“Saturday nights with my future Olympian. I think I finally found someone who likes practice more than I did.”
On Aug. 14, Joanna Gaines took to Instagram to share an emotional image, while Chip Gaines asked for prayers from their fans.
The image depicted the beginning of a difficult goodbye as her and Chip’s daughter prepares to leave for her first year of college.
While this isn’t Joanna and Chip’s first child to head off to school, in an interview with People, Joanna admitted that it has been different emotionally for her to say goodby to Ella than it was to say goodbye to their oldest son Drake.
"Ella, our second kiddo, she's graduating this year,” Joanna told People in the interview published on July 8. “So we're going through that again with another kid leaving the nest and trying to stay emotionally stable.”
"With Ella, we love to go to antiques shops, plant shops and go get coffee — that's our rhythm,” Joanna told People when explaining why it’s been emotionally different. “I kind of feel like I'm losing a friend in my everyday life.”
Although Ella has chosen to keep her life separate from her parents’ professional lives, Joanna has shared several posts leading up to their big goodbye.
READ MORE: Joanna Gaines feels like she's losing a friend as daughter goes to college
Earlier this week, Joanna shared a video of their final family dinner before Drake returned for his sophomore year of college before sharing the image of Ella’s bags packed and at the bottom of the stairs.
"It feels like what's coming this summer will be a tidal wave of emotions,” Joanna also told People, at the time, “and I am not going to brace; I'm going to stand there and take it with him."
Regardless of her own feelings, Joanna is thrilled to see her daughter at the start of what will be her own path.
"She's excited about going somewhere and just being known for her," Joanna told People. "She's like, 'I don't want anyone knowing that you're...I just want to go and be myself.'"
"I'm excited for her to learn. She's about to see some stuff. She's going to teach us stuff,” Joanna continued, and Chip agreed.
In addition to Drake, 20, and Ella, 18, Joanna and Chip are also parents to Duke, 17, Emmie, 15, and Crew, 7.
Fans gave Joanna words of encouragement as she braces for those inevitable emotions.
“I heard this recently: While living with us, we are our children’s anchor; when our children move away, we become their lighthouse,” one commenter shared.
“The hardest and the best thing you will do as a mom is to get them ready to leave you,” wrote another.
