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Chip Gaines felt 'caged' during the final 'Fixer Upper' seasons

Wonderwall 2018-12-07 Mark Gray

When Chip and Joanna Gaines pulled the plug on "Fixer Upper," at the height of its success, fans were heartbroken and left wondering why the popular reality TV show was ending. In a new interview, Chip is answering that question, saying he felt unsatisfied in the HGTV show's final seasons.

"TV was a funny thing for me," Chip said in the interview with Cowboys & Indians magazine. "I'm an authentic, sincere person. So, as long as things are natural and organic, I'm in my element."

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We will be stocking store shelves with our January issue next week, but we couldn’t wait to give the non-subscribers a sneak preview: We’re thrilled to share #ChipGaines’ first-ever C&I cover. In a wide-ranging interview, one half of the dynamic duo behind #FixerUpper and the growing #Magnolia lifestyle brand tells us all about business, family, creativity, entrepreneurship, and his love of daily chores on the Gaines family’s Waco, Texas, farm. Are you ready to see the January issue of C&I?
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When the show was in its first few years, Chip said those were "some of the best" years of his life.

"But, the more staged something becomes, or the more required something becomes, it boxes me up," he said. "And I felt like toward the end of the Fixer Upper journey, I felt caged, trapped."

a person posing for the camera: Chip Gaines attends the Build Series to discuss the new book

The show ended after its fifth season.

"Jo and I couldn't figure it out," he said. "I mean, why? You're getting to have all this fun, right? But it's like if I put a camera in your face and said, 'Hey, say something funny.' Or if I put a camera in your face and said, 'Hey, be smart.'"

Although he seemed like a natural in front of the camera, Chip said he "just struggled with that environment. Especially at the end of it."

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Chip and Joanna, who share five children, look back at the show with happiness, despite those trying final seasons.

"The last two years, not that we don't look back on them fondly, but they were more of a job," he told the mag. "So, 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?' Because we're both business people, and that's fundamentally who we are."

Related video: You Will Want to Steal Chip Gaines’ Unexpected Family Christmas Tradition (via Us Weekly)