Overview

• Gaines posted an Instagram reel on August 9 showing homemade pizza, a group hug with her five children and her youngest’s motorbike joy ride to mark their last family meal before college
• Her son Drake, 20, has returned to his Texas campus for his junior year while daughter Ella, 18, has begun her freshman studies at an out-of-state institution
• In her caption, Gaines described a “wide range of emotions” and thanked the family puppies along with Crew’s motorbike for helping her work through them
• She reflected on losing the daily companionship she shared with Ella on coffee and shopping outings, saying it feels like saying goodbye to a close friend
• The farewell dinner highlights the Gaines family’s Magnolia Network ethos of prioritizing shared, screen-free experiences during life’s milestones