Joanna Gaines bids her son a tearful farewell as he embarks on his college journey: 'Sending off my baby'

Joanna Gaines isn't ready to say goodbye to her oldest son.

Drake, 19, is saying goodbye to his mother, the former HGTV star, as he begins his second year of college.

""Sending off kids to school this season is never easy for parents, but it's the second year in college that makes saying goodbye even harder," she wrote in the caption."

Numerous Gaines' followers could resonate with her predicament, inundating the comments section with their own narratives of sending their kids to college, expressing the profound anguish they felt.

"The act of letting go is so difficult when our children go off to college. One fan wrote about crying all the way home and another shared how they still choke up thinking about it, years later."

Drake's college apartment was previously toured by the former "Fixer Upper" star through a series of Instagram stories while helping her son move in.

During the tour, Joanna disclosed her son's drinking game, confessing that she initially believed it to be an innocent pastime as she viewed it in the video.

"Mom, this is a drinking game," her son corrected her as she captioned the video, "Ring toss for good ol’ fashion fun."

Drake's apartment now feels more like home thanks to the finishing touches added by her, including a book she snuck in and joked about including it on his bookshelf "for color."

Joanna Gaines has four other children besides Drake, including Ella, Duke, Emmie, and Crew.

"Second year in college... saying goodbye doesn't get easier. Lots of love to all the parents sending their kids off to school this season." — Joanna Gaines

In November 2023, the couple discussed their experience of watching Drake move out of their home for his first year of college on People. This conversation helped them understand that time passes more quickly than they had previously thought, which affected their perspective on raising their younger children.

"Chip said to People, "Drakey going off to college makes you focus more on Crew, who's at the end of it all. It's hard to believe that time will go by quickly with a 1-year-old, but you're living intentionally because of it.""

He continued, "Although it felt like time was standing still at the moment, when you see your son go off to college for real, you shift your attention to little Crew and want to practically live as if he were going to go off to college tomorrow, so we can enjoy and appreciate every moment."