Joanna & Chip Gaines Open Up About Their Success & How Television Played A Role

Joanna and Chip Gaines are opening up about the success of their Magnolia empire in a new feature with Variety.

The home renovators turned spoke to the outlet about what went into building their company, the unmatched success and what’s ahead, and also dished about being major Taylor Swift fans.

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On being a Taylor Swift fan: “I listened to it [Midnights] the day it came out. She actually sent me some sweats and her vinyl, so I was very excited. The girls fought over it, so we kind of rotate. We’ve got the hoodie and the sweats, so it’s like every other week. All I’m saying is yes, I love her new album, ‘Midnights.’ I think she is a genius.”

On their success: “We wanted to do these businesses, and television kind of oddly gave us the opportunity to do what was deep down in our hearts to begin with,” Chip says. “As a businessperson, it makes me feel wildly insecure. Did we do this because it was what we earned and what we deserved and what was right for us? Or did we get lucky and we got to do this, basically, because of television?”

He added, “Television was the spark — or maybe you’d argue it was the jet fuel that was poured onto the spark. Now Jo and I are just constantly fighting for ‘What’s the purpose of it all?’ What are we supposed to do as it relates to our kids? What are we supposed to do as it relates to this beautiful community?”

On why they choose not to have their images on anything for Magnolia HQ: “There’s some people that want heroin, but there’s a reason why we don’t give it to them,” Chip says as Jo shakes her head and cringes a bit at the use of the H-word. She offers a more eloquent response.

“When we were doing the construction and really dreaming about what the Silos could be, the biggest thing for us was getting an opportunity to help these families, these friends — all the people that are coming — create moments and memories together,” Joanna added. “We don’t want it to feel touristy. We’ve heard, ‘What if you put your face on this?’ We’ve just always been very opposed to that.”

Just recently, Joanna opened up about the bullies she faced as a child.