Chip and Joanna Gaines Sued for $1 Million

David Vigliano claims the reality-TV home designers reneged on a five-book deal.

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Looks like Chip and Joanna Gaines are in a bit of a fix.

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A former literary agent for the reality-TV home designers reportedly sued them for breach of contract. He’s seeking at least $1 million after they allegedly reneged on a five-book deal.

Their ex-agent, David Vigliano, who was a third party in the deal with HarperCollins Publishers LLC, launched the suit. He was a third party in the five-book publishing deal the Gaines’ signed in 2017.

The Wall Street Journal, the website for which is behind a paywall, broke the story two days ago.

According to TMZ, his suit alleges that the first two books went according to plan. Then, however, Chip and Joanna Gaines allegedly “concocted a scheme” to try to change the terms of the deal.

Specifically, the couple reportedly tried to scrap one of the five books and make Chip, instead of Joanna, author of one of them.

The Gaines formerly starred on HGTV’s Fixer Upper, which lasted five seasons. They then moved to Discovery+ for a revival of the program, called Fixer Upper: Welcome Home.  

The suit reportedly says: “Joanna and Chip Gaines brand themselves as moral Christians who purportedly operate in an ethical manner … nothing could be further from the truth.”

Life with the Gaines Family

Joanna Gaines and her husband, Chip, head up home decorating shops in Waco, Texas. They have five children.

They launched their own Magnolia Network in addition to their shopping mecca in Waco, Magnolia Market at the Silos.

Ganes released a home design guide, Homebody: A Guide to Creating Spaces You Never Want to Leave, in 2018. Before that, she and her husband wrote a joint memoir entitled The Magnolia Story.

Joanna Gaines wrote two children’s books, We Are the Gardeners and The World Needs Who You Were Made to Be

Joanna Gaines also has her own podcast. She recently revealed on an episode — with her mother in the studio — that strong weed was the reason why her parents bonded.

Perhaps Gaines developed the courage to spill details about her life and career after recently releasing her new memoir. Like her podcast, it’s titled The Stories We Tell.

Gaines explained in a recent Instagram post why she decided to release the book.

“I’ve been longing for clarity about what I should carry forward and how I could hold this next chapter well,” she wrote. “At some point, I realized I was writing a story — my story. The bits and pieces that shape who I am. It was messy and winding and beautiful, and graciously revealed about a million wonders. Some of it broke my heart — and some of [the memoir] pieced [memories of her life] back together.”

Gaines added that she hopes “any part of [her] story might shine a light on the fullness of [other people’s lives].”

READ MORE: “Meet Chip and Joanna Gaines’ Children

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