Joanna and Chip Gaines are soaking up the very best of summer, finding time for their family amid their many new career ventures, including the show Mini Reni.
Joanna, 47, and Chip, 50, live in Waco, Texas with their five children, Drake, Ella, Duke, Emmie and Crew, with the oldest already off at college and his younger sister Ella poised to join him this fall.
However, before bidding one of their own farewell, they’ve reunited for a special celebration involving none other than Joanna’s mom Nan Stevens. Take a look at the family reunion in the video below…
In the clip, joining Joanna, Chip and her parents Nan and Jerry Stevens are a host of other family members. While they’re all more obscured, several of them seemingly appear to be the lifestyle entrepreneur’s own kids.
The oldest of the five, 20-year-old Drake, will start his junior year at a school close to home this fall. His sister Ella, 18, who graduated from high school last month, will be heading off to college in a few months as well, although she seemingly has her sights set on destinations much further from home.
During a previous conversation with TODAY, Chip shared that unlike her older brother, Ella is more keen on studying outside of Texas, and even considered heading to South Korea, where Nan is from.
“Ella has thought about Korea, she’s thought about sunny Southern California,” the proud dad-of-five shared. “She’s not going to be in the Central Texas area when she goes on to her next chapter. She seems excited to be able to spread her wings and do something very unique and outside the bubble.”
He joked that college would be more like a launching pad for Ella into a world similar to their own, unlike her older brother’s. “With Drake, we needed to send him to college to teach him basic survival skills, like how to do laundry.”
“Ella is on the exact opposite end of the spectrum. It feels like we’re sending this young lady off to become the next president of the United States. It’s very the sky’s the limit with Ella.”
© Getty ImagesAs for Joanna’s parents, Nan and Jerry Stevens have been married for over 50 years. The pair met all the way back in 1969, when Joanna’s father was stationed in South Korea and happened to meet his future wife at a party in Seoul.
In an Instagram post celebrating their 45th wedding anniversary, Joanna shared: “My parents met in 1969 when my dad was stationed in Korea and their story is one you hear about in the movies.”
© Instagram“All the odds were against them but they fought through and became an example of how to love, fight for, extend grace to, and honor each other amidst all their many differences. Here’s to many more years!”
During an appearance on Hoda Kotb’s radio show in 2021, the mom-of-five attributed her success in life and business to her mom. “Through the lens of all that she’s been through — the hardship, the fight — I think, for her, I think for both of us, it’s that thing of like, Mom, you set me up well.”
© InstagramShe continued: “You set me up well because of the way you fought for this, your passion, now I get to kind of live in that wake,” citing “how much she fought for the family” as her prime inspiration.
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