Chip Gaines and Joanna Gaines may have five children, but you’d hardly guess it by looking at their social media profiles. While the “Fixer Upper” stars frequently post about each other and their marriage, they mainly keep their kids out of the spotlight. “They’re so young and we want to give them the chance to have a normal childhood,” Joanna told People in 2016. However, there have been rare times we’ve seen their oldest son, Drake Gaines; their oldest daughter, Ella Gaines; and even the little ones. Duke Gaines, their third, is no exception.
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Born in May 2008, Duke got his driver’s license in 2024 — a feat Joanna couldn’t help but share with her Instagram followers. “Third time doing this and it still makes mama cry,” she captioned the video featuring snippets of her decorating their home for his 16th birthday and of him at the DMV and then driving home. Even though she showed her rarely seen boy, she still only captured him from behind, keeping most of his face from view.
When he was younger, Duke indicated he had inherited his parents’ entrepreneurial spirit. He even sold veggies and eggs with his younger sister, Emmie Gaines, out of a truck at one point. Joanna and Chip had no option but to go along. “We printed labels for them, and once a week they go out and sell,” Joanna told People in 2019. “They’re just like Chip: They don’t take no for an answer!” Despite maintaining his privacy, Joanna and Chip have shared snippets of Duke’s childhood here and there.
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Joanna Gaines showed Duke more as a young child
Joanna Gaines seems to have relaxed with time, as she posts her youngest, Crew, pretty often — though she still mainly blocks his face. While the oldest ones have largely remained out of the spotlight, she shared snippets of their childhood when they were younger. In 2019, Joanna shared that Duke Gaines enjoyed doing puzzles, sharing photos featuring him, his brother, and his father (seen above) attempting to outdo Joanna and the girls.
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A few days later, she also showed that Duke — then 11 — already knew how to fish with a photo of him by a lake with his sister. Even though she values her children’s privacy, the proud mother can’t help but show off her kids’ sibling bond. In 2017, she posted a sweet pic of Drake and Duke atop a staircase building something together. Joanna was so moved that they let them stall bedtime a little longer. “Ok fine… ten more minutes,” she wrote.
In 2018, Chip Gaines gave insight into his middle child’s snarky personality. In an episode of “Fixer Upper,” he revealed he and Duke sold scrap metal recovered from a work site to buy necessities for the family they were renovating for. But Duke wasn’t as pleased with the shopping trip and his father. “Shopping with my dad is kind of impossible,” he said (via People). A confused Chip asked for clarification. “Because you look at everything and you’re like, ‘Ooh we should buy this,'” the then 9-year-old told him.
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