Chip & Joanna Gaines on ‘Beautiful Moment’ of Change After 20 Years: 'Second Part of Our Marriage’ (Exclusive)

The Magnolia Network founders open up about how they're "evolving" as partners, parents and entrepreneurs in this week's PEOPLE cover story

Chip and Joanna Gaines are entering a new phase of their relationship — and loving it.

"I would say, as we're getting older, I'm shifting and I'm more like Chip, and Chip is more like me," says Joanna of her husband of 20 years in this week's PEOPLE cover story.

"Jo and I are in this beautiful moment. We're evolving into each other," says Chip, "It's the second part of our marriage."

For Joanna, that means facing lifelong fears — like her two new hobbies of horseback riding and beekeeping — and allowing herself to live more in the moment and be emotional, even it's sometimes painful. "It's definitely a more real way to live, and so I'm thankful for that," she says.

For Chip, 49, it's taking things a little easier and helping his partner shine. “I want to be her biggest cheerleader,” he says. “I’m like, ‘Hey, you go do whatever. My knees are killing me.’ ”

Joanna jokes about chalking the switch up to a “midlife crisis,” but at 45, she says, “we just see life differently now.”

Related: Chip and Joanna Gaines' New Hotel in Waco, Texas Is Officially Open — and Reservations Are Booked Out

Their current outlooks are just about the exact opposite of what fans have come to expect from the pair. Over the past 10 years on Fixer Upper and its spinoffs, Joanna has remained even-keeled, contained and organized, and Chip has often been found goofing around atop a ladder or busting through drywall.

The truth is, everything is changing for the Gaineses these days, as a couple, as a family and as entrepreneurs.

The parents of five just sent their oldest son, Drake, 18, off to college; launched a podcast network; announced a slate of Magnolia reality shows; completed work on Hotel 1928 in Waco, one of the biggest projects of their careers; and debuted Fixer Upper: The Hotel, a new limited series about the venture, airing on Max and Magnolia Network.

Related: Chip and Joanna Gaines Are 'Thrilled' to Launch New Podcast Network — Here Are Their First Two Shows

They only opened the boutique property Nov. 1, but they’ve already received the one sparkling review that really counts: the approval of their teenage daughters Ella, 17, and Emmie, 13. “They kept saying, ‘I can’t believe something like this is in Waco. We feel like we’re in New York City.’ That was the biggest compliment,” says Joanna. “I was like, ‘Ah, they’re finally impressed.’ It felt like a big win.”

Fixer Upper fans have watched the Gaines kids — which also includes Duke, 15, and Crew, 5 — grow up on screen, but these days, their brood are finding their own paths. “Chip is really good at saying, ‘You need your own identity. When you’re finished with college, go do some stuff on your own. Learn some stuff. And then if you want to come back years later and teach us, we’re here,’ ” says Joanna.

Related: All of Chip and Joanna Gaines' Most Romantic (and Hilarious) Throwback Pics

Saying goodbye to Drake, who started college in September, was a particularly difficult moment. “It’s this tension of joy and pain, all in one breath,” Joanna recalls of the emotional drop-off. “Even now when I’m setting the table, I have to consciously go, ‘Oh, there’s only six here.’ ”

Having Crew at home has been a meaningful counter to that emptiness.

“The greatest gift of having a kid go off to college and having a 5-year-old is that perspective,” she says. “It’s not here forever. We don’t want to waste these moments.”

Related: Chip and Joanna Gaines Get Candid About Their Difficult First Year of Marriage: 'We've Had Our Challenges'

The same goes for their relationship. After 20 years of marriage, they still make a point to start every morning by asking each other what they dreamed of. “Mine are real practical,” says Chip. “Jo’s are always funny. She’s got these really vivid dreams—big adventure and all this Technicolor.”

“You’ve rubbed off on me,” says Joanna. “I think that’s the beauty of relationships in general. If Chip weren’t my partner, I would probably still be in the corner. From the moment I met him, he’s always experienced change in a positive way. Even if it was negative, it was, ‘All right. What do we do next?’

Related: Chip and Joanna Gaines’ Magnolia House Lists for $995,000 — See Inside!

“I believe it now, she adds. “We’ve had so much change in our lives, and the proof is there: Change is hard, but it’s always beautiful.”

"I hope that it's just the beginning," says Chip. "I hope that we get to look back in 20 years from now, and feel just as confident that we were meant to be. We really feel like we are in some ways just getting started."

For more on Chip and Joanna Gaines, pick up this week's issue of People, on newsstands Friday.

Fixer Upper : The Hotel is airing now on Max and Magnolia Network.

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Read the original article on People.