HGTV’s Erin Napier Preparing to Leave TV

HGTV/YouTube Ben & Erin Napier of HGTV's "Home Town"

In a stunning admission, HGTV superstar Erin Napier revealed that she is preparing for life after TV and looking forward to pursuing her “dream” job away from the spotlight.

Napier opened up to podcast hosts Zibby and Kyle Owens on the August 7 episode of “Moms Don’t Have Time to Read Books” as they discussed her new children’s book and life as a busy mom.

Having Kids Has Helped Napier Reprioritize Her Plans

On the podcast, Napier revealed that becoming a TV star — co-hosting “Home Town” with her husband Ben — was all “an accident.” Growing up and working in tiny Laurel, Mississippi, she said having a television show never crossed her mind. After graduating from college with a graphic design degree, Napier started a small business designing wedding invitations; in fact, Lucky Luxe Heirloom Design still operates today.

When a magazine profiled the designer and her husband in their charming home, an HGTV casting agent came calling, she said. Napier’s still amazed that the pilot they shot turned into a show, and that it’s since become one of the biggest home improvement series on television.

But having two young daughters — 4-year-old Helen and 1-year-old Mae — has shifted her priorities, making her role as a TV star far less appealing or sustainable.

“I’m good at saying no,” she said when asked how she juggles parenting and work. “Even in high school, I never suffered from peer pressure because no one can pressure me into something I don’t want to do. We just have to prioritize what’s most important: our family. That’s number one. Everything has to be prioritized after that. If it takes away from them, then it’s a no.”

But how do the Napiers keep their TV work from overshadowing their roles as parents?

“We’ve made it such that we only do the show from 8 to 5,” Napier told the podcast hosts. “We will not film before that, we will not film after that. We’re Monday to Friday 8 to 5, we come home at lunch, we see them every day.”

The Napiers also have a plan for when they need to travel to media appearances or film shoots.

“If we travel, if it’s more than two nights, the whole gang comes,” Napier shared. “If it can be just one of us, it’s gonna be just two nights and I’m home. That’s what works for us.”

She said their plan does limit them; she and Ben are not taking “great, big extravagant trips right now,” but said that’s just the season of life they’re in, with two girls who are the center of attention.

Napier Surprises Fans With Her Future Plans

HGTV/YouTubeErin Napier on HGTV’s “Home Town.”

All of this careful planning and boundary-setting is part of Napier’s long-term plan, which she doubts will include having a TV show.

“The priority for me is just making them have this very normal and stable and happy childhood,” she said. “And I want to be there as much as possible. ‘Cause I never meant to be on TV.”

In fact, the famous mom revealed she’d be okay with walking away from it all today to be with her girls more.

“If it were left to me, I would probably be self-employed and spending all my time with them,” she admitted.

Napier said she has no illusions that she and Ben will always have a popular TV show, or even be focused on renovating homes.

“I know TV is not forever, no matter how great it is,” she said. “Even ‘Seinfeld’ ended. Everything ends eventually. So I think about ‘what kind of life am I setting us up for when that happens?’”

And when or if it does, Napier is looking forward to diving back into a different kind of design job.

“My background is in graphic design and I thought I would design books for a living,” she revealed. “And that’s what I’m gonna do one day when I’m not on TV. That’s the plan. Books are my life. When I’m done with TV, that’s my dream.”

Speaking of books, the 36-year-old said that in addition to her recently released children’s book, “The Lantern House,” she’s working on a book like it “for grownups” that she said will be “a deeper dive” into similar content. She said she also hopes to have a series of Lantern House children’s books, with titles written for specific occasions like Christmas or birthdays.

And fans can breathe a sigh of relief for now, as Napier does have TV projects in the works in the near future, with new episodes of “Home Town” to come and the recently announced second season of “Home Town Takeover,” which is now filming in Fort Morgan, Colorado.