(The Lion) — What changed? Was it money? Was it fame? Or were they compromisers all along?

It seems almost impossible to find a wholesome show for the whole family in 2025 – and reality TV stars Chip and Joanna Gaines aren’t helping.

This spring, the couple released a new show titled Back to the Frontier, starring what was labeled as the “modern day family” featuring two gay men and their surrogate children. The show’s goal is to serve as a social experiment, placing three modern-day families into a homesteading lifestyle from the mid-1800s.

Chip and Joanna Gaines’ claim to fame began when HGTV discovered a blog post about their home renovations in Waco, Texas. In 2013, Fixer Upper premiered on HGTV and quickly gained popularity with a message centered around faith and family.

In 2016, Fox News highlighted a People Magazine video in which Chip Gaines stated:

“Without God, for me, I’m not the best version of myself.”

Later in 2016, Chip and Joanna were heavily criticized for attending Antioch Community Church, whose pastor takes a strong stance on marriage being between a man and a woman. In a 2015 sermon, the pastor said:

“God defined marriage, not you and I. God defined masculine and feminine, male and female, not you and I.”

Chip and Joanna never responded to the backlash or publicly stated what they believed about the issue.

In 2017, things began to shift when the couple announced an exclusive partnership with Target for their home décor line, Hearth & Hand with Magnolia. That shift became even more evident in 2023, when Target featured “tucking” swimsuits for boys and chest-binding tops for girls in the children’s section during “Pride Month.”

Conservatives were bewildered by the couple’s silence. Fox News host Rachel Campos-Duffy commented:

“No one doubts that Chip and Joanna are good people – kind, moral, and aligned with American values. But if I had a line at a company and my name was on it, and that brand partnered with a trans-Satanist that makes tuck-’em bikinis for kids, I would feel compelled to speak up.”

Fast forward to this spring, when their new show Back to the Frontier premiered. In a podcast interview by Queerty, the gay couple featured in the show didn’t hesitate to say that their mission was to “normalize same-sex families” through the series.

It is no secret there is an agenda within media, entertainment and Hollywood to subvert the minds of young people.

Internet personality and political commentator Robby Starbuck tweeted in response to the show:

“For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” Promoting this show means cash > Christianity. When you reduce it to that simple truth, it’s eye-opening. I hope you correct course, Chip.”

After many Christians and conservatives raised their voices in concern over this perversion of family, Chip responded on X, stating:

“Talk, ask qustns, listen.. maybe even learn. Too much to ask of modern American Christian culture. Judge 1st, understand later/never
It’s a sad Sunday when ‘non believers’ have never been confronted with hate or vitriol until they are introduced to a modern American Christian.”

Marriage and family is not a subjective idea. It is a covenant and institution created by God Almighty. Biblically, a family is a man, a woman and children. Children deserve the right to both a father and a mother in a stable, loving home.

Chip and Joanna Gaines have been given a massive platform. They have an incredible opportunity to be a light in the darkness.

Matthew 5:13 is a great reminder:

“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.”

The question is: who will they serve? The world – or God?