Chip Gaines: "I felt caged, trapped" as the final seasons of Fixer Upper felt more "staged"

USA Today

Gaines tells Cowboys & Indians magazine that his and his wife Joanna Gaines' HGTV show was "so fun" for the first three seasons, but the final two seasons were "more of a job." "TV was a funny thing for me," says Gaines. "I’m an authentic, sincere person. So, as long as things are natural and organic, I’m in my element. But the more staged something becomes, or the more required something becomes, it boxes me up, and I felt like toward the end of the Fixer Upper journey, I felt caged, trapped." He adds: "Something about breaking out of that has been liberating. Jo and I are both just kinda giddy, just like, 'Man, what’s the future look like, and what’s the next step?'" Chip and Joanna last month announced a partnership with HGTV parent Discovery to launch their own cable network called Magnolia Network.