‘Home Town’ Stars Ben and Erin Napier: A Timeline of Their Relationship

Credit: HGTV

‘Home Town’ Stars Ben and Erin Napier: A Timeline of Their Relationship

Match made in heaven! Ben and Erin Napier had a love story worthy of a television show long before they started appearing on HGTV. The Home Town stars met when they were both students at Jones County Junior College in Mississippi. The couple began dating in December 2004 and quickly decided that they had found The One. “On December 7, 2004 [Ben] and I met in our college yearbook room about the feature story we were writing about him,” Erin recalled via Instagram in December 2019. “I was the design editor and for two years had noticed him, always the center of attention, everyone’s best friend, my biggest crush. December 8, we took the photos for the yearbook. December 9, we went on our first date and he met my mama. December 10, we looked at the Christmas lights in Mason Park. December 13, we decided we would get married someday. It sounds crazy to you, maybe. But it makes perfect sense to me.” Ben and Erin got engaged in September 2007 and tied the knot in November 2008. After renovating their home, the pair caught the eye of HGTV, who offered them a show. Home Town premiered in January 2016 and features renovations in their hometown of Laurel, Mississippi. [jwplayer 2SIgSXph-zhNYySv2] Amid their success, the TV personalities welcomed daughters Helen and Mae in January 2018 and May 2021, respectively. With parenthood, though, came criticism from internet trolls. “I typically have a rude comment from someone and I can look at their profile and see this is a mother who has children,” Erin exclusively told Us Weekly in January 2021. “This is another woman attacking me as a woman or a mother or whatever. I like to begin with: ‘You would absolutely not speak to me this way in person. Why do you feel like it’s OK to do it here? It’s not. And this little corner of the internet belongs to me so you’re not welcome here anymore.’ … Anytime someone feels like they can be rude on my social media account, I’d like to let them know this isn’t an acceptable way to communicate and you’re not going to be welcome here anymore, and I block them.” Despite the naysayers, Ben and Erin have never lost sight of each other on their journey to fame. “It’s Erin and me,” he told CountryLiving.com in March 2017. “Not Erin and me and our moms, not Erin and me and the network, not Erin and me and our fans, if you want to call them that. As far as our marriage goes, it’s me and Erin and God. We work everything out together, and everything has worked out so far.” Scroll through the gallery below to revisit Ben and Erin’s romance through the years. [podcast_block]

Credit: HGTV

‘Home Town’ Stars Ben and Erin Napier: A Timeline of Their Relationship

Match made in heaven! Ben and Erin Napier had a love story worthy of a television show long before they started appearing on HGTV. The Home Town stars met when they were both students at Jones County Junior College in Mississippi. The couple began dating in December 2004 and quickly decided that they had found The One. “On December 7, 2004 [Ben] and I met in our college yearbook room about the feature story we were writing about him,” Erin recalled via Instagram in December 2019. “I was the design editor and for two years had noticed him, always the center of attention, everyone’s best friend, my biggest crush. December 8, we took the photos for the yearbook. December 9, we went on our first date and he met my mama. December 10, we looked at the Christmas lights in Mason Park. December 13, we decided we would get married someday. It sounds crazy to you, maybe. But it makes perfect sense to me.” Ben and Erin got engaged in September 2007 and tied the knot in November 2008. After renovating their home, the pair caught the eye of HGTV, who offered them a show. Home Town premiered in January 2016 and features renovations in their hometown of Laurel, Mississippi. [jwplayer 2SIgSXph-zhNYySv2] Amid their success, the TV personalities welcomed daughters Helen and Mae in January 2018 and May 2021, respectively. With parenthood, though, came criticism from internet trolls. “I typically have a rude comment from someone and I can look at their profile and see this is a mother who has children,” Erin exclusively told Us Weekly in January 2021. “This is another woman attacking me as a woman or a mother or whatever. I like to begin with: ‘You would absolutely not speak to me this way in person. Why do you feel like it’s OK to do it here? It’s not. And this little corner of the internet belongs to me so you’re not welcome here anymore.’ … Anytime someone feels like they can be rude on my social media account, I’d like to let them know this isn’t an acceptable way to communicate and you’re not going to be welcome here anymore, and I block them.” Despite the naysayers, Ben and Erin have never lost sight of each other on their journey to fame. “It’s Erin and me,” he told CountryLiving.com in March 2017. “Not Erin and me and our moms, not Erin and me and the network, not Erin and me and our fans, if you want to call them that. As far as our marriage goes, it’s me and Erin and God. We work everything out together, and everything has worked out so far.” Scroll through the gallery below to revisit Ben and Erin’s romance through the years. [podcast_block]

Credit: Courtesy of Erin Napier/Instagram

December 2004

The twosome met while they were students at Jones County Junior College. They connected during a yearbook photo shoot in December 2004 and started dating later that month, with their relationship quickly becoming serious. They ultimately transferred to the University of Mississippi and graduated from Ole Miss in 2007.

Credit: Courtesy of Erin Napier/Instagram

September 2007

Ben proposed to Erin at a bookstore after having her read a handmade book that detailed their love story.  

“I walked up to the balcony where Ben was standing,” she wrote in a July 2011 blog post. “He took my hand and tried to speak, but he began to cry and so did I. So he leaned down to my ear and whispered this: ‘You know how much I love you? … And you know I will always take care of you. … I talked to Mammaw (my grandmother) … and in the words of James Rasberry, ‘I’ve got something for you.’’ Then he got down on one knee and said: ‘Will you marry me?’ And I couldn’t say yes enough or cry enough. It was the most shocking and beautiful moment of my life.”

Credit: Patrick Little/@litt.le

November 2008

The duo tied the knot at the University of Mississippi’s Paris Yates Chapel on November 22, 2008. “13 years ago we became family then went to NYC for Thanksgiving. Every year on our anniversary week, I’m so very thankful for you and the life we’ve made together,” Erin wrote via Instagram in November 2021. “Thank you for loving me.”

Credit: Courtesy Erin Napier/Instagram

2012

Ben and Erin settled into married life and completed renovations on their Mississippi home in 2012. She worked as a wedding stationery designer, and he was a youth minister before their renovation project inspired them to change career paths.  

Credit: Courtesy Erin Napier/Instagram

June 2014

The pair gained more attention after Southern Weddings featured photos of their home in June 2014. An HGTV executive subsequently began following Erin on Instagram and reached out to see whether she and Ben would be interested in their own show. 

Credit: HGTV

January 2016

Home Town premiered on HGTV in January 2016 and became a hit for the network. That December, Ben and Erin opened their store Laurel Mercantile Co. Their brand continues to expand with spinoffs of their show and more stores in their hometown of Laurel, Mississippi.

Credit: Courtesy of Erin Napier/Instagram

January 2018

The reality stars were not sure they could have children after Erin suffered from a perforated appendix, but they welcomed their first child, daughter Helen, in January 2018.  

“He doesn’t let me do anything!” Erin told Us in October 2017 of how Ben stepped up during her pregnancy. “He’s so generous. He’s always been that way — it’s just gone into overdrive since we found out about the baby.”  

Credit: Courtesy of Erin Napier/Instagram

May 2021

Ben and Erin’s second child, daughter Mae, arrived in May 2021. They kept their pregnancy news secret for months but hinted at their expanding family in January of that year.

“We kind of put that in God’s hands,” Ben told Us at the time. “We weren’t trying to get pregnant with Helen and it happened. If that’s what God wants for us, then it’ll happen again.”

Credit: Courtesy of Erin Napier/Instagram

December 2021

Season 6 of Home Town — which includes the renovation of Ben and Erin's country home — kicked off on HGTV. 

Credit: HGTV

March 2022

“It's just a non-negotiable, every night at 7:30 the girls are in bed, then that's our time to be us,” Erin exclusively told Us about how they find time for each other as a couple.

She added that their work schedule allows them to see one another during the day as well. “We have that advantage that I think a lot of couples don't have,” the mother of two said. “Some people must drive each other crazy being together all day, but it's the only way we've ever [done it].”

Credit: Matt Baron/BEI/Shutterstock

November 2022

Erin and Ben were enthused to catch the 2022 CMAs, telling ABC on the red carpet that they are big country music fans.