HGTV stars Ben and Erin Napier knew they were getting married just 6 days later
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HGTV stars Ben and Erin Napier reflected on how they knew early on in their relationship that they wanted to get married.
The couple met in December 2004 while attending Jones County Junior College in Mississippi when Erin, now 40, was talking to Ben, now 42, about a story in the school’s yearbook.
Ben and Erin said that just six days after the interview, they decided they were meant to be together and were going to get married.
During an interview with Fox News Digital, Erin and Ben, who are starring in the upcoming 10th season of their show “Hometown,” recalled how they quickly connected and quickly got on the same page about the seriousness of their relationship.
HGTV stars Ben and Erin Napier explain how they knew they were getting married six days after meeting. (Meggan Haller for The Washington Post via Getty Images)
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“I feel really lucky that we both know,” Erin said. “I think people don’t take enough risks just saying it. Saying what you really think.”
“What if you’re just being lukewarm and you’re in love with someone forever and they’re not willing to be with you forever?” he continued. “What are we doing? What’s the use? What are we doing?”
After falling in love, they both moved to the University of Mississippi in Oxford. In 2007, Ben proposed to Erin and the two tied the knot in November 2008 at Paris-Yates Chapel on the Ole Miss campus. The couple welcomed daughter Helen in 2018 and daughter Mae in 2021.
The new season of “Home Town” premieres Sunday, Jan. 4, at 8 pm ET/PT on HGTV.
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While speaking with Fox News Digital, Erin and Ben emphasized the importance of being honest in a relationship, even when the truth might hurt.
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“I think it’s best to tell the truth even if it hurts…” Erin said.
“… Even if it breaks your heart,” Ben interjected.
“Yeah, at least you know,” Erin said.
“At least you know you’re not wasting your time,” Ben added.
The couple met as college students in December 2004. (Nathan Congleton/NBC via Getty Images)
Erin told Fox News Digital that she encourages people she knows to come forward with their true feelings and be clear about their intentions.
“I know young people in their 20s who are trying to date. And they’re like, ‘I don’t know if you like me. I can’t tell,'” Erin said. “And I would say, what do you think of me? Do you love me? Do you want to marry me?”
“‘See where this is going?'” added Ben.
The couple went on to share the story of how the love between their band member and his future wife played out when they were not hiding from each other from the beginning.
“He got married last year and he’s my friend from elementary school,” said Ben. “He already has two children; he had a child.”
“The first day they left, ‘How much money am I making,'” Erin said with a laugh.
“I think they waited until the second day,” Ben said.
“‘These are my clothes. This is what I want,'” Erin continued.
‘”This is what I want for the next five years, the next 10 years. If you’re not open to any of this, let’s just stop right now.’ And he was like, ‘Oh my God, I love you,'” Ben said.
“I think we all need to be more open is the moral of the story,” Erin said.
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The Napiers’ artistic collaboration also began early in their relationship. Erin, who started her career as a graphic designer, and Ben, who has a passion for woodworking, said they started working together soon after meeting.
After they married, the two moved to Erin’s hometown of Laurel, Mississippi, where they renovated their house and other houses in the community. The two later founded the American-made home goods store Laurel Mercantile.
Their leap into television came when Erin’s blog and social media posts about their projects caught the attention of an HGTV producer.
In 2016, their reality show “Hometown,” which follows a couple as they work to restore historic homes with finds and vintage fabrics in Laurel, aired on HGTV.
Since then, the couple has also starred in the spin-off series “Home Town,” including “Home Town Takeover,” “Home Town: Ben’s Workshop” and the upcoming series “Home Town: Inn This Together.”
The two co-star as hosts of the HGTV series “Hometown.” (HGTV)
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While speaking with Fox News Digital, Ben and Erin shared their thoughts on the biggest challenges and rewards of working together as a married couple.
“The only challenge is trying to surprise him with something,” said Ben.
“It’s really hard,” Erin admitted. “We’re together 24/7 so we have a very good connection with each other. We know everything. We have no secrets. Because you can’t have secrets when you’re always with someone.”
“There’s no surprise like, ‘Why didn’t you tell me about this?'” Ben added.
“Since you’re acting weird today, I know it’s because your ankle is bothering you,” Erin said. “Your workout was only 30 minutes. You’d like it to be at least 45 minutes and you’re crazy about that.”
“We have TMI all the time,” she said. “And if you have TMI, you don’t have arguments.”
Ben explained that the couple’s biggest challenge in working together was not a relationship issue.
Ben and Erin are the parents of two daughters. (Gary Gershoff/Getty Images)
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“When you’re on TV and you’re the face of it, you’re not allowed to have a bad day,” he said.
“There’s this famous young philosopher named Taylor Swift who said, ‘I can do it with a broken heart,'” Ben added as Erin laughed.
“It’s true,” Erin said. “We have to fake it until we make it. We have to smile when the red light comes on the camera, no matter how hard the day is, no matter what you’re going through.”
“There are many days,” Ben admitted. “Fortunately, we work with an amazing group of people who know that like, ‘Hey, today is really hard. I’m going to be — I might have to take a minute before the red light goes on.’ Because when the light is red, you have to turn it on.”
“And on those days we have to rely on each other,” he said. “And I can say that maybe the biggest challenge is that we won’t both have a bad day because one of us has to pull the other.”
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The upcoming 10th season of “Hometown,” with 16 episodes, follows the Napiers as they continue to renovate homes and other properties in Laurel in addition to historic homes.
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While speaking with Fox News Digital, Ben and Erin detailed how they tackled the renovation of the maternity ward and waiting room at South Central Regional Medical Center.
Erin explained that this job was especially important to her as it was the hospital where she was born, and where the couple welcomed their two daughters. The reality star’s father Phil Rasberry, who is a physical therapist, has also been working at the hospital for a long time.
“My father worked there for 44 years,” he said. “I was born there. My children were born there. All my friends’ children were born there. My nieces and nephews were born there. So we have a million special and important, big moments in this maternity ward, especially when a new person enters your family and your world. And it always happened in this one room.”
The two will next be seen in the upcoming 10th season of “Hometown.” (HGTV)
“This was a sacred place for me,” Erin continued. “Just imagine how shocked you are to have your first child. And that’s when it happened. And I felt so loved, so comforted. These nurses, these doctors are so unbelievable that I wanted to honor them and what we did.”
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“And the CEO of the hospital wanted it to feel like a five-star hotel experience. So I was very honored and I had to, like, beg HGTV to let us do it because it’s not a house, it’s not a garden, but it was very important. And I cried twice in this episode. Isn’t that ridiculous? It was so funny.”
“This is the last time my grandmother was smart and held my nephew in that room,” he added. “I mean, it’s as important as grandma’s house. So making it as beautiful as possible was important.”
In the series, the couple renovate the maternity ward and waiting room of the hospital where Erin and their daughters were born. (HGTV)
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The two explained that getting the light right was an important aspect of the renovation.
“Having a bright, ambient, warm light coming from the ceiling and the sconces feel like living spaces,” explains Erin. “The mirrors in the living room were lit so that my mother felt beautiful, even if she just cried that day. Things like that. Lighting was important.”
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“We had an idea of what the family needed,” added Ben. But then we talked to all our friends about, ‘What was it like when you had your first child or when you had a child here?’ Then we worked very closely with the nurses and doctors there. And you’re going to see a lot of that.”
