Chip Gaines Is Having a Lot of Big Feelings About His Upcoming Milestone Birthday: ‘Peter Pan Never Turned 50’

Chip Gaines is sharing how he really feels about turning the big 5-0.

When Drew Barrymore shared on her show that she felt “really excited about” ringing in the milestone birthday, the HGTV star, 49, shared that he felt the “opposite” about his.

“I didn’t know that there’s a real obvious [explanation],” Chip, who will turn 50 on November 14, shared. “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, you’ve always evaluated yourself through a childlike lens. Then it’s just like, how does that sort of co-exist with a 50-year-old reality?,” he explained. “I don’t know. I just feel sort of like conflicted.”

However, he noted that there are several parts of his life that he looks forward to seeing grow in this new decade, including his “five beautiful kids” — Drake, 19, Ella, 18, Duke, 16, Emmie, 14, and Crew, 6.— and his relationship with wife Joanna Gaines, to whom he’s been married to for 21 years. 

In response, Barrymore admitted that she also had a bit of “self- imposed … pressure” on herself as the birthday got closer — something which Joanna admitted she’s also experienced.

“I feel like my whole life’s just how do I predict? How do I control? I don’t want surprises and then of course I married Chip, who is all about surprises and spontaneity,” Joanna said. “So I’ve learned, especially as I’ve gotten older, that it’s just more fun to let go.”

“It’s one thing to try to control and just make sure, because I think we all feel short on time and there’s so much we’re trying to accomplish. But at the end of the day when I look back, I want to remember the moments. I want to remember [that] I enjoyed them,” she explained.

The couple previously opened up to PEOPLE last year about entering a new phase of their relationship, in which they’ve started to take on more of each other’s traits.

“I would say, as we’re getting older, I’m shifting and I’m more like Chip, and Chip is more like me,” Joanna told PEOPLE in a November 2023 cover story.

“Jo and I are in this beautiful moment. We’re evolving into each other,” added Chip, “It’s the second part of our marriage.”

Joanna noted that she’s learned to live more in the moment and be emotional, even it’s sometimes painful, while her husband is taking things a little easier and helping his partner shine. The Magnolia Network founder shared that the switch up could be chalked up to a “midlife crisis” but admitted, “we just see life differently now.”

“We’ve had so much change in our lives, and the proof is there: Change is hard, but it’s always beautiful,” she said.