'We were broke': HGTV stars Chip and Joanna Gaines reveal they struggled to make ends meet before hit show Fixer Upper

By Heather Waugh For Dailymail.com

Published: 14:51 EST, 12 October 2016 | Updated: 16:31 EST, 12 October 2016

They are they hugely popular stars of HGTV's Fixer Upper which has been renewed for a fourth season. 

But life wasn't always so easy for married couple Chip and Joanna Gaines, who admit they just about scraped by when they were first married in 2003.

The couple discuss their humble beginnings in Waco, Texas, in the new issue of PEOPLE with Joanna, 38, recalling: 'I remember when we first got married the only money we had was what was in Chip’s pocket,'

Chip and Joanna Gaines - stars of HGTV's hit show Fixer Upper - have opened up about how they were broke at the start of their marriage and before finding fame

Chip and Joanna Gaines - stars of HGTV's hit show Fixer Upper - have opened up about how they were broke at the start of their marriage and before finding fame

'He always had a wad of cash, but we were broke. If I needed to go grocery shopping it’s whatever was in his pocket. That’s how we paid the bills.' 

Chip started out flipping houses when he was still in college so wasn't making a lot of money when he married Joanna, a fact which he was often reminded of by Joanna's father.

Chip, 41, explained: 'Her dad spent the first two years of our marriage asking me if I was going to get a job,'

'I remember when we first got married the only money we had was what was in Chip’s pocket,' Joanna, 38, recalled 

'I remember when we first got married the only money we had was what was in Chip’s pocket,' Joanna, 38, recalled 

'We were broke. If I needed to go grocery shopping it’s whatever was in his pocket. That’s how we paid the bills.' Joanna revealed

'We were broke. If I needed to go grocery shopping it’s whatever was in his pocket. That’s how we paid the bills.' Joanna revealed

'I was like, "I have a job and I like it."' he laughed.  

Now, the couple head up a huge home improvement empire that includes their own rug, paint and furniture line as well as retail store Magnolia Market at the Silos.

Also on the way is a new book The Magnolia Story, out on October 18. 

But no matter how successful they get, the couple - who were both raised in conservative Christian households - say they will always choose family over fame.

Tough gig! The goofy duo co-host Fixer Upper which has just been renewed for a fourth season

Tough gig! The goofy duo co-host Fixer Upper which has just been renewed for a fourth season

'All of this sort of fell into our laps,' says Chip. 'We were just living our life out here in little bitty Waco. We had dreams and aspirations like most folks, but this has really been something else.' 

Their big break came when a TV executive spotted some of Joanna's designs in a blog and offered her and Chip the chance a TV pilot about their lives as flipper-designers.

It earned huge ratings when it aired in 2013 and Fixer Upper is now one of the network's highest rated shows.

Life is good: Now, the couple head up a huge home improvement empire that includes their own rug, paint and furniture line as well as retail store Magnolia Market at the Silos

Life is good: Now, the couple head up a huge home improvement empire that includes their own rug, paint and furniture line as well as retail store Magnolia Market at the Silos

The couple share four children together, Drake, Ella, Duke and Emmie, and they both agree that keeping them occupied shouldn't be as easy as handing them a smart phone. 

'I tell the kids that you are probably not going to get a cell phone,' Joanna revealed in a separate interview with ET.

'We want to teach our kids that life happens outside of these devices. It's just a simple thing to go outside and connect with nature, play with your friends and get dirty.'

Got their hands full! The couple share four children together, Drake, Ella, Duke and Emmie

Got their hands full! The couple share four children together, Drake, Ella, Duke and Emmie

 

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