-hosts Hoda Kotb and Savannah Guthrie earned a chance to meet their youngest, Crew, back in 2018, so the Gaines were happy to relish in the bittersweet nostalgia of growing older alongside their kids.
"I've never been happier, you know?" Chip said while chatting about his "beautiful" children. "They're all developing these big beautiful personalities. Crew... now, he's a 6-year-old little boy with all this energy and personality of his own. We've got a little boy that's gone off to college. I mean, you guys understand all that, so here I am at 50 feeling wonderful, like, from a family standpoint."
Kotb then asked the couple about Drake, who is in his sophomore year at university. And you'd think the 19-year-old would be flexing his mom and dad's beloved interior decorating skills at his dorm. However, Joanna was keen to report that their son thought her adornments warranted some edits.
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"This is now the second year I've done it. Spend all this time and plan and I do it. And then the day I leave, he'll send pictures to his siblings, and then they'll show me," Joanna explained with dismay.
The Gaines then gave the TODAY audience an idea of Drake's changes to his mom's design. In a humorous snapshot sent by their son, LED strip lighting immediately steals the spotlight.
"This place was adorable the day before," Chip teased.
Joanna added, "Now it looks like a club."
"So that was not a Joanna project?" the TODAY co-hosts pondered.
"No," Joanna explained. "In the end, he thought it was a Fixer-Upper."
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As the Gaines laughed about their son's college-era style, Joanna reflected on several Gaines kids entering adulthood in the coming years.
"I'm realizing in this new season of life — the next four years — all four of my older kids will be in college or out of college," Joanna said. "So, we're in this new season where I'm really trying to embrace every moment."
How many kids do Joanna and Chip Gaines have?
According to TODAY, after tying the knot in May 2003, Chip and Joanna soon launched their Magnolia empire and it didn't take long for them to begin welcoming little ones to their happy home.
Joanna and Chip are the proud parents of five children: Drake, Ella, Duke, Emmie, and Crew. The Fixer-Upper stars first became parents in February 2005 with the arrival of Drake, who graduated high school in May 2023.
"It feels like just yesterday that we were cheering him on as he took his first steps..." Joanna captioned a tearjerking Instagram post. "But last weekend, as he walked across the stage to receive his high school diploma (!!) we were cheering him on as he took his first steps into a world beyond what he’s known."
The couple welcomed their eldest daughter, Ella, in October 2006. Joanna told People in 2019 that Ella is the child that reminds her most of herself.
"Ella is like me,” Joanna said. “I think she’ll follow in my footsteps and have her hand in a lot of things. Right now, she wants to cook, be a lead designer, and have a donut truck.”
Chip and Joanna had their second son, Chip, in May 2008 and later welcomed another daughter, Emmie, in January 2010. The couple's youngest boy, Crew, was born in 2018 and is the baby of the Gaines family.
"He's got these amazing four grandparents, two on each side," Chip told the TODAY co-hosts during their October 2024 appearance. "And then he's got four older siblings, which you'd think would be miserable. Like, they would always be at him. Instead, they dote on him."
Watch TODAY weekdays at 7 AM ET on NBC.
