A month before the fifth and last season of Chip and Joanna Gaines in "Fixer Upper," the reality show couple finally revealed why they decided to leave the show.
To the dismay of the hit series' millions of fans, the home-improvement stars announced their goodbye on a blog post, saying it is a sad farewell but they are confident they are making the right choice. "Our family has grown up alongside yours. ... How bittersweet to say goodbye to the very thing that introduced us all in the first place," it said.
Following that statement, rumors soon arose saying that the couple, who have been married since 2003, were breaking up. This Chip quickly debunked the speculation in a Twitter post, saying Joanna is the love of his life and it "won't ever happen."
"Fixer Upper," which premiered in 2013, was an instant hit, and soon became the highest rating show in HGTV. While it helped launch the Gaineses and their Waco, Texas-based Magnolia businesses (their retail store Silos draws 40,000 visitors a week), it was also very demanding. They had to film 11 months a year while at the same time managing their growing empire and its over 500 employees.
In the recent issue of People, the couple explained how this took a toll on their relationship with their kids — Drake, 12, Ella, 11, Duke, 9, and Emmie Kay, 7. The 42-year-old father recalled how they would often ask when the never-ending filming would be over.
"How far can you push it before something really does break down?" chip said, adding, "Jo and I don't want to find ourselves years from now realizing there were warning signs letting us know we were exhausted."
Ultimately, it was the family's strong bond, and not a rumored marriage conflict, that pushed the couple to end the show.
"We really want to focus on this break and take a step back to let this all soak in," Joanna added.
