Chip and Joanna Gaines are arguably America's favorite couple. The duo captured their audience's hearts with their jaw-dropping designs and charismatic personalities. Each week, they invite viewers into their lives on HGTV's Fixer Upper. You may already be a fan, but these 10 fun facts are sure to make you love this cute couple even more.
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10. They both attended Baylor University, but that's not where they met.
Chip graduated in 1998 with a degree in Business Administration, while Joanna graduated in 2001 with a degree in Communication.
9. It was love at first sight.
Chip knew Joanna was "the one" when he saw her in a photo at her dad's automotive shop. "I knew I'd marry her one day just by the picture on the wall," Chip recalled.
The two didn't meet in person until Chip came into the shop to get his brakes worked on. Lucky for him, Joanna was working in the office. "We met in the waiting area and hit it off immediately. He was genuinely engaging and he had such a sincere smile," she said.
8. They may be TV stars, but they don't have a television in their own home.
"We didn't buy a TV when we first got married, and we have yet to buy one," Joanna says.
7. Chip had dreams of playing pro baseball.
Chip grew up playing baseball and he went on to play for Northlake College in Irving, Texas, for a year. Then, he transferred to Baylor University in Waco. But Chip didn't make the Baylor team. "I thought we were raising the next great superstar baseball player," Chip's dad, Bob Gaines, told The Dallas Morning News. "Instead, I raised the next great father, husband and businessman, and now he's famous."
6. Joanna had always wanted to be on TV.
Before she was a real estate star, Jojo dreamed of being a broadcast journalist. She first took an interest in home design while wandering into home boutiques on her off time as an intern in New York with CBS News and Dan Rather. "I was so homesick I would go to these small boutiques that felt like home," Joanna told The Dallas Morning News. "When I came back this whole thing of design kind of developed in my heart as a dream."
5. Chip flipped his first house while he was in college.
But Chip and Jo didn't start flipping houses together until they were a married couple. "Once I caught on to the concept of buying something that is undervalued to then put value into it and sell it for a profit, I was hooked, too," she told HGTV.
4. Joanna's first job was at an all-you-can-eat buffet.
She learned the value of hard work, even at a young age.
3. Jojo's style has evolved over the years.
Now, she's known for her designs that feature shiplap, a farmhouse sink and a bold backsplash. But she wasn't always a master of farmhouse-chic style. Jo says the first house she flipped was a mismatched hodgepodge. "The front room had sailboats in it, the kitchen was mustard yellow and French themed, and the back den was rustic with cedar paneled walls, hanging horns, and cow hides," she told HGTV. "I guess I was testing out my style."
2. They stick to a budget.
She may be a celebrity designer, but Joanna doesn't blow big bucks. The Magnolia Market owner still sticks to a budget when she goes shopping at flea markets."I always go with a budget in mind, so I don't get carried away," she told Pop Sugar. "When I find something I like, I first determine the value and what I will spend on it before I look at the price tag."
1. The couple was contacted by HGTV producers after they saw pictures of their designs online.
"Our production company saw pictures [taken by Molly Winn] of one of our flip homes that was being featured on a popular blog, Design Mom," Joanna said, according to Hooked on Houses. "They contacted us through our website and the rest is history."
