Joanna Gaines confesses she has been having a ‘midlife crisis’ since her 18-year-old son Drake left for college – as husband Chip reveals she ‘cries all the time’

HGTV Fixer Upper star Joanna Gaines has been experiencing problems at home as she struggles emotionally with her son, Drake, who is in college.

She claims that as he moves into the next phase of his life, she feels like she is “going through a midlife crisis.”

Joanna says her husband and home renovation partner, Chip, told her she now cries “all the time.”

The 45-year-old mother of five discusses her emotional turmoil on the podcast This morning walk.

Drake headed off to college this fall after graduating high school and while they didn’t reveal which school he went to, it was far enough for him to leave home.

The mother of five claims that as her son moved into the next stage of his life, she felt like she was ‘having a midlife crisis’

‘I feel like I’m having a midlife crisis! Aren’t we all?’ Gaines told hosts Alex Elle and Libby Delana.

She revealed her crisis had taken both her and Chip, 49, by surprise.

“I’m not super emotional — Chip is the emotional one — but I’ve turned into something that he doesn’t understand now,” she explained.

“He says, ‘You cry all the time,’ and I say, ‘I’m just making up for the twenty years of being emotionless!’

However, the HGTV star enjoys getting in touch with her vulnerable side.

“There’s so much healing in not holding on to things… Now I just love crying,” she tells the podcast hosts. “It feels good to feel.”

Joanna says her emotions come from struggling with change, especially when it comes to her 18-year-old son.

“I’ve always said I don’t like change… I’ve learned to train a muscle I didn’t know I had,” she says.

The transition was bittersweet for the mother of five, who claimed, “It’s like holding sadness and joy in one thing.” Chip and Joanna are pictured here in 2016

While Drake has left the nest, Joanna and Chip still have four children at home: Ella, 17, Duke, 15, Emmie, 13, and Crew, five.

‘But my son is going to college, so that change is different as a mother.’

The transition was bittersweet for the mother of five, who claimed, “It’s like holding sadness and joy in one thing.”

Drake headed off to college this fall after graduating high school and while they didn’t reveal which school he went to, it was far enough for him to leave home.

While Drake has left the nest, Joanna and Chip still have four children at home: Ella, 17, Duke, 15, Emmie, 13, and Crew, five.

Joanna and Chip’s marriage has also been affected by this big change.

The superstar couple admitted things ‘shifted’ in their romance during a candid interview with People.

‘Jo and I are in this beautiful moment. We’re moving towards each other,” Chip said. “It’s the second part of our marriage.”

As their children grow older, Joanna and Chip wonder whether the kids will follow in their footsteps and renovate their home.

Joanna said, “As we get older, I change and become more like Chip, and Chip becomes more like me,” before adding, “We just see life differently now.”

In fact, having each other has helped them through this change.

“I think that’s the beauty of relationships in general. If Chip wasn’t my partner, I’d probably still be in the corner,” Joanna admitted.

‘From the moment I met him, he has always experienced change in a positive way. Even though it was negative, it was, “Okay. What should we do now?’

She added, “We’ve experienced so much change in our lives, and the proof is there: change is hard, but it’s always beautiful.”

As their children grow older, Joanna and Chip wonder if the children would follow in their footsteps and renovate their home.

“Of course at some point it would be so nice to have one or two of our kids working with us, but that’s certainly not what we say out loud to them,” Joanna said.

‘Chip is very good at saying, ‘You need your own identity. When you’re done studying, go do some things yourself. Learn some things. And if you want to come back years later and teach us, then ‘be here.’