Photo: YouTube
Fun Facts about HGTV's HomeTown hosts Ben and Erin Napier.
By Deauna Roane — Written on Oct 18, 2020
Who are Ben and Erin Napier from HGTV's Home Town?
Ben and Erin Napier are one of the several HGTV couples that have America awe-ing after each show — they're that adorable. The Ole Miss college sweethearts are the co-hosts of HGTV's small-town show Home Town. Though the two are constantly on-screen renovating homes and welcoming new families to their hometown of Laurel, Mississippi, population 18,540.
What more do we know about the HGTV couple?
1. Ben and Erin Napier's wedding and engagement details are super-cute.
The couple has an adorable engagement story. A friend handed a leather-bound book to Erin in 2007 at a bookstore and told her it was about college sweethearts. As Erin read the book, she soon realized it was about her and Ben's love story — written by Ben.
The last page told Erin to go upstairs and that was where Ben asked her to marry him. The two got married on November 22, 2008, when Erin was 23 and Ben was 25. Ever since they got married, Ben has made a book for Erin every year with themed covers for each one. Beyond sweet.
2. What is Erin Napier's illness?
Erin had a mystery illness she has dealt with for over a decade. Her illness began when she was 19. “In the beginning, it would be 24 hours of terrible stomach pain and a low-grade fever, and then it would disappear," Erin said. She had multiple episodes and the episodes grew longer. Ben said that the couple went through everything from doctors thinking it might be cancer to doctors saying the symptoms were all in Erin's head.
After two exploratory surgeries, Erin was eventually diagnosed with a perforated appendix, meaning her appendix was bursting and then healing itself for years. After being diagnosed, Erin had her appendix removed which ended the painful episodes, thankfully.
3. They have a daughter, Helen Napier.
Helen Napier is the only daughter of Erin and Ben Napier and she's two years old as of 2020. Their daughter was a blessing to the couple because for a while Erin thought children weren't possible for her after she was diagnosed with a perforated appendix. "I wanted a family desperately. So that was a hard place to be. It was really difficult," Erin said.
Luckily for Erin and Ben, she got pregnant by surprise. "When when it happened, it felt like this huge release. Like, 'Well, I don't have to worry about that anymore — that decision has been made for me," Erin said of finding out she was going to be a mom.
4. Ben Napier's weight loss mission is ongoing.
Ben Napier has been on a weight-loss mission for eight years. He's currently lost a total of 90 lbs. “I've lost 55 pounds since last year. Over the course of season 3, I dropped about 35 pounds, so [you] see it happening [on the show,]" Ben said, also noting that the weight loss was for his daughter. Ben said that he doesn't want to miss a single milestone in his daughter's life and that was the real reason for his determination to better care for his health and body.
5. Erin Napier's haircut is adored by many.
Erin Napier's signature hair is in an iconic darling side-swept pixie cut as seen on her show — but she didn't always have short hair. She apparently had long hair while she was in high school and then decided to have a change of looks in college. “I cut it all off the first week of college," Erin said. We don't blame her — it looks great!
6. Who are Ben Napier's brothers?
Ben Napier has three brothers: Tom, Sam, and Jesse. You can see them often on Ben's Instagram page.
7. Who are Ben Napier's parents?
Ben Napier's father's name isn't public but his mother is Bennie Napier. In a video submission celebrating Father's Day, Ben shared a sweet memory of his dad. “My parents are both ministers, and my mom and dad baptized my firstborn on Father’s Day”. His dad had emergency bypass surgery in 2014 and was one of the reasons Ben started caring about his health.
8. What is Ben and Erin Napier's net worth?
The exact net worth of the young couple isn't confirmed as of 2020, but estimations run as high as $5+ million.
9. Where is Erin and Ben Napier's store in Laurel, Mississippi?
Erin and Ben have a home goods store called Laurel Mercantile Company. The store was originally closed in the 1930s due to financial difficulties. However, three friendly couples — the Napiers, Nowells, and Rasberrys — got together and reopened the bygone hometown store in downtown Laurel.
The store reopened in December of 2016. The Napier's also own the Scotsman General Store where Ben does most of the woodworking, along with his brother Jesse.
10. Who is Mallorie Rasberry, friend of the Napiers?
Mallorie Rasberry is a long-time friend of the Napiers and is part of 1/3rd of the couples who helped reopen the Laurel Mercantile Company store. Mallorie is married to Jim Raspberry who is Erin's first cousin. The couple have a little girl named Lucy .
11. HGTV's Home Town houses are for sale.
Fan of the HGTV show HomeTown can move to Laurel and actually purchase the home sthe Napier's have renovated. The house the Napiers worked on in season 2 is on the market. The home was renovated in 2017 and is listed at a very affordable $185,000.
The small cottage has 2 bedrooms and was originally built in 1924. The house has a lot of history and any fan would be lucky to live in the sweet southern-styled home the Napiers renovated.
12. How to contact Ben and Erin Napier
You can contact the Napiers through their general stores. Their contact information is here. If you don't get Ben and Erin, you can always try contacting them on their respective social media handles.
13. Erin Napier's Instagram is very homey.
Just like her design style! She posts a lot of pictures of candles and family and nature. The whole page gives a feeling of warmth and coziness. If you wish to see pictures of the couple's daughter Helen, Erin's Instagram is where you should go but the couple purposely does not show their daughter's face on social media for her privacy.
14. Ben Napier's Instagram features a lot of woodworking.
On Ben's Instagram, you can see pictures of vehicles, food, woodworking, and many pictures of his lovely wife. There are not many pictures of his daughter Helen, but she's mentioned on his page several times in captions. The account is public so anyone can view his page.
15. Ben Napier's Twitter is full of Bible verses.
Ben uses his personal Twitter account to tweet daily bible verses into the Twittersphere, so its say to assume the couple is religious.
Deauna Nunes is a writer who covers pop-culture, self, and love topics.