Controversial Things Everyone Ignores About Chip And Joanna Gaines

Right before "Fixer Upper" took off, Chip apparently bought out his partners in Magnolia Real Estate Company. The big problem with this is that Chip didn't tell his former partners that he signed a contract with HGTV — and that, most likely, business for the real estate company was about to boom. This led to Chip's former business partner, Richard Clark, filing a $1 million lawsuit against Chip, claiming Chip defrauded him and another business partner, per People.

According to John Lewis, a former friend of Chip's and former partner in Magnolia Real Estate Company, once Chip got famous, he left everyone in the dust. "There was a sense of betrayal and frustration," John told People. "Once I had sold him my interest in the company and his show began to flourish, I never heard from him again." 

Chip dismissed these claims, and the lawsuit ultimately didn't go anywhere — though Chip was required to give a deposition in 2019 — but his former friends are likely still hurting from the situation. "I knew and understood at that point that he had gotten all he could out of our relationship and was done with it," Lewis told People. "[It] was already at that point of realization that our relationship was essentially over that I discovered that he had defrauded me and Rick."