Chip and Joanna Gaines Share the Secret to Their Marriage

Chip Gaines has one secret to his seemingly-perfect marriage to wife Joanna Gaines: “There’s no secret.”

The Fixer Upper star opened up about making things work with Joanna and their four children, Drake, 12, Ella, 11, Duke, 9, and Emmie Kay, 7, in the January issue of SUCCESS magazine, saying that he and Joanna are much more like the rest of us than HGTV cameras show.

“It’s hard work,” he said of his marriage. “Jo and I have struggles and fighting and arguments just like anybody else. This isn’t like we got lucky and hit the lottery and the two perfect people fell in love.”

Having the same ideals has been vital when dealing with their sudden rise to fame.

“We’ve always been on the same page when it comes to the things that matter most: our family and our values and how we want to raise our children,” Joanna said.

But because they “will always choose our family” over being famous, the Gaineses say they know they made the right decision when it comes to ending their hit show after this season.

“Despite the fact that this is extremely risky and maybe even a little bit irresponsible, I feel like it’s going to be the right decision for our family moving forward,” Chip said, “and we’re really optimistic about that.”

While they insist that they’re just like everyone else when it comes to their relationship with their family, the HGTV stars shared an anecdote that makes us think they might be a little bit more adorable.

Before Chip and Jo travel, they tell their kids: “No matter what, we choose you. You’re the most important thing in the world to your mom and your dad,” Chip said. “Right now, we have to go and do this particular thing or that particular thing, but we want you to know if you need us, if there’s something that comes up in your life, you tell us and we will leave whatever it is that we’re doing in a heartbeat.”

Fixer Upper airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET on HGTV

Photo credit: Facebook/Fixer Upper