Joanna Gaines Says She’s Preparing Her Heart for a Big Family Change: ‘Everything Goes Fast’

Joanna Gaines is bracing herself for a major shakeup in her family dynamic — her kids are getting older and are moving on to new chapters of their lives. How is she handling this big change?

Joanna Gaines Said She Has to ‘Prepare’ Her Heart for One of Her Kid’s Big Milestones

In a January interview with People, the former HGTV “Fixer Upper” star shared that it was particularly hard when her oldest child, Drake, went to college. Now she’s preparing for Ella, 18, to take that step.

“I was so sad. I couldn’t believe how it hit me because [her husband] Chip always says I’m not super emotional. I’m pretty steady,” Gaines explained. “But, I think just the idea that I realize that one move out with that one kid, it triggers something now where it starts feeling everything goes fast.”

She continued, “How do I prepare my own heart for it?” Ella graduates from high school this year.

“It’s like you’re losing the one that you go on the weekends to get coffee with and shop at the antique stores,” the Magnolia empire owner shared. “I’m like, ‘Where’s my friend going?'”

Gaines added, “It’s just being okay with the shift and letting go of what was, and just being excited for what’s to come.”

Her son Duke is 16 and daughter Emmie is 15, so they’ll also soon be heading off to college. Gaines’ youngest son, Crew, is just 6 years old, so Chip and Joanna will still have a kid at home for quite a while.

It’s all moving fast, but Gaines shared she’s doing her best to make these moments with her kids last.

“Knowing that [the older kids] will be gone in the next few years, I’ve made a conscious decision to create micro-moments, to feel in the now with our family, just be really more intentional with our time together,” she explained.

Gaines added, “And hopefully, try and slow it all down a bit!”

Chip and Joanna Gaines Are Getting Fit Together

Gaines also shared a new hobby that she and Chip, are doing together — exercising in their “tiny home gym” with a virtual personal trainer.

“Last year I said, ‘Chip, let’s start working out because I want to be young for the kids.’ I feel like every choice I make now will affect me at 70, and I don’t want to wait until I’m 70 to be like, ‘Oops I need to fix some stuff,'” Gaines told People in an interview.

“I told Chip, we need to do something to make us stay strong,” Gaines explained. “And so we just got into this, and it’s a totally different thing for us. We’ve never worked out together before and now we do.”

They’re enjoying spending time together while getting fit. “It’s been this whole other thing, and it feels good to do it,” she said. “So it’s been fun — we’ve done so much together in the past that it’s like this whole new stage in our marriage.”