Chip and Joanna Gaines on a Possible Return to TV: 'We Never Rule Anything Out'

The former stars of Fixer Upper open up about what the future holds

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Photo: Perry Hagopian

Chip and Joanna Gaines broke Fixer Upper fans’ hearts when they announced in September 2017 that the show’s upcoming fifth season would be its last. That reality hit even harder when HGTV aired its final episode of the home makeover series the following April.

And while there are plenty of other ways to get your Chip and Jo fix these days — including their magazine, The Magnolia Journal (published by Meredith, which is also the parent company of PEOPLE), their Hearth & Hand line for Target, and soon, Joanna’s new design book, Homebody: A Guide to Creating Spaces You Never Want to Leave, — a return to TV isn’t out of the question for the Gaineses.

“We never rule anything out,” Chip, 43, tells PEOPLE in this week’s issue.

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Perry Hagopian

“The show was amazing and we are so thankful for it, but it’s also a whirlwind where, if you are not careful, it will flat run you over,” he adds. “You can’t believe how out of gas you are.”

For the Gaineses, it wasn’t until after they wrapped the series that they realized how much they had needed a break.

RELATED VIDEO: Chip Gaines on Having Another Baby with Joanna: ‘Don’t Be Surprised If No. 6 Is in the Cards!’

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Perry Hagopian

“Being in front of the camera is a different experience than running a business, and we run businesses. That’s who we are,” Chip explains. In addition to their ever-expanding Magnolia Market at the Silos destination in Waco, Texas, they also have their home renovation business, a real estate company and myriad product lines and partnerships.

For now, they’re enjoying the freedom that comes with being out of the HGTV spotlight and are embracing the unexpected — like welcoming their fifth child, Crew, in June. “That’s what I love about life. It’s these surprises, and at first you sit there and go, ‘How does that fit?’” says Joanna, 40. “And now that it’s all happened I can’t imagine life any other way. I’ve never been so happy.”

Homebody: A Guide to Creating Spaces You Never Want to Leave is available Nov. 6.

For more on Chip and Joanna Gaines, pick up the latest issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday.

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