Joanna Gaines Was 'So Sad' When Son Drake Went to College. Now She's Preparing Her Heart for Her Daughter to Ella Leave (Exclusive)

Joanna Gaines is mentally preparing for her daughter Ella to leave the nest.

The HGTV host, 46, shares in an exclusive interview with PEOPLE that she was very emotional when her oldest son Drake, 19, went off to college.

"I was so sad," she tells PEOPLE in this week's issue. "I couldn't believe how it hit me because Chip always says I'm not super emotional. I'm pretty steady. But, I think just the idea that I realize that one move out with that one kid, it triggers something now where it starts feeling everything goes fast."

"How do I prepare my own heart for it?" she continues, referring to her daughter Ella, 18, who is graduating high school later this year. "It's like you're losing the one that you go on the weekends to get coffee with and shop at the antique stores. I'm like, 'Where's my friend going?'"

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Related: Chip and Joanna Gaines Are Doing This Thing Together For the Time Ever: ‘New Stage in Our Marriage’ (Exclusive)

"It's just being okay with the shift and letting go of what was, and just being excited for what's to come," she concludes.

Joanna and her husband Chip Gaines, who wed in in 2003, share five children together: Drake, Ella, Duke, 16, Emmie, 15, and Crew, 6. With all of her teenage children transitioning into life as young adults, the Fixer Upper co-host also says she's made a conscious decision to make sure she slows down herself.

"Knowing that [the older kids] will be gone in the next few years, I’ve made a conscious decision to create micro-moments, to feel in the now with our family, just be really more intentional with our time together," she tells PEOPLE. "And hopefully, try and slow it all down a bit!"

Related: All About Chip and Joanna Gaines' 5 Kids

Joanna also adds that her youngest son Crew motivates her to stay fit.

"I told Chip, we need to do something to make us stay strong," she says. "And so we just got into this, and it's a totally different thing for us. We've never worked out together before and now we do."

She notes that they have a virtual trainer that they meet in their "tiny home gym" on Magnolia Farm in Waco, Texas.

"It's just us pushing each other and holding each other accountable," she says. "It's been this whole other thing, and it feels good to do it. So it's been fun — we've done so much together in the past that it's like this whole new stage in our marriage."

Read the original article on People