Chip Gaines is reflecting on aging in an essay for Magnolia Journal's Summer 2026 issue, calling anti-aging culture a “marketing stunt”
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He shares his fears about growing older, including becoming too set in his ways or losing his zest for life
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Gaines emphasizes valuing time and living fully over chasing youth, calling the “fountain of youth” a scam
Chip Gainesis not shy when it comes to his thoughts on aging.
TheFixer Upperstar, 51, got candid about the idea of getting older in anessaytitled “A Note from Chip on Adventure.” The personal letter is featured in theSummer 2026 issueof his and wife Joanna's quarterly magazine,Magnolia Journal.
Gaines begins his reflection by referencing the “fountain of youth” that he says he constantly sees people still getting sucked into on social media.
“But if you ask me, culture's answer to ‘staying young' is just one big marketing stunt. It's selling you this idea to buy into — literally — and says here are all the anti-aging products and regimens you need to protect your vitality,” he says, noting that he thinks the word “anti-aging” is extremely “backwards.”
Thedad of fivealso calls out the term “the golden years” to refer to life after retirement, when you're supposed to have the time “to do all the things and dreams your working years robbed of you.”
“The golden years. Really? Whoever came up with it must've been in advertising, not arthritis,” he jokes. “Sure, it sounds near perfect — a shimmering season of life when we finally get back our freedom-flinging years.”
He goes on to explain that while he's in his 50s, he's noticing how his body has been aging lately and how that's not a bad thing — whether that's “more of a slow roll” instead of feeling ready to “jump out of bed,” as well as “a few extra cracks and pops before I'm upright.”
Despite this, he's choosing to perceive the idea of growing older in a different way than those who are constantly chasing a “forever young” mindset.
“I still rise before the sun to feed animals and toss hay, but nowadays it takes a little more coffee, a little more grace,” he explains, referring to the Waco, Texas farm that he shares withJoannaand their kids.
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“I don't mind that one bit, but I will say that what is alluring to me about the whole ‘forever young' idea is less about avoiding stiff joints or gray hair and more about what no amount of anti-aging cream can give you: time.”
Chip candidly shares that what scares him most about getting older is “the temptation to let the back half of life lull me into dormancy. To be too set in my ways. To wait life out instead of living it out loud.”
He notes that he'd rather have a “life well lived” than constantly trying to chase the idea of being young: “Even if the time comes when I can't fix a flat, ride a tractor, or even walk up the stairs, I pray 80-year-old Chip Gaines is still kickin' in the ways that matter most.”
He concludes the essay by sharing bluntly, “The fountain of youth is a scam, so don't take the bait,” adding, “What if that's what you spent your days, these days, chasing? Not some unattainable promise, but something actually worth growing old for.”
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In an exclusive interview for PEOPLE's special edition released in July 2025,Chip & Joanna Gaines: Their Next Chapter, Chip revealed how he and Joanna like to stay present in their marriage andkeep things fresh after more than 22 yearstogether.
At the time, they had recently taken up dance lessons.
“[When we started] we didn't know how to hold our hands. It's hard to make eye contact with even your best friend and wife of 22 years. It feels really strange, awkward. But then after two or three weeks, we started looking forward to those lessons,” Chip said at the time. “It was this sweet reminder that all of us could use refreshes and challenges in our relationships.”
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