Photo: Joanna Gaines Instagram; Cindy Ord/Getty Images
Joanna Gainesknows there’s nowhere like New York!
OnInstagramWednesday, the 43-year-old Magnolia mogul reflected on what it meant to see her brand’s billboard lit up in the heart of Times Square, promoting theMagnolia Network launchon Jan. 5.
“Never in a million years would I have thought something like this could happen—in Times Square!” Gaines began, contrasting a clip of the ad with a throwback photo from her first visit to the Big Apple years ago.
“On that trip, something in my heart told me I would live there one day and sure enough, I moved back for an internship in television my last year in college. The irony is that while I was there, I fell in love with the small boutiques I’d frequent on the weekends — they felt the most like home to me,” the Baylor University alum explained.
“My dreams and passions started to shift while I lived there and when I got home, I decided to pursue a different direction,” Gaines revealed. “I felt so guilty for shifting gears because I had spent five years in college studying television.”
Joanna Gaines Instagram
Looking back at the past while celebrating the future, she summed up seeing her sign in Times Square as “so surreal and a full circle moment for me and a reminder that nothing is ever wasted,” thanking fans for “helping make our wild dreams come true.”
On Jan. 5, 2022, the existing DIY Networkwill be rebrandedas Magnolia Network in conjunction with the cable premiere of new seriesFixer Upper: Welcome Homeat 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT.
Magnolia Network’s slate will feature other original series such asMagnolia Table withJoanna Gaines, Restoration Road with Clint Harp, Home Work, The Lost Kitchen, Family Dinner, The Johnnyswim Show, Super Dadand more, in addition to the pre-existing, five-seasonFixer Upperlibrary.
Nathan Congleton/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty
In February,PEOPLE reportedthat the Gaines’s network launch would have to be pushed to 2022 after some unforeseen challenges due to production delays stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Our original plan was to launch in cable and follow in a streaming environment, but the most unconventional of years dealt us challenges and opportunities we never could have foreseen,” Magnolia Network President Allison Page said in a release at the time.
Chip and Joanna also shared a statement about the news. “From the beginning, our aim for Magnolia Network has been to tell good stories. Stories that bring us together, that inspire and encourage us all to try something new. Stories that are told in ways that feel authentic. Our plan has evolved along the way, but our original vision for this network has remained the same.”
source: people.com
