How Chip and Joanna Gaines Became the First Couple of Home Improvement

Chip and Jo have been together for nearly two decades! Look back at their love story.

Chip and Joanna Gaines are one of the greatest and cutest love stories ever, as well as one of the most wholesome. The HGTV-turned-Magnolia Network stars are living proof that opposites attract and can withstand the test of time. The Fixer Upper couple have been married for 19 years and counting and have had immense success mixing business with pleasure. Find out the ins and outs of their sweet courtship, marriage and Magnolia empire—and why it almost never even happened!

How did Chip and Joanna Gaines meet?

Chip and Joanna met in 2001 after college. Chip saw a photo of Joanna on the wall at her father's tire shop and was immediately smitten. He gushed to PopSugar, "Her dad made the mistake of putting a pic of the family behind the counter at his [automotive] shop. I knew I'd marry her one day just by the picture on the wall." Not long after, Chip came to the shop again for a brake repair and Joanna was working.

"We met in the waiting area and hit it off immediately," she said. "He was genuinely engaging and he had such a sincere smile."

Related: Everything You Need to Know About Chip and Joanna Gaines’ Fixer Upper Reboot

When did Chip and Joanna Gaines start dating?

Chip and Joanna's first date was in 2001, and it almost didn't go well. In their joint memoir, The Magnolia Story, Joanna recalled that Chip was a full 90 minutes late for their first date and she almost refused to go out with him, but he charmed her friends enough that she gave in. "I still don’t remember what he said that convinced me to walk out the door with him," she admitted. "He didn’t even have a plan for our date. He said, 'So, Joanna, where do you want to go eat?' He didn’t apologize for being late, either. He had so much confidence. I don’t know. I can’t explain it. Only Chip could be an hour and a half late and have no one mad about it."

For his part, Chip insisted he was only 20 minutes late.

The couple didn't go on a second date for months, which Chip says is because he took a $50 bet from his roommate "Hot John" over who would wait longer to call their dates at the time.

"I'd made a bet with Hot John to see who could hold out the longest before calling our dates back," Chip wrote in The Magnolia Story. "I really wanted that fifty dollars from John! That's the only reason I didn't call."

When did Chip and Joanna Gaines get engaged?

Chip proposed to Joanna in 2002 after a year of dating. Joanna wrote in The Magnolia Story that Chip said he was taking her to a concert four hours away from Waco, but instead took her to a shopping center near where his parents live. Their families were waiting for her, and Chip took her to a jewelry store to design her own engagement ring as he looked on. "I was able to pick out a nice round diamond and a beautiful, antique-looking platinum setting," she wrote. "I had a blast sitting there with Billy, designing the perfect ring. Chip just sat there, patiently observing every second of it."

When did Chip and Joanna Gaines get married?

Chip and Joanna tied the knot on May 31, 2003, at the Earle-Harrison House mansion in Waco, Texas. Joanna said the venue was very much like the setting of their first date. Cute!

When did Chip Gaines and Joanna Gaines flip their first house?

In 2003, Chip and Joanna moved into their very first fixer-upper home in 2003. She wrote on Instagram of the property and their experience, "I remember crying when Chip said we were moving in—it was dumpy and it smelled bad. We fixed it up and fell in love with it. To this day, if you ask us what our favorite house we ever lived in we both go back to this little white 800 sq ft home."

Related: Chip and Joanna Gaines Almost Never Happened: ‘It Wasn’t Love at First Sight’

She added, "We were broke and were forced to be creative with our resources and we were proud as punch about this place. Most of what I learned creatively stemmed from this little fixer upper. Small house or big, rich or poor—own the space you live in and love what you have."

What has Chip Gaines said about his marriage to Joanna?

Chip revealed in the spring 2020 Magnolia Journal that while he spent his entire life preparing to be a leading man, Joanna is the star of their show, both on and off camera—and he couldn't be more pleased with it.

“The role I thought I was born to play ended up not being the one intended for me. Instead, I’ve accepted my supporting role, a role I’m actually honored to play. And I gotta tell you, it’s been the absolute joy of my life!”

Related: Chip Gaines Just Said the Sweetest Thing About Playing a ‘Supporting Role’ to Joanna

What has Joanna Gaines said about her marriage to Chip?

Joanna wasn't sure about Chip at first.

“It wasn’t love at first sight for Chip and me. For one thing, I was typically attracted to guys who were more on the quiet side,” she wrote in Magnolia Journal in May 2020, noting that Chip was much more gregarious and outgoing than her usual type. Still, he won her over with his charisma and drive. “All the ideas and dreams he held for himself were anything but ordinary, and he talked about the world around him through the lens of untapped potential. When Chip did eventually stop talking, if only to take a breath," she wrote, "I found myself wanting to fill the silence with plans and dreams of my own.”

When did Chip and Joanna Gaines start Magnolia?

Chip and Joanna opened their very first Magnolia Market in 2003, borrowing $5,000 for the Waco property.

When did Chip and Joanna Gaines start Fixer Upper?

Producers first called Joanna about a TV show in 2012, but Chip was convinced it was a hoax. Thankfully, Joanna called back anyway, and Fixer Upper was born in 2013.

Next, get to know the Fixer Upper family and learn all about Chip and Joanna Gaines’ kids.