You watch them on your TV screens, you obsessively read about their upcoming projects online—but have you ever stopped to wonder how the duo behind HGTV's Fixer Upper first met?
Before Chip and Joanna Gaines became the design powerhouse we know and love today, they were two ordinary college students just trying to discover their passions. While Chip started flipping houses as a student at Baylor University, Joanna majored in communications, with dreams of becoming a broadcast journalist. And while you probably know the couple share the same alma mater by now, you may be surprised to learn they didn't actually meet at Baylor. Instead, it was a side job that brought them together.
Through high school and college, Joanna worked at her dad's Firestone Tire store in Waco, Texas. It was during this time that she had her first TV stint, appearing in commercials for the business. "Her dad made the mistake of putting a pic of the family behind the counter at his shop," Chip explained to PopSugar. "I knew I'd marry her one day just by the picture on the wall."
He then frequented the shop, making any excuse to stop by, in hopes of meeting Joanna. "My buddies used to always joke that no one could get their brakes done as often as I got my brakes done," Chip told KWTX.
By the time he saw Joanna working in the office in 2001, Chip had the perfect pick-up line prepared to impress his future wife: "Hey, you're the girl from the commercials." And yes, it worked. See the commercial that started their relationship below:
Chip and Joanna pretty much have opposite personalities, so it makes sense that they each approached the relationship differently at first. While Chip fell head-over-heels before even meeting Joanna, she was more guarded at the beginning of their relationship. Chip even jokingly described his now-wife as a "cyborg" to US Weekly, explaining that he was the first to really fall in love in the relationship. Despite their differences, the couple recognized their shared values, such as religion, early on.
"When I learned how to embrace Joanna for who she is and really support her all the way, I feel like that was a real lightbulb moment for me in my relationship with her," Chip told Jefferson Bethke. "As I really enveloped this concept of I'm going to support her, and love her, and fight for her regardless, I feel like that opened [her] heart to be able to reciprocate."
It was Chip's sincerity that eventually won Joanna over. "At first, I couldn't believe how kind Chip was—he had kind eyes, and made me laugh a lot," Joanna told PopSugar. "I knew he was the one because I knew I could trust him."
After dating for a little over a year, Chip and Joanna were married on March 31, 2003. They soon combined forces—Chip's renovating skills with Joanna's eye for design—to become the team that consistently wows us today. Chip and Joanna started flipping houses together within a month of their wedding and later began to focus on renovations, due to the changing housing market. At first, it took a whole lot of trial and error to get things right. One of their earliest "fixer uppers" was their first house together, as a newlywed couple.
The couple has now been married for 13 years and have four wonderful children, Drake, Ella, Duke, and Emmie. And while Chip and Joanna's stunning makeovers may have caught your eye at first, it's their strong family values that have turned them into a well-known household name.
See how Chip and Joanna describe their own love story:
Original article and pictures take www.countryliving.com site
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