Fixer Upper writer apologizes to Chip and Joanna Gaines after claiming they don't put family first
It was last month when a Utah based writer, Daryl Austin questioned whether HGTV Fixer Upper couple Joanna and Chip Gaines had enough time on their hands to put their family first especially after their extremely challenging schedules.
However, the same author now had to eat his own words and apologize for his ignorance, after admitting that he was wrong to point out the Gaines couple as people who do not put their family above all.
Austin made headlines after he posted his article 'All the Moms' which was a critique of the Fixer Upper couple's repeated claims that they put their values and family above everything.
“There is much to be admired about them, including their commitments to their faith, marriage, family and community,” Austin said of the famous couple.
“There’s an important distinction, however, that I think their millions of fans and would-be imitators need to remember: Chip and Joanna Gaines did not get where they are now by putting their family first.”
Austin continued to point out the couple who share four kids, Drake, Ella, Duke, and Emmie Kay, with baby number five on its way, would definitely be finding no time to spend with their children in the middle of running their home improvement empire.
“This is just not possible,” Austin wrote. “And it does a disservice to the parents who really are putting their children first.”
After the article was released, Chip issued a statement on Twitter, where he slammed the writer for his ignorant allegations.
“I don’t know Daryl, & he clearly doesn’t know me. But for the record: If there is ever a need w/ my family (1st), I’ll shut this circus down so fast it will make your head spin.” He then added, “BUT Jo & I believe, w/ God anything is possible. Including having an amazing family AND a career you love.”
Once fans read Chip's statement, the couple's entire social media fan base came crashing down on Austin. Following the backlash, Austin published an apology to the Waco-based couple that appeared on Fox News.
“I didn’t write it to be hurtful, out of jealousy, or to cause controversy,” he began. “I wrote it for one simple reason: because I believed every word I wrote to be true.”
“All around me I witnessed poverty I’ve never known,” he explained. “Suddenly the parenting choices of two well-meaning American parents paled in comparison. Especially because as bad as it seemed to be for some of the children I met in Mexico, I knew in that moment that many children all over the world were suffering even more.”
He continued, “I realized how lucky any of those kids without parents would feel to have a mother and father like Chip and Joanna Gaines. I don’t know them personally, but I suspect they really are terrific parents.”
And although he did say that “I regret writing it,” he ended his article on a positive note.
“I’ve never backed down from anything I’ve written before now, but maybe progressing in my beliefs and doing better next time is what being a fixer-upper is all about,” Austin said.