When Chip Gaines and Joanna Gaines first became public figures as the stars of “Fixer Upper,” the two were parents of four: sons Drake and Duke Gaines, and daughters Ella and Emmie Gaines. The couple went on to expand their brood in 2018 with son Crew Gaines, and for the most part, their kids have been kept out of the spotlight. However, every now and then the Magnolia stars share a glimpse of their family — and my, how they’ve all grown!
In the years since their mom and dad shot to fame, the Gaines kids have made the odd appearance on their parents’ shows. In fact, some may even recall that in 2018, the older kids assisted with the reveal portion of one of their parents’ “Fixer Upper” projects. Duke was also part of the team in one of the 2021 episodes (an episode that saw a then-3-year-old Crew join the family as well), and Drake has also made the odd cameo, joking around with his dad. However, one of the instances when the whole family spent significant time together on camera was for a 2020 episode of “Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man.” In that interview, both Drake (then 15) and Emmie (then 10) posed questions of their own to Emmanuel Acho.
Of course, a lot of time has passed since then, and some of the kids are officially adults. So, without further ado, let’s take a look at their transformations.
Drake Gaines is in college
Just under a year after their appearance on “Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man,” Drake Gaines took his first big step into the world: earning his driver’s license. Speaking to People, Chip Gaines spoke about the milestone, but not without poking some fun at his wife. “I was so excited leading up to it, and Jo was too, kind of. Then we get this kid his license, and the first morning he goes to drive, Jo bawls her eyes out. She was just devastated and wanted no part,” he quipped.
As for Joanna, she’s never hidden the fact that seeing her oldest son growing up has been bittersweet. In 2022, she even wrote a sweet blog post for Magnolia describing how she was feeling about her son leaving the nest. “Soon, our oldest son, Drake, will be leaving home for college. In the grand scheme of heartbreaking things, this one comes with a lot of gratitude and excitement. But still, my first child is moving away, and our family dynamic will change because of it, and that can feel like a loss of its own,” she wrote. Drake began college at Mary Hardin-Baylor in 2023.
While Joanna seemed to find some peace in being able to decorate her son’s new apartment (though she did joke to “Today” that he typically added things once she left), she shared in an August 2024 Instagram update that she still struggled with post-vacation farewells. “Second year in college … saying goodbye doesn’t get easier,” she wrote. Even so, the college baseball player still seems to love visiting home. Case in point: the June 2025 Instagram video of him and Duke Gaines racing around the farm on a mini-motorcycle while Crew Gaines jumps out of a tree.
Joanna admitted to being worried about Ella Gaines moving out
As with Drake Gaines, Joanna Gaines didn’t hide how worried she was about sending her second-born off to college. In fact, she shared that she thought it might be even tougher on her as a mom. After all, despite Ella Gaines being rarely seen on the show, Joanna said her oldest daughter is definitely her mini-me.
“With Ella, we love to go to antiques shops, plant shops and go get coffee — that’s our rhythm. I kind of feel like I’m losing a friend in my everyday life,” Joanna said in a July 2025 People interview. Sure enough, Joanna had previously told People that she and Ella connected over similar things. “Ella is like me. I think she’ll follow in my footsteps and have her hand in a lot of things. Right now she wants to cook, be a lead designer and have a donut truck,” she’d said in 2019. In 2025, Ella put all those skills to good work by surprising her mom for her birthday. “Some time between 12- 7am my little fairy daughter Ella waved her magic wand and did all of this for my birthday weekend. … I woke up to my very favorite things on the table and a delicious breakfast that she made from scratch,” the proud mom gushed on Instagram.
At the time of writing, Ella’s parents haven’t revealed what she’s studying, but Joanna has shared glimpses into their new stage of life, including a sweet video of Ella’s high school graduation. She also hinted at her coping mechanisms on Instagram, writing, “So hard to believe we’ll have two kids in college this August. I’ll be soaking up this season the best I know how — starting with this summer bouquet from the garden.”
Joanna got choked up when Duke Gaines learned to drive
Back to driver’s licenses, Duke Gaines got his on his 16th birthday, and while Joanna Gaines already had some practice getting used to a more independent teen, she admitted in an Instagram post that, as with Drake and Ella Gaines, she’d been super emotional about it. “Third time doing this and it still makes mama cry,” she wrote underneath a video that included a snap of a proud Chip Gaines beaming as their son filled out paperwork. The video also included a look at another of Joanna’s birthday setups, and eagle-eyed viewers may have spotted some of his siblings getting involved with the balloon placement.
Despite getting older, Duke is often seen on his mom’s Instagram hanging out with the rest of the family. In fact, some fans were particularly taken with a video of him helping Joanna in the kitchen. “A teenage boy helping his mom cook!?! The sweetest!” wrote one. “Every mama with a little boy right now is watching this and hoping one day their teenage son will want to do the same,” gushed another.
Granted, Chip has also poked fun at some of the times Duke wasn’t super thrilled to hang out with his parents. Case in point, a 2021 episode of “Fixer Upper: Welcome Home” when a 13-year-old Duke made a rare appearance on his parents’ show and was tasked with helping his dad find something cool in an abandoned shed. Despite his dad’s enthusiasm, Duke wasn’t budging. “Nothing’s cool in here,” he lamented in a clip Chip shared on his Instagram. “When ‘bring your kid to work day’ goes terribly wrong … Sorry about that Duke!” he quipped in the caption. Luckily, the father and son managed to find one kind of interesting item: an unused casket.
Emmie Gaines is growing up fast, too
“Fixer Upper” fans may remember Joanna Gaines sharing updates on her daughter’s drawings (including on bathroom counters) when she was still little, but like her siblings, she’s growing up fast. In fact, in January 2025, Joanna shared an emotional Instagram caption in honor of her and Chip Gaines’ youngest daughter turning 15. “F I F T E E N … How is our baby girl already 15?” the proud mom gushed, before listing the things she loved about her. “Emmie Kay is JOY. She is FUN. She is ever so LOVELY. What a gift she is to our family,” she wrote. As with her older siblings, Emmie got a stunning birthday setup. This time, it was baby brother Crew Gaines who assisted with the décor, and in Joanna’s Instagram video, he could be seen arranging silver balloons spelling out “Happy birthday,” as well as bringing a bunch of pink and white helium balloons into the family’s Waco, Texas, farmhouse.
Another detail Emmie had in common with her older brothers and sister? Getting that driver’s permit right around her birthday. “She gets her driver’s permit tomorrow,” Joanna shared in her birthday post. Granted, perhaps because it was just her permit and not yet her license (or maybe because she’d already gone through it three times by that point), Joanna didn’t go into detail about how tough that was as a mom.
Like her other siblings, Emmie can be seen from time to time on her parents’ social media, making brief appearances in holiday prep videos and on family trips.
Crew Gaines is his mom’s shadow
For many years, Emmie Gaines was the baby of the family, but in 2018, Chip Gaines and Joanna Gaines revealed that they were expecting their fifth child together. They welcomed Crew Gaines to the family that summer, and not long after that, the couple gushed over adding to their brood in an interview on “Today.” At the time, Joanna said that Crew was helping to slow down time for them — and given just how emotional she’s been with their older kids leaving the nest, we bet she’s been even more grateful for that as time has gone on.
Out of his siblings, Crew is the most regularly seen of the Gaines kids. A major reason for that is he seems to be his mom’s shadow. Joanna regularly shares snaps and videos to Instagram of Crew helping her out in the kitchen, so much so that on occasion, she’s referred to him as “my sous chef.” Joanna has also shared videos of Crew helping her with her day-to-day to-do list, and as many will know, he played a major role in her book, “The World Needs the Wonder You See,” too. In fact, when she got her first copy of the book in January 2025, she shared in an Instagram caption, “This book is his as much as it’s mine.” Joanna went on to share that he’d been given a special honor: being the first person to have seen the book other than her. “He loved every minute of seeing how it all came to life,” she wrote.
It’s clear that Chip and Joanna are exceptionally close with all their kids, and that even as they get older, the entire Gaines family loves spending time together. We love to see it!
