Chip Gaines is turning 50. The longtime TV host has a birthday coming up on November 14th, and he recently spoke about the milestone while appearing with his wife Joanna Gaines on Drew Barrymore’s show. He may not be super enthusiastic about what’s coming next, but I gotta ask: Is it cool to say he’s in his Zaddy era yet?
He's not the only celebrity approaching or who just hit the big birthday milestone. Elizabeth Banks had a funny post for her birthday after hitting 50 earlier this year. Jimmy Fallon just hit 50. Barrymore herself is also turning the big 5-0 coming up, but she and the reality star have very different outlooks about what the birthday means. In the former child actor’s case, she’s kind of excited and open to what’s next, and she’s enthusiastic about turning 50. Gaines, however, is struggling a bit more, as he mentioned in a clip.
I feel opposite. I don’t know there’s a real obvious [answer]. I guess in my mind’s eye Peter Pan never turned 50, you know what I mean. When you’ve got this Peter Pan syndrome and you’ve always evaluated yourself through this childlike lens, then it’s like, ‘How does that sort of co-exist with a 50-year-old reality?’ I dunno. I feel sort of like, conflicted.
I’m honestly surprised to hear him lacking in enthusiasm about the celebrity birthday milestone. Chip’s a funny guy on TV and he’s generally in positive and playful spirits – as he notes here, he’s a perpetual “Peter Pan” personality. Plus, he seemingly has a great home life, recently hit a relationship milestone with Joanna, and has a lot of positivity going on the career front, as he did also make sure to note to Ms. Barrymore.
Now I will say, I am just madly in love with my five beautiful kids. Madly in love with Jo, it’s 21 years that we’ve been together.
As someone who watched Fixer Upper from the beginning and has followed the famous couple through their subsequent career after their HGTV show ended, this whole thing is a bit hard to compute. Chip Gaines was not even 40 when the show hit HGTV. It’s hard to believe 11 years have passed since that time. While the TV personality has aged like fine wine, it’s still difficult to wrap my head around how quickly time has passed, so on the one hand I get where Mr. Gaines is coming from.
On the other hand I have two words: Zaddy era. Christopher Meloni at 63 has fully embraced those two simple words, and he is thriving. All he had to do was show up to the set of Law & Order and wear a pair of pants that really showed off his assets. Our condolences to his family, who have had to deal with all the Meloni zaddy memes, but also I really have no regrets about this happening.
And Meloni isn’t the only Zaddy out there! Just look at Stanley Tucci, as Emily Blunt has reminded us. Or Pedro Pascal, who isn't a dad, but certainly has that zad(dy) factor.
Likewise, Chip Gaines is a man who has made fitness a priority over the years, running marathons and more and staying in shape on the job. He really knows how to pull off a toolbelt on TV (and as a sidebar once actually ran a marathon in a tool belt) and a suit coat during interviews. Maybe like Meloni, fully embracing the zaddiness of his existence is what should come next?
Bring on the memes.