Joanna and Chip Gaines may have been married for 22 years, but there's no shortage of romance. The couple recently revealed how they've kept the spark alive over the years.
In an exclusive interview with People for a new special edition titled Chip & Joanna Gaines: Their Next Chapter, the couple opened up about their relationship. Surprisingly, the secret to their lasting marriage may lie in an unexpected place – dance lessons.
© Getty Images"What we’ve realized in 22 years of marriage . . . is we still feel like newbies. Anytime you unlock a new thing, and you do it together, it only grows your relationship," explained Joanna.
"I hired this couple; they came to our office and taught us how to dance."
However, it seems dancing wasn't something that came naturally to the couple. "[When we started] we didn’t know how to hold our hands. It’s hard to make eye contact with even your best friend and wife of 22 years. I feels really strange, awkward. But then after two or three weeks, we started looking forward to those lessons," shared Chip.
"It was this sweet reminder that all of us could use refreshes and challenges in our relationships."
Despite the initial awkwardness, Joanna stressed that the lessons helped the couple re-connect in their marriage. "I feel like dancing is the most symbolic way of talking about, as a couple, 'How do you stay in sync in life?' We do really good in real life, we have our rhythm. But with dancing we were so off, it was surprising. We’ve done everything else so well, but this we totally suck at! But it was beautiful," she said.
She continued: "You see insecurities, you see strengths, and it’s like, 'Oh, that’s a new awakening.'"
© Todd Owyoung/NBC via Getty ImageThe couple recalled their first dance lesson, during which Joanna couldn’t stop laughing. "Chip’s little feet trying to keep up! And then I’m stiff as a board. We’re just so bad," she shared.
In an attempt to defend himself, Chip explained that he's a "smooth" country dancer. However, the star ended up tripping his wife over during one lesson.
© Getty Images for SiriusXM"All this time I thought I was the coolest two-stepper. Back in college you’d go to these little dive bars, and you danced with the girls," he admitted. "For this guy [the instructor] to be calling me out, for Jo to be laughing hysterically the whole time, I’m like, 'What is happening?'”
The couple first met in Waco, Texas, and tied the knot in 2003 with an intimate ceremony at the stunning Earle-Harrison House in Waco.
