Joanna Gaines is fixing up her emotions as she prepares for another one of her kids to head off to college.
The Fixer Upper star—who shares Drake, 20, Ella, 18, Duke, 17, Emmie, 15, and Crew, 7, with husband Chip Gaines—revealed that she might have a more difficult time saying goodbye to Ella than she did to Drake, who is already in college.
“Ella, our second kiddo, she’s graduating this year,” Joanna told People in a joint interview with Chip published July 8, “so we’re going through that again with another kid leaving the nest and trying to stay emotionally stable.”
After her husband asked her if she thought it would be “harder” to deal with Ella leaving home than their oldest, the 47-year-old didn’t hesitate, pointing to their special mother-daughter relationship inevitably changing.
“Yes. I think there’s an emotional difference,” Joanna responded. “With Ella, we love to go to antiques shops, plant shops and go get coffee—that’s our rhythm. I kind of feel like I’m losing a friend in my everyday life.”
