Fixer Upper stars Chip and Joanna Gaines’ marriage may be breaking down in the wake of a scandal that saw them called out by evangelical Christian kingpin Franklin Graham, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
The goody-goody power couple, who belong to the conservative evangelical Antioch Community Church in Waco, Texas, drew major heat this summer for featuring a same-sex couple on their new reality show, Back to the Frontier, in which three families live like 1800s homesteaders. The series aired this summer on Magnolia, the network the Gaineses cofounded, and on Max.
Franklin, son of the late Christian bigwig Billy Graham, called the inclusion of Jason Hanna and Joe Riggs, along with their 10-year-old twin sons, on the show “very disappointing.”
Chip Fires Back At The Backlash
Franklin Graham condemned Chip and Joanna Gaines for featuring a same-sex couple on ‘Back to the Frontier.’
Graham publicly condemned Joanna and Chip for featuring them, posting on X, “[God’s] design for marriage is between one man and one woman. Promoting something that God defines as sin is in itself sin.”
Others joined in, blasting Chip, 50, and Joanna, 47, as “sell-outs” for “promoting homosexuality” and abandoning their Christian beliefs. One claimed, “It’s not compassionate or loving to normalize the purposeful loss experienced by two motherless boys.”
But a fed-up Chip fired back at Franklin and the couple’s other critics.
“It’s a sad Sunday when ‘non believers’ have never been confronted with hate or vitriol until they are introduced to a modern American Christian,” he posted on X, adding a heartbroken emoji.
‘Tension’ Between The Two
Joanna reportedly questioned Chip’s decision to fire back at Graham amid the controversy.
But despite his bravado, the Bible Belt backlash has the Gaineses, who’ve built an empire worth a reported $50 million, battling between themselves over whether to dig in or give in to the mounting pressure, said a source.
For starters, Joanna is peeved at the way Chip fired back at Graham, the insider said.
“It’s not that she is less tolerant than Chip, but she questioned his wisdom and business sense” in responding so brusquely, said an insider, who notes the two are forced to constantly walk a tightrope between appealing to their longtime conservative fans versus attracting a wider audience.
“There’s been a lot of tension of late,” a source said. “There were some cracks in their marriage before this, but the scandal has opened those weak points and brought it all to a head.”
Chip Admitted To Having Challenges In His Marriage
Joanna admitted on a July 29 podcast, balancing marriage and work has been difficult since their early years.
Insiders report the former HGTV stars weren’t in the best place to begin with when the issue erupted, even though they celebrated their 22nd wedding anniversary in May and have five children ranging in age from 7 to 20 years old, daughters Emmie and Ella and sons Crew, Duke and Drake.
During a July 29 podcast, Joanna confessed that juggling their many commitments “is hard” and that they were “struggling for the first 12 years of marriage.”
“We’ve had our challenges,” Chip admitted.
Sources said the spouses, who want to pursue different strategies for navigating this most recent imbroglio, are likely to find a solution, having already overcome so many obstacles.
“They’ve come so very far,” shared an insider.
“That sort of success changes you and makes it hard to stay true to yourself and who you were when everything started. Sometimes, I think it’s a miracle, given all of that, that they’ve lasted this long.”
Insiders said Chip and Joanna are expected to weather the current backlash despite rising tensions.
