Chip & Joanna Gaines Reveal Why They Walked Away From Fixer Upper

Chip and Joanna Gaines are revealing why they chose to end their super popular HGTV show, Fixer Upper, in 2018 after six years of filming and five seasons. The popular show was on the air from 2013 to 2018, and managed to make Chip and Joanna a household name. While airing, the show brought in 19 million viewers a week and over 75 million viewers throughout the entire five seasons. The show featured the couple helping other couples find a home, and then renovating the space to become the house of their dreams. After five successful seasons, the couple decided they no longer wanted to continue filming the show, but promised audiences had not seen the last of them.

Back in 2019, Chip and Joanna announced their plans to create their own TV network, Magnolia Network, to replace the DIY Network. The Magnolia Network was supposed to launch in 2020, but due to the pandemic, the launch was postponed until July 2021. Not only will Chip and Joanna be running the network, but they also plan on returning to the screen. When announcing the new shows that will appear on the network, they also announced their plans to bring back new episodes of Fixer Upper. The other shows include a travel show with Jonathan Morris, and another with interior designer Brian Patrick Flynn. One change, however, is the Magnolia Network is now a streaming service created in partnership with Discovery Inc.

Chip and Joanna are now opening up about what led them to decide to end their show at the height of its popularity. As Reality TV World reports, Chip and Joanna said they had reached a low point with the show, and they both knew it was time to take a step back. During an appearance on Today, the couple revealed they began to feel exhausted after six years of filming. They reminded fans that not only were they filming a show, but they were also trying to raise five kids (now six) at the same time. It all got to be too much for them.

While filming season five, they realized they were simply going through the motions of filming, and weren’t exactly sure why they were doing what they were doing. They agreed it was time to take a step back from the show and think about whether or not it was still fulfilling them. It was then that they decided to take a year-long break from the show and reevaluate what is important to them. Chip acknowledges that the time off they were able to have was a gift. They were able to understand that working with HGTV was no longer a fulfilling career opportunity for them, and were able to explore what they actually wanted to do with the rest of their lives. That turned out to be having a sixth child and launching the Magnolia Network.

With the launch of their network, Chip and Joanna are about to be busier than ever. Not only are they running the network, but they are slated to star in a number of the shows featured on the streaming service. It will be interesting to see how Chip and Joanna are able to manage all the responsibilities that come with everything they have going on. They are raising six kids, bringing back Fixer Upper and many other new shows, running a network, and overseeing a furniture company. That is a lot of work for two people to take on.

Source: Reality TV World