Why We're Worried About Chip And Joanna Gaines

Chip and Joanna Gaines announced in late September 2017 that they were ending Fixer Upper, the wildly successful home renovation TV series that began in 2013.

"It is with both sadness and expectation that we share the news that season 5 of Fixer Upper will be our last," the couple wrote on its blog. "While we are confident that this is the right choice for us, it has for sure not been an easy one to come to terms with. Our family has grown up alongside yours, and we have felt you rooting us on from the other side of the screen. How bittersweet to say goodbye to the very thing that introduced us all in the first place."

While Chip and Joanna claim to want to settle down and spend time with their kids, we're a bit concerned for the future of this adorable, down-home couple. Aside from their potential struggles as a pairing, they are also dealing with a slew of drama outside their relationship that could easily cause tension within it. Here's why we're worried about Chip and Joanna's marriage—and their empire. (Seriously, we're going to miss all that shiplap.)

Chip denied that Lewis and Clark contacted him about their Magnolia Realty shares prior to suing him. "Fyi: I've had the same cell [number for] 15 yrs.. same email for 20 [years]. No one called or emailed? [Four] years later 'friends' reach out via lawsuit.. Humm," he tweeted.

Chip's attorney told Fox News, "We are confident that these claims will be found to be meritless, and it is disappointing to see people try to take advantage of the hard work and success of Chip and Joanna Gaines."

However, Lewis and Clark's lawyer told Radar Online, "They did contact him. [Chip] turned it over to his lawyer and the discussions that ensued were between lawyers... There is a four year statute of limitations in Texas that governs these complaints... the case had to be filed or it was lost." The attorney added, "We've tried to resolve it quickly... We've been doing it for a while. [But] you have to have both sides together to make a settlement. They do not appear to want to come to the table to settle, so we will do the lawsuit thing, which is to file it, set it to trial, take it to the court, and let the court decide."

Chip responded to BuzzFeed's report in a blog post, writing, "In my lifetime, I can't recall humanity being more divided. Plenty of folks are sad and scared and angry and there are sound bites being fed to us that seem fueled by judgement, fear and even hatred. Jo and I refuse to be baited into using our influence in a way that will further harm an already hurting world, this is our home. A house divided cannot stand... If there is any hope for all of us to move forward, to heal and to grow—we have got to learn to engage people who are different from us with dignity and with love." 

He continued, "Joanna and I have personal convictions. One of them is this: we care about you for the simple fact that you are a person, our neighbor on planet earth. It's not about what color your skin is, how much money you have in the bank, your political affiliation, sexual orientation, gender, nationality or faith...we're already pulling for you... Jo and I don't want to hide, we want to live brave & bold lives and we wish that same thing for you as well. But words can cut deep and having someone misunderstand your intentions can hurt as much as just about anything. If I misjudge people and am wrong, I want to be wrong having assumed the best about them. The bottom line is, I would rather be loving than be right."

At the time of this writing, Joanna has not spoken publicly about her views on homosexuality.

In The Magnolia Story (via Radar Online), Chip recalled his and Joanna's negligence towards their dogs during her first pregnancy. The pets would reportedly walk around their Waco neighborhood with neither leashes nor supervision.

"Every single time [a neighbor] saw them off the leash—which was just about all the time—she called animal control," Chip wrote. "The people from the pound would show up, haul the dogs downtown in their van, and write us a ticket either in Jo's name or my name. These weren't like parking tickets either. They came with heavy fines, which I absolutely refused to pay out of some misguided form of principle," he admitted. "Well, guess what? When you don't pay your fines, eventually the police come looking for you. We owed something like $2,500 in tickets, and we simply didn't have that kind of money lying around even if we wanted to pay the fines."

At one point, the couple revealed, police came to their door looking for Joanna, since the tickets (and dog) were in her name. Chip denied she was home, and they called the courthouse, where they were told that they could have a meeting to settle their debt...except there was no meeting. It was a sting, and Chip was arrested on the spot, leaving Joanna to empty her shop's cash register to bail him out of jail.

In Chip's book Capital Gaines: Smart Things I Learned Doing Stupid Stuff (via InTouch Weekly), he admits that his immaturity almost ended his relationship with then-girlfriend Joanna when they were in their mid-20s.

Chip described an incident in which he left Joanna, then working as a bookkeeper, to fend for his three businesses while he took a trip to Mexico with some of his construction worker buddies. He admitted his "unconventional methods" left Joanna "sorely unprepared" for the work ahead of her, and people began demanding money that she couldn't readily provide for them. She gave Chip an ultimatum that ultimately changed his life.

"'You have three days to get back to Texas, or this relationship is over.' Her tone made it clear that she was not playin'. My heart broke," he recalled. He got back to Waco as fast as he could. "It became very clear to me that I had to grow up," he wrote. "It became my mission to prove to Jo, my parents, her parents, and myself...that I was the real deal." He proposed to her within six months of cleaning up his act.

The Waco Tribune-Herald reported that a neighboring business sued Chip, Joanna and Magnolia over a gate in 2016. At the time, the couple was reportedly leasing a vacant lot next to its businesses for parking, but when the lease expired, another company purchased the lot and charged guests $10 for parking. Chip then put up the gate, blocking access to their store, because he claimed he didn't want his customers to think they'd have to pay to shop at Magnolia. Daron Farmer, owner of the neighboring business that purchased the lot, sought $200,000 to $1 million for damages, as well as a temporary restraining order and removal of the gate.

The Gainses' attorney explained, "The gate is on the piece of property that is owned by Magnolia and AT&T, and it is not on Mr. Farmer's property... We are certainly open to talking with him about this situation in the future." A judge did not sign an order for the gate's removal, and the Gainses eventually settled the suit for an undisclosed sum.

In February 2017, a woman named Nancy Brown sued Joanna and Chip after she was allegedly injured at their Magnolia Silos shop. According to documents obtained by Radar Online, Brown argued that she "suffered serious permanent bodily injuries as a direct result of the dangerous condition created by the height and steel rods used for the canopies which are affixed to picnic tables located in an outdoor dining area... When attempting to sit down at said tables Plaintiff's had hit the low hanging and concealed steel rods thereby causing Plaintiff to suffer serious bodily injuries." The suit claims Joanna and Chip "negligently allowed the area to become dangerous" and seeks $100,000 to $200,000 in damages for "reasonable and necessary medical expenses." The Gainses denied any wrongdoing, arguing that Brown simply should have paid attention to her surroundings, Radar Online reported.

Chip previously hinted at past marital discord in an interview with their controversial Antioch Community Church (via Radar Online). "I remember that Jo and I would get into little pickles and we would find ourselves pulling against each other on that tug of war of life," he recalled. "And I remember again, very vividly, like it was yesterday, I remember Jo and I came together and we're like, 'We're not going to do that. We believe that was a lie from the enemy and when he would speak that she had done this, or I had done that, we would kind of dig into it."

In Chip's book Capital Gaines: Smart Things I Learned Doing Stupid Stuff, he admits that fame has drastically changed his family's lives.

"As Jo and I move through our crazy new life as semi-celebrities, well-meaning people are always telling us, 'Please don't change!' I wince each time someone says it to us. Guys, listen, we have changed. We are changing, and we're about to change some more," he wrote (via People). "It is quite literally impossible to build a company or go on national TV or have children and remain the same. What's never going to change? Our values, our priorities, our commitment to each other and our family. But I hope that literally every other part of our lives changes. I hope that every new season and situation of life changes me."

Another cause for a potential split, or at least tension in their marriage, is Joanna and Chip's differing opinions on expanding their family. They currently share sons Drake and Duke and daughters Ella and Emmie Kay.

During an October 2016 AOL Build Series talk, Joanna announced, "I'm trying to talk him into another child... He's not interested."

In June 2017, Joanna also told People, "I would love another baby—or twins! The kids are always asking me, 'Mom, can you have another baby?' But Chip thinks we're done." She added, "[Daughter] Emmie has never really wanted [a younger sibling], and now she's like, 'Okay. I want a brother or sister.' So I'm thinking that might be a sign." 

Chip quipped, "I think that's a sign that Emmie's lost her mind."