What It Was Really Like to Go ‘Back to the Frontier’ With Chip and Joanna—One Family Tells All (EXCLUSIVE)
No phones, no electricity, no DoorDash—just grit. Could your family do what the Lopers did?
Stacey and Joaquin Loper had grown tired of the hustle and bustle of everyday life, so they did what any normal parents would do and took their family back in time to the 1800s—Well, sort of. Today on Max, this family makes their debut on the all-new series from the minds of Chip and Joanna Gaines, Back to the Frontier. Alongside two other families looking to gain a new perspective, these American families go back to the basics, spending eight weeks living like 1800s homesteaders. That’s right—no phones, no electricity, no running water and a complete lack of modern luxuries that we’ve grown accustomed to in the 21st century. While now, Stacey and Joaquin can look back fondly on the experience they had bringing this series to life, Joaquin recalled that on the very first day, “I felt this has been a big mistake,” he exclusively told Woman’s World.
The Loper children had to learn to adjust
As Stacey and Joaquin remember it, when their children were first presented with the idea of this series, they were intrigued and had a sense of excitement, but as they learned what the experience entailed, they grew more wary. Realizing the amount of time they would have to spend away from not only technology and modern luxuries, but also their friends and loved ones, heading back to the frontier became somewhat worrisome.
“Our kids giving up the ability to have interaction with the internet and their friends and their family and just wanting stuff—They just can’t go and say, ‘I want DoorDash now.’ You have to go out and actually make your food—not just make your food—you have to go out and pick it,” explained Joaquin. Despite this adjustment, Stacey feels her sons are better for it. “After a while of it just being the four of us, me, Joaquin, Maddox and Landen, you really saw a shift in mindset, but you really also saw this resilience, determination and this drive rise up in our kids like never before.”
The Lopers learned a lesson
Adjusting to life without technology and modern luxuries took some time, but the experience was eye opening to say the least, and as time went on, the things the family thought they’d miss most faded in importance.
“I can see how television, radio, and all of that, I can see how we put so much emphasis on these things, like being able to watch a show on television, or listen to some music, or going out to eat and things of that nature—we don’t need that to survive,” expressed Stacey. “It’s about hands, heart and head, and as long as you have those three things that play a part in your everyday life, when it comes to career, when it comes to marriage, family, and you as an individual, you have everything that you need.”
Family is at the heart of this journey
When all was said and done, the Lopers came to see a resilience in themselves and each other that they hadn’t realized was in them. “There are going to be some ups and downs,” shared Stacey. “There are going to be some tensions, there are going to be some accidents, there are going to be some things that happen that can truly feel like they define you, but how are you going to react to them? How are you going to love in the midst of it? How are you going to see beyond the brokenness and find the beauty in that? How are you going to see your spouse or see your children differently in this and how are you going to allow your emotional, your mental, your physical and your spiritual to all come together and be a part of what you do every single day to make an impact and leave your footprint along that pathway that has been created for us?”
Watch Back to the Frontier on Max now and at 8 p.m. tonight on the Magnolia Network!
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