The Fixer Upper Couple 15 Things We Didn't Know About Chip And Joanna Gaines

Ever since the world first saw Chip and Joanna Gaines on their television screens, arguing and laughing and creating gorgeous spaces together on their HGTV show Fixer Upper, they've been obsessed with the couple. There are plenty of husband-wife teams on television, but for some reason the Gainses just stood apart from the crowd. They're like two perfect puzzles pieces that create an unstoppable team together.

A little while back, they announced that they were hanging up their Fixer Upper hats - and the world was devastated. They were still going to be in the renovation and decoration business, of course, running their hugely successful Magnolia brand and all that comes with it, but they wanted to take a break from the cameras and the filming schedule in order to focus on their family. And, it seems that already large family has expanded yet again. Chip and Joanna already have four beautiful children, and they now have a fifth on the way.

We can't help but hope that they think up another show they want to participate in that brings them back to our television screens soon, because we miss our dose of Chip and Joanna and their hilarious antics. While you wait, here are 15 things you may not have known about Chip and Joanna Gaines.

15 They Were Discovered Through A Photo

Okay, we have to admit - we weren't really sure about the process of how HGTV stars were discovered, especially stars in the raw like Chip and Joanna. It turns out, HGTV does more scouting than we might think. Photos of one of Chip and Joanna's projects were shared on a small design blog, and someone from HGTV stumbled across them and reached out to Chip and Joanna to create a highlight real. It was tough at first - the two weren't naturals in front of the camera, if you can believe that - but they ended up getting enough material to create a compelling sizzle real, and the network fell in love with them. And, as soon as they started popping up on television screens across North America, the world fell in love with them too.

14 Joanna Always Wanted To Be On Television

Joanna may not have known she'd end up becoming an HGTV star, but in her younger years she always had a dream of being on television. She actually majored in Communications while she was a student, and had her sights set on working in broadcast journalism. She had some internships at news stations, and was on track to make her dream a reality when she had some doubts and ended up pursuing an entirely different dream as a boutique owner and later one half of the Magnolia empire. We can totally see Joanna as a bright-eyed, cheery anchor on the morning news, and she likely would have been super successful at that, but we're kind of glad she decided to switch paths and pursue the interior design career path she didn't even know she wanted.

13 Chip Fell For Joanna After Seeing Her Picture In An Auto Shop

They may have attended the same university at roughly the same time, but Chip and Joanna didn't meet at some keg party or in some intro class. Their meet cute is a whole lot more rom-com worthy than that. It turns out, Chip was a regular at the auto shop that Joanna's father owned. He was in there one day and spotted a photo of Joanna that her father had put up behind the counter. He was smitten with the gorgeous girl in the photo, and eventually, ended up showing up at the shop one day and finding Joanna herself there. He struck up a conversation, captured her attention, and later asked her out on their very first date - and the rest, as they say, is history. What a cute story!

12 At The Beginning Of Their Marriage, They Were Totally Broke

Chip and Joanna aren't big spenders who flaunt a flashy lifestyle, but they're definitely comfortable nowadays thanks to the success of all their businesses. That wasn't always the case, though. The two spoke quite a bit in their book about the fact that they were flat out broke for years and years when they were first married. And even when they started making a bit more money through their various business ventures, they invested it right back in the company - so they were still pinching pennies to make ends meet on a personal level. Thankfully, all that hard work and sacrifice paid off in the long run, because they're now the owners of a hugely successful company that just keeps getting bigger every year. The sky is the limit for the Magnolia brand.

11 Their First Ever 'Fixer Upper' Together Was Their First House

We kind of can't even picture a renovation job where Chip and Joanna aren't working together, but back in the day, the fixer upper jobs were primarily Chip's domain. However, the first 'fixer upper' property they tackled together, with Chip doing things like tiling and refinishing floors while Joanna picked paint colours and decor schemes, was their very own first home. The two newlyweds returned from their honeymoon to a run-down old property Chip had been renting out, and they got started on restoring it. While they worked with clients as well, for years the two would get a home, move in, fix it up while they were living there, and then flip it - that's dedication! It's not easy moving so often or living in a construction zone, but they managed to do it.

10 They Don't Own A Television (Despite Being TV Stars!)

Chip and Joanna are all about family, and that means being present during family time - not glued to the television screen or their phones. Although when they're at home, they definitely don't have to worry about the former, because they don't even have a television - something that's somewhat surprising for a duo that are both television stars! You'd think they'd want to be checking out the competition, but they're not too worried. Apparently, they didn't buy a television when they were first married because they just didn't have the money to scrape together for one, and they just haven't felt the need to buy one since. They have confessed, though, that they do watch certain big games or beloved programs at friends' homes from time to time.

9 The Reason Behind The Name Of Their Empire Is Majorly Adorable

The name of Chip and Joanna Gaines' empire, Magnolia, is memorable - but the story behind where the name comes from is more adorable than you could ever imagine. It turns out, when they were just a young, dating couple in love, Chip would pick blooms from Magnolia trees to give to Joanna. When they were brainstorming what to name Joanna's boutique when they had bought a small property and transformed it into a charming little decor shop, they decided upon Magnolia Market. When they moved the headquarters for their home renovation business into that shop, they kept the Magnolia sign that was already up. Now, everything they do falls under the Magnolia brand - it's a good thing they spent so much time deciding on that small boutique's name back in the day!

8 Magnolia Market Was Originally Joanna's Solo Business

Nowadays, Chip and Joanna Gaines are equal partners in their Magnolia empire. Chip is responsible for the construction elements of things, Joanna's designer touch helps put finishing details on projects, and together they're a well-oiled machine. However, back in the day, the Magnolia empire wasn't an empire - it was just one small boutique in Waco. Joanna and Chip were together when she opened Magnolia Market, but ultimately it was her business - Chip was out working other renovation jobs and flipping houses while she opened and closed her shop every day, interacting with customers and building her own business. It's hard to believe their current empire began with just one tiny boutique. Joanna ended up shutting her boutique after about two years to focus on building their home renovation company.

7 They Wake Up Super Early

When you have a big family and a busy schedule, you can't exactly sleep until noon - there's too much to do! Chip and Joanna know that very well. The two apparently wake up at around 5 in the morning most days, getting themselves ready, waking their kids up, making sure everyone has all they need for school and is well fed before heading out the door - and then heading out themselves to take on the day. It just goes to show that their success isn't exactly accidental - they've always been incredibly hard workers who are willing to go the extra mile to ensure their businesses succeed, and their daily schedule just proves that. Now that they have a new baby on the way, we can only imagine things will get even more crazy.

6 They Have Over 60 Animals On Their Farm

While they likely travel to big cities a fair bit to promote their various projects, and their brand as a whole, Chip and Joanna Gaines' home base is a whole lot more peaceful. They own a 40 acre farm with a gorgeous farmhouse property, and in addition to their growing family, they also have a lot of animals on the land. As in, about 60. While the animals are more for the family's sake than for business, they have a variety, from chickens to cows to goats. Every now and then, they post a shot of the animals on the farm, and we can't help but wish we lived in a guest house on that property. It just seems like such a peaceful oasis - who doesn't want to walk a green pasture and get approached by goats and cows and other adorable creatures?

5 Joanna Still Sticks To A Budget, Despite Fame

When she was just a small business owner trying to find stock for her store, and working with Chip to flip homes on a budget, Joanna became a master at finding great items for low prices. And even now that she's reached a level of fame she never could have dreamed of, she's not ignoring her former haunts in favour of designer boutiques filled with high end products. She still sticks to a budget, and stops by flea markets and thrift stores and all those venues when she's searching for great items. She spilled her strategy to PopSugar, confessing that "I always go with a budget in mind so I don't get carried away. 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." Smart!

4 Chip Originally Wanted To Become A Baseball Player

Okay, so you now know that Chip flipped his first property when he was just in college, but what were his career plans before he found out that the whole flipping homes thing could be a viable career? Well, he had the dream of becoming a baseball player. He was a star athlete growing up, and went to college with the assumption that he'd play ball throughout and end up going on to a professional team. Unfortunately, he ended up cut from the college team - so he decided to turn his attention away from baseball and towards business. He started several entrepreneurial ventures, including a landscaping business, before finally landing on one that seemed just right - flipping houses. He may play the occasional game of ball with his kids or friends, but he definitely made the right choice.

3 Joanna Has Never Studied Interior Design

This is kind of crazy to think about, but it turns out that Joanna never actually studied design or interior decor. While certain people have more of a natural knack for that kind of thing than others, the majority of designers who snag shows on HGTV are trained. Joanna studied communications in school, and just knew she wanted to open a boutique at some point. She ended up opening a boutique that stocked home goods, such as candles and pillows and other decor items, and found her style as a designer essentially through trial and error. We have to admit, it's kind of refreshing to realize that her trademark style wasn't the result of a class she took or a book she read - it was all a process of figuring out her style as she worked on projects and refined her approach.

2 Chip Did His First House Flip As A College Student

Chip has always seemed like a roll with the punches kind of guy, someone who is easygoing and relaxed about life, but did you know he's actually a serial entrepreneur? In the duo's book The Magnolia Story, Chip details all the business ventures he experimented with over the years, including the one that would lead to his current career path - house flipping. He actually bought his very first house to flip back when he was just a college student, and quickly learned it was a good way to make a little money. He and Joanna ended up transforming nearly an entire street in a run-down area of Waco, flipping house after house before moving on to ritzier neighbourhoods and larger projects. Talk about a college business! It seems he knew his destiny all along.

1 Joanna Has A Passion For Cooking And Baking

Joanna clearly has a passion for interior design, but she also absolutely loves spending time in the kitchen whipping things up. Despite her busy schedule, she finds the time to cook dinner for her family most nights, and absolutely loves to bake. Luckily, she's found a way to incorporate that passion into the Magnolia empire as well - she and Chip recently opened Silos Baking Co., a bakery that's right across the street from the Magnolia Market in Waco. Now, she's probably not in there whipping up muffins every single morning, but she likely gives her input and gets to explore her passion for baking there, which is pretty amazing. Who knows, maybe she'll get her own spin-off reality show focused on her baking business if the two decide they don't want to come back for another few seasons of Fixer Upper.