The Upsetting Struggles Joanna Gaines Faced During Her Childhood
"Fixer Upper" alum Joanna Gaines is a household name thanks to her home makeovers on the HGTV show. However, before she could build a career out of helping others transform their lives, she needed to do some healing of her own.
When it comes to Joanna's personal life, "Fixer Upper" fans will be well aware that she's married to her co-star, Chip Gaines. The couple wed back in 2003, and in May 2023, the "Homebody" author shared a sweet black and photobooth-style reel to Instagram to commemorate it, complete with Queen's "You're My Best Friend." "What a wonderful 20 years," she wrote. They're also parents of five, to sons Drake, Duke and Crew, and daughters Ella and Emmie, who have been featured in a number of their projects over the years.
It's safe to say, then, that Joanna has long been comfortable sharing her life with the world. However, more recently, she's taken things a step further. On top of her life in the here and now, the Magnolia Network co-owner has begun sharing more about her life pre-fame and gotten pretty candid about some of the things she went through in her younger years. One of the most heartbreaking of those admissions? Her experience with racism and bullying throughout her childhood years.
She was picked on for her Korean heritage
In May 2022, Joanna Gaines joined 105 other women for the personal advocacy book, "My Moment." Her piece focused on the taunting she experienced as a young girl with Korean heritage.
Thinking back on her childhood, Gaines recounted some of what she endured. "I spent my younger years trying to fit in as best I could ... acting as though I didn't get their jokes about my slanted eyes or hear their whispers when I'd opt for rice instead of fries in the cafeteria line," she wrote. Ultimately, it got to a point where she began dissociating from a major part of her identity, even changing her second name to something, "More American."
Later on in 2022, Gaines' "My Moment" piece ended up being used in her own book, "The Stories We Tell." In the lead-up to its launch, the "Fixer Upper" star gave People even more insight into what she experienced, and how it would go on to affect her, years after the bullying itself had died down. "It was deeply personal, because that was half of my story," she acknowledged, of downplaying her heritage from her mom's side of the family.
... but today, she's committed to embracing her identity
Though Joanna Gaines' experiences with racism had long-term effects on her sense of self, things began to change when she moved to New York City. As she reminisced in her "My Moment" piece, "I stepped into that city as a 21-year-old and I'd never seen so many people who looked like me." It was a major moment for Gaines, who has told People that growing up, she and her sisters "were literally the only Asians in our entire school." She began spending time in Koreatown, and pointed out that she was instantly comforted by "the tastes and scents and faces that reminded me of my mom."
Gaines' time in New York marked a newfound love for her culture and heritage, and over the years, that love has only grown. In 2022, she even brought her mom, Nan Stevens, onto her "The Stories We Tell" podcast to talk about it. "I always wanted to say I was sorry for living in halfness, and not embracing the most beautiful thing about myself, which was you. The culture that was half of me," she said while choking up.
One thing's for sure: today, Gaines has nothing but love and appreciation for all parts of herself. And, as she revealed in the same podcast episode, she's thrilled to see her kids and her nieces aspire to look more Korean, if anything. "That's their goal," she smiled. We couldn't be happier for them.