Writer Apologizes to Chip And Joanna Gaines After Criticizing Their Family Values
The writer who expressed his criticisms about Chip and Joanna Gaines' family values apologized for his previous statements.
Daryl Austin, the writer, who questioned the "Fixer Upper" stars' statements about their decision to put their family first on the USA Today blog, wrote that he already regrets writing the article.
In a new post on Fox News, Austin claimed that he never intended to write the article to hurt the Gaineses or cause controversy. He also mentioned that it was not written out of jealousy. But he claimed that believed each word that he wrote based on his own personal experience of running his own company for almost eight years.
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"The Gaines take on so many new responsibilities so often because they want to. Which is great. There just seemed to be a disconnect between the amount of time they say they want to spend with their kids, and the business decisions they make that appear to prevent them from doing so. I thought it was a valid argument worth exploring," the opinion writer said in his post.
He also stated that after he received a response from Chip on Twitter to defend his and Joanna's family values, he also received the ire of the reality TV hosts' numerous supporters, just as expected. However, he claimed that he was just trying to offer a different perspective about how it could be impossible for busy parents like the Gaineses to prioritize their children all the time just like what they wanted everyone to believe.
He also mentioned that he opted to shut down his haters by bringing his family to an out of the country vacation to Mexico. However, he realized during their trip that his opinion about the couple's parenting style might be wrong.
"I don't know them personally, but I suspect they really are terrific parents. I've never said or thought otherwise. And just because Chip Gaines chooses to spend his time differently than I do doesn't make him any less of a father," Austin stated. "Mine was a flawed argument that projected my if/then belief system onto another family. My intention was to start a conversation about what it actually means to put family first, but my means of doing so were way off course," he added.
While the writer did not completely retract what he initially wrote about the couple, he acknowledged the fact that he was wrong to criticize the couple for their values. He also said that he wanted to apologize to the family and claimed that he wanted to make himself a better person after the incident.
The "Fixer Upper" hosts have yet to release a statement about Austin's apology plea, but fans are hoping to see them bury the hatchet in the coming days.
Chip and Joanna has four kids together, including Drake, 13, Ella, 11, Duke, 9, and Emmie Kay, 8. Another baby is currently on the way, and Joanna is expected to give birth very soon.
The couple also said goodbye to the HGTV show for the moment because they wanted to concentrate on raising their children.
