Heavy/Getty Ben and Erin Napier.
HGTV’s Ben and Erin Napier enjoyed a parents’ night out in New York City.
It was their first trip without their children since welcoming daughter Mae nearly two years ago, Erin revealed on Instagram. The couple also share Helen, 5. “I miss them so much I keep opening my camera roll to see their tiny faces, but our friends in NYC made me smile this week,” Erin captioned an Instagram carousel.
The couple rose to fame renovating homes in their community of Laurel, Mississippi on HGTV’s “Home Town.” They have made some famous friends along the way, including “This Is Us” star Chris Sullivan.
He reunited with the Napiers, revealing on Instagram that he enlisted Ben to help prepare for an upcoming audition.
After “running lines” together, Ben revealed on Instagram that he and Erin went to see Sullivan’s play. He is currently starring in “The Thanksgiving Play” at Helen Hayes Theater, alongside Scott Foley, D’Arcy Carden and Katie Finneran.
“When a troupe of really, really well-meaning theater artists attempt to put on a culturally sensitive Thanksgiving school pageant, things get messy,” according to its Playbill synopsis. “Hilarious and poignant, this delicious play skewers everything right, wrong, and woke in America.”
“It is the funniest and best thing we’ve seen in a long time,” Ben raved of the performance on Instagram. “If you’re in NYC, go watch it.”
Ben & Erin Napier Have Been Friends With Chris Sullivan for Years
The Napiers have known Sullivan and his wife Rachel for years, documenting their friendship on social media. The “Stranger Things” actor even appeared in Ben’s spinoff series, “Home Town: Ben’s Workshop.”
Sullivan “is a mountain of a man, an incredible actor, a great friend, and a lover of community. We built a piece worthy of his visit to Laurel,” Ben wrote on Instagram of his appearance.
He even surprised Ben and Erin with an easter egg in “This Is Us.”
“Kate and Toby were at the hospital awaiting their baby,” Erin explained on Instagram in May 2021. “Our friend Chris, who plays Toby, was writing down ideas for the baby’s middle name and he snuck Mae (and her middle name!) in there to see if we would spot it when we watched the episode. 😄🥰”
Ben & Erin Napier Were in New York City Promoting Season 2 of ‘Home Town Takeover’
Ben and Erin were in the city doing press for the upcoming second season of “Home Town Takeover.” They are partnering with “Fixer to Fabulous” stars Jenny and Dave Marrs to give Fort Morgan a “whole-town renovation,” HGTV announced in a press release.
Throughout the six-episode season, the couples will “mobilize 10 all-star HGTV and Food Network talent to help complete 18 renovation projects across homes, local businesses and public spaces,” according to the series description. “The goal for the renovations, which range from refreshing a local bowling alley and revitalizing a public park to sprucing up the downtown business district and updating homes of local heroes, will be to amplify the town’s charm, build community pride and catapult Fort Morgan into a new era of limitless potential.”
Erin explained on “Today with Hoda & Jenna” that the series had a ripple effect throughout the town.
“It becomes like infectious,” she told host Jenna Bush Hager and guest host Reba McEntire. “Like, one building beautifies and then the next building, they get new signage. And then the next building, they paint the trim. Everybody can’t make a huge facelift, total makeover but everybody starts doing the improvements that they can. And that makes the town feel alive again.”
“Home Town Takeover” premieres on Sunday, April 23, 2023 at 8 p.m. Eastern and Pacific times.
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