HGTV Ben and Erin Napier are the stars of HGTV's "Home Town."
Back in college, Erin and Ben Napier never imagined they’d grow up to be HGTV superstars. But within six days of meeting each other, they did know they were meant to be together forever.
Nearly eighteen years later, the hosts of “Home Town” returned to the very spot where they first met and shared the sweet moment with their fans.
The Napiers Snap a Selfie in the Yearbook Office
On Aug. 1, the couple visited their alma mater, Jones County Community College in Ellisville, Miss., and returned to the room where they first connected. They shared the sweet moment with fans on Instagram.
“Had lunch at our alma mater today,” Erin captioned a selfie she took with Ben on Instagram, “and took a picture in the spot where we met in the yearbook office. We were 19 and 21 and had no idea this is what our future would be like. Still my biggest crush.”
Erin shared a second photo on the post; a throwback from 2004 of the two in that same spot in college. She has revealed previously that she was already “infatuated” with social butterfly Ben and assumed he would never fall for a shy girl like her.
In a 2019 Instagram post, Erin recalled, “I was the design editor and for two years had noticed him, always the center of attention, everyone’s best friend, my biggest crush.”
But, it turns out Ben had already noticed Erin from afar. In fact, she was the reason he said yes to being featured in the yearbook.
“When I discovered that they wanted to feature me, I jumped at the opportunity, knowing that she was in yearbook,” Ben admitted to Qolture in 2018. He told the blog that he remembers the first time he gave Erin a hug — Dec. 7, 2004 — and said, “Six days later, I knew I was in love with her and would marry her one day—so I told her. Luckily, she felt the same way. We felt at home with each other from the day we met.”
In her 2019 post, she added a few details to the timeline. “December 8, we took the photos for the yearbook,” she wrote. “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.”
Erin Reveals What Attracted Her to Ben
In their memoir, Make Something Good Today, Erin wrote about what attracted her to Ben. In addition to him being the big man on campus, involved in all sorts of activities and groups, she noticed he was also exceedingly kind.
“I watched him find the one person eating alone in the student union and pull up a chair beside him or her,” she wrote. “He was kind to anyone who would allow it and open in a way that few people were. Ben was popular, but not exclusive, and I think that’s why I loved him before I even knew him. Even from far away, I could feel his joy and generosity.”
But she also had a thing for scruffy red-headed guys. In Feb. 2022, she tweeted some throwback photos, comparing her hubby to 90s actor Ryan Dunn, who was part of the featured crew on the reality stunt show “Jackass.”
Erin tweeted, “all this talk about the new jackass movie has me feeling 16 when i had a crush on ryan dunn which led to my crush on ben napier, so thanks for my whole life trajectory, #jackass.”
After community college, Erin and Ben both attended The University of Missippippi (Ole Miss), graduating in 2007. Erin earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts with an emphasis in graphic design, while Ben graduated with a bachelor’s degree in history.