The HGTV star opened up about the challenge of balancing work and motherhood, sharing an emotional conversation with daughter, Ella.
HGTV star Joanna Gaines is an expert in all things home design, but when it comes to parenting, she’s still learning every single day.
During an appearance on “Joy 101 with Hoda Kotb,” the mother of five got real about a tender moment she recently experienced with her oldest daughter, 19-year-old Ella Rose Gaines.
At the helm of a home and lifestyle empire, Joanna always seems to have her hands full with new projects. And as she prepared to send her second child away to college, she started to worry that she hadn’t balanced it all quite as well as she hoped to.
“Mom guilt never goes away. It’s something you have to manage,” said Joanna, 48, before recalling an honest conversation she had while driving Ella to the airport.
“I remember crying a little bit and thinking, ‘OK, this is the moment I can just say I’m sorry for anywhere I wasn’t present,’” she recalled. “For months, what I was grieving was, ‘I wasn’t home the whole time.’”
Chip and Joanna Gaines are parents to five children; Drake, 21, Ella, 19, Duke, 18, Emmie, 16, and Crew, 8. (joannagaines/Instagram) Explaining that she was a “stay at home mom for a portion” of Ella’s childhood, Joanna feared she missed out on key moments as her professional life started to ramp up.
“I held that mom guilt of, is she thinking I wasn’t there enough?” she shared.
The “Fixer Upper” co-host went on to explain that she had created a “narrative” in which she assumed Ella had felt a certain way about her parenting, worrying she had spent too much time working.
Joanna offered an apology to Ella, hoping to have a “beautiful” moment of forgiveness. She was shocked when her daughter “kind of got mad” in response.
“She got upset and said, ‘Mom, are you serious? All you’ve taught me is I can do everything and anything,’” Joanna said.
Joanna shared some words of wisdom for parents of college-bound students after saying goodbye to son Drake and daughter Ella. (Joanna Gaines/Instagram) 
Joanna has become well-acquainted with the bittersweet feelings of college move-in day. (Joanna Gaines/Instagram) “The narrative she’s built up over the years is not the mom guilt that I’ve been holding,” the Waco, TX champion continued. “Instead, it’s one of strength and empowerment and beauty.”
Joanna described the moment as “life changing,” and from it, realized that it’s best to have conversations about these types of feelings.
“I should have brought that up three years ago,” she said.
While it seems as though Joanna is grateful for the learning experience, she still has a wealth of knowledge to share with fellow parents who may be looking to her for advice.
The entrepreneur recently shared some words of wisdom with fellow parents of college-bound young adults, drawing on her experiences sending both Ella, and her firstborn—21-year-old Drake Gaines—off to start their next chapters.
The Gaines children have largely been out of the spotlight since 2018, but Joanna occasionally shares insight on their home life. (Instagram/Joanna Gaines) “To all the parents sending their kids off to college… I know that feeling all too well,” Joanna wrote in an emotional Aug. 16 Instagram post.
“I’ve been on that side of move-in day… as hard as that goodbye is, there’s nothing more fulfilling than watching your kid grow beyond you—it’s one of the greatest gifts of being a parent,” she continued. “May you find joy, comfort, and gratitude in letting go.”
Joanna shared the sweet sentiment alongside a series of family photos, showcasing hugs, graduation caps, and packed suitcases.
Although Joanna and husband Chip Gaines, 51, often remark on their parenting journeys, they have largely kept their kids out of the spotlight since 2018. In addition to Ella and Drake, the couple are parents to Duke, 18, Emmie, 16, and Crew, 8.
The family has previously shared that Drake is pursuing a degree in business entrepreneurship at Mary Hardin-Baylor in Belton, TX, and that Ella is continuing her education at an undisclosed institution “across the country.”
It’s unclear what kind of a degree Ella is working towards, but she’s already boasting an impressive design resume. She joined her parents for a spinoff show, “Fixer Upper: Colorado Mountain House,” in which she put her skills to the test and owned a project.