Chip and Joanna Gaines seem determined to quell divorce rumors by any means necessary. The former “Fixer Upper” hosts were on the cover of a special edition of People, which had all the markings of running damage control. They were featured sitting on a patio table together with the title: “Chip and Joanna Gaines — Their Next Chapter: Marriage 2.0” plastered across the cover. Chip was seated on the bench, and Joanna, on the table, as the couple looked rather uncomfortable next to one another.
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To promote the cover story, Joanna shared it to her Instagram page. The uneasy-looking photo coupled with the odd phrasing of the headline had fans wondering if Chip and Joanna’s marriage was on the rocks. “Just curious about ‘marriage 2.0’. What is that? Did they split & get back together?” one Instagram user asked. Others pointed out that “The Stories We Tell” author often seems distant toward her husband. “I wish she showed more emotion for Chip,” a fan wrote. “Chip looks so uncomfortable,” another added.
The cover story itself was littered with subtle red flags about the Magnolia Network couple’s marriage. A large chunk of it centered on Chip and Joanna invigorating their marriage by embarking on a new hobby together: dance lessons. “I hired this couple; they came to our office and taught us how to dance,” Joanna told People. “Just she and I with this couple. You talk about awkward,” Chip added. Chip said it took several weeks to get comfortable holding strong eye contact while dancing with his wife. The contrived cover photo, and story about “awkward” dance lessons, all rang like a last-ditch effort for a struggling couple. Of course, there have been other signs of marital woes leading up to the “Marriage 2.0” piece.
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Joanna Gaines snubbed her husband
Just weeks before their cover shoot, there were indicators that Chip Gaines and Joanna Gaines had marriage issues, as she snubbed him on Father’s Day. Taking to Instagram, Joanna posted a touching tribute to her own father. “To an amazing girl dad, husband, grandfather, friend, businessman and a hippie at heart—you have taught us so much. Happy Father’s Day!” she wrote in the caption. The first slide in the four-photo post was a snap of Joanna with her mom, dad, and sisters, and she included three other family pics. Not only was Chip not mentioned in the caption, but he was also nowhere to be seen in the photos. While it was obviously thoughtful for Joanna to give a shoutout to her own dad, she usually finds a way to incorporate her husband, as well. For Father’s Day 2023, the former HGTV host posted a pic of her pops, Chip, and his dad to Instagram. “Three of the very best. What a legacy,” Joanna wrote.
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The cracks in their marriage may have started to show, but the “Fixer Upper: The Castle” hosts previously said they would not consider divorcing. “One thing that I would say is our superpower is that Jo and I are not quitters,” Chip said during a joint Access Hollywood interview with wife Joanna in July 2021. “[T]hat divorce or leaving one another is not really an option for us,” Chip said, mentioning that the couple came to that consensus early on. That mindset may also mean that, even if their marriage had become a “Fixer Upper” itself, the pair would be hesitant to split.
