After 22 years of marriage, Chip and Joanna Gaines are still finding new ways to keep their marriage fresh and exciting. In a recent interview, the Fixer Upper stars opened up about how they keep the spark alive — even after two decades and five kids.
Their secret to a happy relationship? Trying new things.
Joanna told People, “What we’ve realized in 22 years of marriage … is we still feel like newbies. Anytime you unlock a new thing, and you do it together, it only grows your relationship.”
Their latest “new thing” was taking dance lessons. “I hired this couple; they came to our office and taught us how to dance,” Joanna explained.
Sounds romantic, right? Well, it wasn’t as sensual as you might think.
“Just she and I with this couple,” Chip said. “You talk about awkward.”
Joanna replied, “Chip’s little feet trying to keep up! And then I’m stiff as a board. We’re just so bad.”
Despite their dancing challenges, Chip and Joanna really enjoyed the experience of trying something new — and they did get better as they took more lessons.
“[When we started] we didn’t know how to hold our hands,” Chip told People. “It’s hard to make eye contact with even your best friend and wife of 22 years. I feels really strange, awkward. But then after two or three weeks, we started looking forward to those lessons. It was this sweet reminder that all of us could use refreshes and challenges in our relationships.”
Joanna agreed with Chip’s sentiment, saying, “I feel like dancing is the most symbolic way of talking about, as a couple, ‘How do you stay in sync in life?’ We do really good in real life, we have our rhythm. But with dancing we were so off, it was surprising. We’ve done everything else so well, but this we totally suck at! But it was beautiful.”
Dancing isn’t the first physical activity the couple has tried together. Prior to taking dance lessons, Chip and Joanna started exercising with a trainer. “For the first time in our marriage, Chip and I decided to work out together,” Joanna shared on Instagram.
With more than two decades of marriage under their belt, the Magnolia founders have always put a lot of work into their relationship. It’s great to see that even after years of living together, working together, and raising children together, they’re not stuck in a rut.
