NEED TO KNOW
- Joanna Gaines opened up about sending her second eldest child, daughter Ella, to college
- During an appearance on Today, Joanna shared that Ella has designed her own dorm room without her expert help
- She also said that seeing Ella off has been more difficult than saying goodbye to her son Drake
No shiplap in the dorm room!
Joanna Gaines’ 18-year-old daughter Ella might be entering her college era, but that doesn’t mean her interior design expert mother will be remodeling her freshman dorm. The Magnolia founder, 47, opened up about saying goodbye to her eldest daughter during a Monday, Aug. 19, appearance on Today.
“My oldest son is now a junior in college, and I feel like, ‘Hey, I’m getting the hang of it every time he leaves. It’s not as hard,’ “ Joanna said of her and husband Chip Gaines’ 20-year-old son Drake. “But then my second daughter, Ella, she left last week. So it’s still raw. I’m like, ‘Oh God, help me.’ “
The Fixer Upper alum said that Ella’s exit from the family home feels different, explaining, “She went farther and she’s my girl, so I thought, ‘Oh I have this down with Drake. I already know.’ But it’s different.”
As for her dorm decoration, Joanna said she was not involved in the process.
“She is very into design and she has her own, unique style, so I stepped back and I was like, ‘You show me what…’ and I let her do the whole thing,” Joanna said of Ella. “So, it was really what she wanted.”
On Aug. 14, Joanna posted a sweet photo of Ella’s bags packed and ready to go to college.
“Our little girl, all grown up. ✨🙏🏼🥹 #headedtocollege,” Joanna captioned the photo.
In 2019, Joanna shared some insight into Ella’s passions with PEOPLE, saying at the time, “Ella is like me. I think she’ll follow in my footsteps and have her hand in a lot of things.”
Ella has previously helped out her mom with her successful home renovation business. Joanna shared that Ella served as a temporary intern for her last summer while she and Chip took some time away from the business to refocus.
“One of my favorite moments that was so pivotal for me as a mother, but also as a business owner, was my daughter, my oldest daughter, was in on a lot of these conversations before our break in June, that I was having with the team,” Joanna shared on the Business of Home podcast in April. “She was interning with me, so she’d be in these meetings where I was like, ‘Y’all, I need vision. Like, we need to get back to why we’re doing what we’re doing.’ And so she was listening and she was interested.”
Chip and Joanna are also parents to sons Duke, 17, and Crew, 7, as well as daughter Emmie, 15.
In July, Joanna spoke with PEOPLE and shared that it was going to be harder for her to watch Ella leave the nest than it was watching Drake go to college.
“Ella, our second kiddo, she’s graduating this year, so we’re going through that again with another kid leaving the nest and trying to stay emotionally stable,” Joanna said.
“Do you think this is going to be harder [than with Drake?]” Chip asked.
“Yes. I think there’s an emotional difference,” Joanna said. “With Ella, we love to go to antiques shops, plant shops and go get coffee — that’s our rhythm. I kind of feel like I’m losing a friend in my everyday life.”
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