Joanna Gaines is trying to keep it cool now that her eldest son Drake has come back home for the summer.
Last year, the former HGTV star was candid about what an emotional transition it was to see Drake become the first of her five kids with Chip Gaines to leave for college, when he enrolled at Baylor University, not far from the family’s home in Waco, Texas.
In addition to Drake, the Magnolia founders, who recently celebrated their 21st wedding anniversary, also share kids Ella Rose, 17, Emmie Kay, 14, and Crew, five.
During an appearance on The Kelly Clarkson Show on Monday, June 17, after host Kelly Clarkson asked about Drake’s return home following his first year away, Joanna gave a sweet, and relatable, update.
“He is going into his second year, he’s home for the summer,” she shared, before admitting: “I mean, I lost it last year.”
She then joked: “This year, even for the summer, I’m trying to play it cool like, ‘You gonna be home tonight or…?’ Just you know, so he doesn’t think I’m like, obsessed.”
© Instagram“He’s home for the summer and my favorite thing to do is cook for these kiddos,” she went on, and as she looked back on Drake’s departure, and noted that she’s not “really an emotional person,” Chip quipped: “When you got emotional, I didn’t know what to do with it.”
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“I just cried in the quiet, nobody knew, but I’m better, I mean, it took a year,” Joanna further joked.
© InstagramAhead of Drake’s departure for college last year, Joanna penned an essay for her Magnolia Journal magazine reflecting on the difficult transition.
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© Instagram“Soon, our oldest son, Drake, will be leaving home for college. In the grand scheme of heartbreaking things, this one comes with a lot of gratitude and excitement,” she said at the time.
© Instagram“But still, my first child is moving away,” she continued, noting: “And our family dynamic will change because of it, and that can feel like a loss of its own.”
“I catch glimpses now of what that life will look like and wonder if — or how many times — that might bring me to the floor.”
