Joanna Gaines shares emotional goodbye with son as he leaves for college: 'Never gets easier'
Joanna shares five kids with husband Chip Gaines: Drake, 19; Ella, 17; Duke, 16; Emmie, 14; and Crew, 6
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Joanna Gaines isn't ready to say goodbye to her oldest son.
The former HGTV star took to Instagram to share a photo of her hugging her oldest son, Drake, 19, as the two say goodbye ahead of his second year living away from home at college.
"Second year in college... saying goodbye doesn't get easier," she wrote in the caption. "Lots of love to all the parents sending their kids off to school this season."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Many of Gaines' fans could relate to her situation, flooding the comments section with their own experiences dropping their children off at college, sharing how devastating it was for them.
Joanna Gaines shared a photo (inset) of her emotional goodbye to her and husband Chip Gaines' son as he leaves home for college. (Nathan Congleton/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images | Joanna Gaines' Instagram)
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"So many emotions. I cried all the way home when all five of our children went off to college. Letting go is so hard," one fan wrote. Another added, "Did that MANY years ago. Still choke up thinking about it. Hardest part in being a parent…letting them fly."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The former "Fixer Upper" star previously shared she was helping move her son into his college apartment through a series of Instagram stories, giving her fans a tour of Drake's home away from home.
Over the course of the tour, Joanna revealed her son's drinking game, admitting she initially thought it was an innocent game as she panned over it in the video.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"Ring toss for good ol’ fashion fun," she captioned the video, adding her son corrected her, saying "Mom, this is a drinking game."
Joanna Gaines accidentally revealed a drinking game while giving fans a tour of her son's dorm room. (Instagram: Joanna Gaines)
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She also gave an inside look at some of the finishing touches she included in the apartment to make it feel more like home for Drake, including sneaking in one of her books, joking she was including it on his bookshelf "for color."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}In addition to Drake, Joanna shares four other children with her husband, Chip Gaines: Ella, 17; Duke, 16; Emmie, 14; and Crew, 6.
"Second year in college... saying goodbye doesn't get easier. Lots of love to all the parents sending their kids off to school this season."
The couple first discussed what it was like watching Drake move out of their home to People in November 2023, after he moved out for his first year of college. They shared that it shifted their perspective on raising their younger children, as it helped them to realize time goes by quicker than they thought.
"Something about Drakey going off to college really does make you shift your attention to Crew, who's on the tail end of all this," Chip told People. "And you're kind of living very intentionally because you know that — which is so hard to believe when you're holding a 1-year-old — 'Oh, this time's going to go by quickly.’"
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Chip and Joanna Gaines shared how their son leaving for college changed their perspective on parenting. (Cindy Ord/Getty Images for SiriusXM)
He continued, "Because it seems like time was standing still, at the time, but then when you see your boy go off to college for real — well, then, you certainly shift your attention to little Crew, and want to really practically live as if he were going to go off to college tomorrow, so we can enjoy and appreciate every moment."