Few modern celebrity couples embody the fusion of family-friendly television and outspoken faith quite like Chip and Joanna Gaines. Once known mainly for their blockbuster HGTV series Fixer Upper, the Gaineses have since parlayed their brand into a lifestyle empire deeply rooted in Christian values. When the couple announced their latest Magnolia Network show, Back to the Frontier, a reality competition about families living like 1880s homesteaders, viewers expected another slice of wholesome Americana.
Instead, many long-time fans were stunned to see the show feature Jason Hanna and Joe Riggs, a married gay couple raising twin boys they had purchased via surrogacy. The backlash was swift, intense, and led not only by outside critics but by voices from the very Christian communities that propelled the Gaineses to stardom. Franklin Graham, Ed Vitagliano of the American Family Association, and legions of evangelical followers publicly expressed their disappointment, arguing that Chip and Joanna had betrayed the very standards that made them popular.
Yet some critics, including me, believe the outrage was not simply over the inclusion of a gay couple, but the double standard now at play. For years, the Gaineses publicly wore their faith and by extension, its traditional, biblical views on marriage and family as both “a shield and a banner.” Now, it seems, they want to enjoy the fruits of that identity while quietly pivoting to a secular, even anti-Christian morality. Based on their responses to criticism so far, they’ve been surprised by the whiplash they created with their core audience.
Wholesome brand, Christian values?
Chip and Joanna Gaines have painstakingly built a brand on the trappings of small-town values: large, bustling families, faith-based community, and what their Magnolia empire touts as “family-friendly” content. Their professional and personal narrative has always been deeply woven with their Christian beliefs, from openly discussing their attendance at the evangelical Antioch Community Church—which defends traditional marriage—to early statements about refusing to let controversy “distract from God’s plan” for their lives and family.
For many viewers, the Gaineses’ consistent reinforcement of these values was not only refreshing in the reality television space but also a critical source of trust and loyalty. This bedrock, however, became a lightning rod every time the couple was accused of exclusion or bigotry, especially by progressives. In those moments, their defenders rallied: It was precisely because of their conviction that millions of fans tuned in, bought their homewares, and filled the pews near their Magnolia headquarters in Waco, Texas.
From a branding perspective, they are disconnected from their audiences, and from a faith perspective, they are disconnected from what was once their core beliefs. To the Gaineses' defense, who are we to judge a “values crisis?” But we and they can’t ignore the fact that their fame comes with a responsibility.
Nonetheless, what this situation has brought to light is how difficult the concept of loving the sinner and not their sin can be for many Christians. In an attempt to showcase “love,” the Gainesses have fallen for a secular – and false – view of love based on emotions and “tolerance,” and not the deeper, true love found in Christ’s teachings.
Casting a gay family
The recent season of Back to the Frontier marked a clear and controversial departure from this playbook. Early in the series, Jason Hanna and Joe Riggs, along with their ten-year-old twin boys, are introduced, and their family structure and surrogacy process are openly discussed. In interviews about their role on Frontier, the men openly described their motivation for auditioning: they saw the show as an opportunity to “normalize” their view of marriage and acquiring children through surrogacy.
This alone makes this scandal not only about same-sex marriage, but also the acceptance of surrogacy, a procedure that, in this cas,e took two boys away from their biological mother and commercialized the creation of life. And let’s not forget that this process more often than not includes discarding unwanted or “extra” embryos, a euphemism for abortion. That is something that Christians and non-Christians don’t want to normalize. We condemn it absolutely.
In interviews with LGBTQ media, Hanna and Riggs expressed that part of their motive was to “normalize same-sex relationships” and advocate for adoption by gay couples. This intent speaks directly to decades-long debates within Christian circles over what constitutes a family, as well as the wider battle over how Christian media navigates diversity and representation. As Christians, we can love Hanna and Riggs as fellow sinners, but from that love comes a calling to desire the good for them – and to save more children from being manufactured in this dehumanizing way.
The “surprise” backlash
What makes the backlash noteworthy, and ultimately points to a double standard, is not that conservative Christians protested. It’s that Chip and Joanna acted surprised by it. The Gaineses positioned themselves as progressive bridge-builders, urging followers to “talk, ask questions, listen” and lamenting, “It’s a sad Sunday when ‘non-believers’ have never encountered hate or vitriol until they meet a modern American Christian”.
But he shouldn’t have been surprised. To critics who have watched their rise, the backlash is a predictable outcome. If your empire is built on a faithful, conservative audience who supported you precisely because you refused to cave to “woke” cultural shifts, is it fair or even honest to be shocked when these same supporters feel betrayed?
Joanna and Chip benefited, financially and culturally, from a fan base that perceived them as steadfast in traditional Christian convictions. The moment these convictions become negotiable, especially for what appears to be broader mainstream acclaim, the audience sees not just inconsistency, but a breach of trust.
The built-in conflict
The double standard becomes starker when examining how the Gaineses responded to previous critiques, such as those over church affiliations or the absence of LGBTQ representation on their earlier shows. In those instances, the couple doubled down on their beliefs, refusing to endorse anything that clearly contradicted Scripture as interpreted by orthodox Christianity.
Now, in a bid for greater inclusion, they publicly rebuke their own base for holding them to those values. As Franklin Graham noted, “While we are to love people, we should love them enough to tell them the truth of God’s Word. His Word is absolute truth. God loves us, and His design for marriage is between one man and one woman. Promoting something that God defines as sin is in itself sin”.
The subtext is clear: Having profited off “absolute truth,” the Gaineses now want the flexibility of relative truth. Their fans, for better or worse, won’t abide by that shift.
The true cost of brand ambivalence
Fan Disillusionment: The most loyal segment of the Gaineses’ supporters is left feeling alienated, hearing only veiled rebukes for values they formerly shared with the show’s stars.
Loss of Credibility: In the space where faith, media, and commerce intersect, credibility is hard-won and easily lost. The Gaineses’ attempt to walk both sides by appeasing progressive viewers while retaining their core Christian following ends up satisfying neither.
Setting a New Precedent: If celebrity Christians want to become bridge-builders, that “bridge” has to rest on honest foundations. Otherwise, every step forward triggers cracks.
Conclusion
The backlash against Chip and Joanna Gaines was never just about a gay couple on a reality show. It was about double standards: seeking the benefits of a clear, unwavering Christian witness until that becomes a liability, then pivoting, but wanting the applause and loyalty to continue unbroken.
Neither their critics nor their supporters are well-served by a selective faith. And while Chip and Joanna Gaines may have hoped their gentle encouragement to “talk, ask questions, maybe learn something new” would mollify their base, it has instead revealed how deep the rift is between cultivating a brand and standing by one’s convictions.
The lesson here isn't about homosexuality or inclusion, but about the corrosive effects of inconsistency and the responsibility that comes with Christian fame. Until Chip and Joanna Gaines decide whether they want to be America’s favorite Christian couple or simply another mainstream media brand, their fans will have every right to view their choices as double standards and in turn, to respond accordingly.
