Joanna Gaines is on the mend.
The Magnolia Network star gave Instagram followers an update on her health, explaining that she recently underwent surgery for a decades-old injury stemming from her high school cheerleading days.
"I hurt my back in high school from cheerleading- basically a basket toss turned back injury and I've been dealing with it ever since," Joanna wrote on Instagram Dec. 21 alongside a photo of herself in a hospital bed rocking sunglasses and throwing up the peace sign. "I had my first microdisectomy in 2001 and had to cancel my second date with Chip Carter Gaines and then had the same procedure on another disc two weeks ago. I've always joked that my back likes to act up at the most inconvenient times and I was a bit stressed bc of the timing of it all with the holiday season."
The Fixer Upper star, also shared a glimpse at her recovery at home, sharing a pair of photos from a festively decorated living room, one with her hugging one of her kids and another of her view of the cozy fireplace.
"But I'm truly grateful for the forced rest during the busiest time of the year," Joanna continued. "It has been a gift to simply stay put, stare at the wonder all around, and just be still. Wishing you and yours a beautiful Christmas week. It may not all go as planned- but may you find the beauty and embrace the wonder of the here and now."
Joanna and Chip—who married in 2003—share sons Drake, 17, Duke, 14, and Crew, 4, and daughters Ella, 16, and Emmie, 12.
And although Joanna's back injury prevented her and Chip from their second date in 2001, the couple still managed to push through and nail their marriage—but the reality star wouldn't quite say it was love at first sight.
"For one thing, I was typically attracted to guys who were more on the quiet side," she explained in Magnolia Journal in 2021. "Based on our first date, it was clear that Chip was anything but quiet. He was all over the place, talking about the businesses he'd started, and these ideas he had, and how he was buying up little houses and flipping them, and I was wondering if he was just a bit crazy."
But in the more than two decades since, the home renovation duo have built quite a life—and lifestyle brand.
"Chip and I had already proved in our own relationship what can happen when I let something grow on me instead of making a snap judgment or an unwavering conclusion at first glance," she concluded the Magnolia letter. "Chip calls it my 'slow yes' and I've learned to trust it above all else in matters of both work and home."