After years in the public eye, Chip Gaines has some thoughts about society’s perspective on aging.
The 51-year-old Fixer Upper star penned a candid essay about aging in the summer 2026 issue of his and Joanna Gaines‘ Magnolia Journal magazine. “Spend any amount of time on the internet or social media and you’ll notice a lot of people out there still buying into this ‘fountain of youth’ idea that’s been around since Alex the Great,” Chip wrote in the piece, which was shared on Magnolia’s website. “The myth has changed forms and hands over the centuries, from tantalizing ‘rivers of paradise’ to magical solutions that grant wishes of staying forever young, and I don’t doubt that, if faced with the theory, you and I would be quick to deny something so outlandish. And yet, there seems to be a part of that old folklore that has some staying power.”
He added, “I’d be willing to bet there are a decent number of us more curious than we care to admit about how to keep youth on our side. And more than a few of us still on that treasure hunt, looking for the way back to our younger selves.”
Chip noted that he thinks “culture’s answer to ‘staying young’ is just one big marketing stunt,” stating, “It’s selling you this idea to buy into — literally — and says here are all the antiaging products and regimens you need to protect your vitality. (Also, can we just acknowledge how backwards the word antiaging is?).”
The Magnolia Network star also criticized the term “golden years,” telling readers, “Whoever came up with it must’ve been in advertising, not arthritis. Sure, it sounds near perfect — a shimmering season of life when we finally get back our freedom-flinging years. But reality says to ask around or look within your own family tree, and written everywhere are stories of bad knees, early bedtimes, and a sense of humor about how ‘retirement’ feels more like the start of a slow decline than a victory lap.”
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Despite his criticisms, Chip said one thing that does allure him about youth is time. “When you’re young, it feels like you have limitless time (and energy) to build and create and learn all the things you’re destined to. You see nothing but runway to become the person you’re meant to be. It’s all fuel and encouragement to live every day at full throttle,” he wrote. “But the opposite is actually what scares the heck out of me: 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 continued, “There’s no changing the fact that we’re all getting older. Time is flying by, just like we’ve all been warned. So, if youth isn’t something we can actually hold onto or get back, then the question becomes: What is worth chasing?”
At the end of the day, Chip stated that “a life lived well is better than a young life, and living curiously today is how we stay curious tomorrow.” He shared, “If I train my mind and heart to do those things today, then surely my future self will thank me.”
Chip concluded his post by writing, “The fountain of youth is a scam, so don’t take the bait. But I’ll bet there’s something deep stirring within you that’s the truest thing you know — be it faith, a dream, a pillar of who you are. Maybe it’s love, or community, or your own personal philosophy. 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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