Ben Napier is an unapologetic romantic. "He's extremely married to the that philosophy every day, you should do something to make your spouse fall in love with you again," says his wife of 16 years, Erin. The Laurel, Miss., couple's warmth and palpable bond are part of what make their long-running HGTV reno series Home Town such a crowd-pleaser: It's not unusual for him to interrupt an on-camera chat about, say, kitchen cabinets to spontaneously pick her up and whirl her around. (And yes, she's always delighted!)
He outdid himself one Valentine's Day when he hired a private chef for a backyard feast - French cuisine accompanied by French music, naturellement, and mood lighting. "He set up a big canvas tent on our girls' swing set," Erin recalls. (They share daughters Helen, 7, and Mae, 3.) "I was sick with Covid and kind of miserable, but he made me feel so special. It was like we had been on a trip. It was magical."
After two decades together, Erin, 39, and Ben, 41, are just as smitten as they were when they fell in love at Jones County Junior College in the early 2000s. She was 19, he was 21; after crushing from afar, they clicked instantly when Erin interviewed Ben for the yearbook. "Six days later," she says, "we decided we would get married."
They've been partners since their newlywed days, when they moved 13 minutes away from college to her hometown of Laurel. Ben, a youth minister, and Erin, a graphic designer, joined forces to turn a 1925 Craftsman cottage into their dream home. Their social media footage of the impressive renovation caught the eye of an HGTV producer, and the rest is history... with a little bit of shop class and home ec thrown in. On top of their shows - the third season of Home Town Takeover premiered March 9 (see story, above) they have three retail stores (Scotsman Co., Laurel Mercantile and the Scent Library), books (including the 2018 memoir Make Something Good Today and Erin's children's book, The Lantern House) and a furniture line.
Among their accomplishments, they're most proud of the family they've built. "I don't feel qualified to talk on much," says Erin, "but I am so extremely happy in our marriage." She and Ben sat down with Us to divulge their secrets.
We're always talking - to the point of oversharing
"Erin and I always say communication is a key element in a happy marriage," reports Ben, noting that working together has given the HGTV stars a leg up in that department. "The vast majority of our job is a director saying, 'Hey, that just happened - give me some thoughts on it," he explains. "We ping-pong off each other."
While online detractors may comment if it seems he's not letting her speak on-screen or vice versa, he says that's rarely the case. "What they don't realize is that little 30-second snippet of us talking was taken from a 30minute conversation."
Erin says their shared history helps: "We've been together longer than we've been apart. We learned how to communicate together. It's effortless now." (One funny byproduct of their extensive combined past is that their memory can fail them. Asked about terms of endearment, Ben says they used to call each other Buster and Thumper... but now neither remembers why!)
The idea of spending 24/7 with a husband or wife may not appeal to everyone, but Ben insists couples can get over the initial discomfort. "Some people say, 'Oh, I could never work with my spouse,' but it may be that you've never actually tried," he says. "If you go to your parents' house and you're only there for a couple days, you tend to start getting on each other's nerves, but if you're together for an extended period, you move beyond that, and you get into this groove together."
We trust each other
Fans may be surprised to learn that Erin occasionally struggles with jealousy. In fact, she confesses she wasn't pleased when someone "who looks too much like a supermodel to be messaging Ben DM'd him about working with the duo. While she says she trusts her husband "110 percent," she admits her imagination sometimes runs wild, as it did on a random Tuesday when she got home and discovered Ben had taken a mid-afternoon shower. (He'd spilled something "all over" himself, he explains.) She called him but "was not accusatory," Erin recounts. "I just wanted to let [him] know how creative my mind is." Ben picks up the thread: "Before she even called, she was like, This is silly. Why am I thinking this?"
According to Ben, this "goes hand in hand with communication. How you break trust [is when someone feels forced to say], 'Why didn't you tell me about this?" Of course, that's rare because, Erin comments, "we're together all the time. I hear everything that he hears. [Laughs] I'm standing with him when he hears it!"
We know the little things count
There are many examples from their very thoughtful life: Erin takes the garbage out because, she explains, "He has so much to manage." And every evening before bed, she preps Ben's wake-up brew for the next day. "I don't drink coffee, but he does, so I get the coffee maker ready the night before," she notes. And sometimes there's a special mug in the mix- cute! "We went to Ole Miss to speak at an event, so I put his Ole Miss mug [out]. It's a little secret language we have. It's just a mug, but it's meaningful."
For the pair's chat with Us, Erin chose a Laurel Mercantile mug "because we're sitting here all day!" For his part, Ben leaves Erin love notes. Every day. "They don't say anything profound," she says, "Ljust] things like, 'I'm so thankful that it's you and me, and that this is what our life is,' or, "Thank you for being mine, and I'll always do my best for you every day." (Ben is giddy to report little Helen now pens notes to him.)
He also oversees the gardens on the family's small farm. "That's a romantic gesture to me," says Erin. "He makes sure we have something fresh I can [harvest] to cook." And he's quick to stock firewood and man the fireplace when required. "If it's cold when I wake up, there's a fire," says Erin. Big picture, she adds, "Ben wants everyone to have the best possible experience, even if it's just breakfast on a Tuesday morning."
We go big on romance, too
Ben steps up his game on special occasions, like Valentine's Day. Their latest tradition: He orders a ...
He outdid himself one Valentine's Day when he hired a private chef for a backyard feast - French cuisine accompanied by French music, naturellement, and mood lighting. "He set up a big canvas tent on our girls' swing set," Erin recalls. (They share daughters Helen, 7, and Mae, 3.) "I was sick with Covid and kind of miserable, but he made me feel so special. It was like we had been on a trip. It was magical."
After two decades together, Erin, 39, and Ben, 41, are just as smitten as they were when they fell in love at Jones County Junior College in the early 2000s. She was 19, he was 21; after crushing from afar, they clicked instantly when Erin interviewed Ben for the yearbook. "Six days later," she says, "we decided we would get married."
They've been partners since their newlywed days, when they moved 13 minutes away from college to her hometown of Laurel. Ben, a youth minister, and Erin, a graphic designer, joined forces to turn a 1925 Craftsman cottage into their dream home. Their social media footage of the impressive renovation caught the eye of an HGTV producer, and the rest is history... with a little bit of shop class and home ec thrown in. On top of their shows - the third season of Home Town Takeover premiered March 9 (see story, above) they have three retail stores (Scotsman Co., Laurel Mercantile and the Scent Library), books (including the 2018 memoir Make Something Good Today and Erin's children's book, The Lantern House) and a furniture line.
Among their accomplishments, they're most proud of the family they've built. "I don't feel qualified to talk on much," says Erin, "but I am so extremely happy in our marriage." She and Ben sat down with Us to divulge their secrets.
We're always talking - to the point of oversharing
"Erin and I always say communication is a key element in a happy marriage," reports Ben, noting that working together has given the HGTV stars a leg up in that department. "The vast majority of our job is a director saying, 'Hey, that just happened - give me some thoughts on it," he explains. "We ping-pong off each other."
While online detractors may comment if it seems he's not letting her speak on-screen or vice versa, he says that's rarely the case. "What they don't realize is that little 30-second snippet of us talking was taken from a 30minute conversation."
Erin says their shared history helps: "We've been together longer than we've been apart. We learned how to communicate together. It's effortless now." (One funny byproduct of their extensive combined past is that their memory can fail them. Asked about terms of endearment, Ben says they used to call each other Buster and Thumper... but now neither remembers why!)
The idea of spending 24/7 with a husband or wife may not appeal to everyone, but Ben insists couples can get over the initial discomfort. "Some people say, 'Oh, I could never work with my spouse,' but it may be that you've never actually tried," he says. "If you go to your parents' house and you're only there for a couple days, you tend to start getting on each other's nerves, but if you're together for an extended period, you move beyond that, and you get into this groove together."
We trust each other
Fans may be surprised to learn that Erin occasionally struggles with jealousy. In fact, she confesses she wasn't pleased when someone "who looks too much like a supermodel to be messaging Ben DM'd him about working with the duo. While she says she trusts her husband "110 percent," she admits her imagination sometimes runs wild, as it did on a random Tuesday when she got home and discovered Ben had taken a mid-afternoon shower. (He'd spilled something "all over" himself, he explains.) She called him but "was not accusatory," Erin recounts. "I just wanted to let [him] know how creative my mind is." Ben picks up the thread: "Before she even called, she was like, This is silly. Why am I thinking this?"
According to Ben, this "goes hand in hand with communication. How you break trust [is when someone feels forced to say], 'Why didn't you tell me about this?" Of course, that's rare because, Erin comments, "we're together all the time. I hear everything that he hears. [Laughs] I'm standing with him when he hears it!"
We know the little things count
There are many examples from their very thoughtful life: Erin takes the garbage out because, she explains, "He has so much to manage." And every evening before bed, she preps Ben's wake-up brew for the next day. "I don't drink coffee, but he does, so I get the coffee maker ready the night before," she notes. And sometimes there's a special mug in the mix- cute! "We went to Ole Miss to speak at an event, so I put his Ole Miss mug [out]. It's a little secret language we have. It's just a mug, but it's meaningful."
For the pair's chat with Us, Erin chose a Laurel Mercantile mug "because we're sitting here all day!" For his part, Ben leaves Erin love notes. Every day. "They don't say anything profound," she says, "Ljust] things like, 'I'm so thankful that it's you and me, and that this is what our life is,' or, "Thank you for being mine, and I'll always do my best for you every day." (Ben is giddy to report little Helen now pens notes to him.)
He also oversees the gardens on the family's small farm. "That's a romantic gesture to me," says Erin. "He makes sure we have something fresh I can [harvest] to cook." And he's quick to stock firewood and man the fireplace when required. "If it's cold when I wake up, there's a fire," says Erin. Big picture, she adds, "Ben wants everyone to have the best possible experience, even if it's just breakfast on a Tuesday morning."
We go big on romance, too
Ben steps up his game on special occasions, like Valentine's Day. Their latest tradition: He orders a ...
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Us Weekly (Digital) - 1 Issue, March 31, 2025