HGTV Erin and Ben Napier of HGTV's hit show, "Home Town."
Erin Napier of HGTV’s “Home Town” was flooded with support and insights from fans in response to an emotional post about her relationship with her dad, in which she revealed a childhood regret she hopes she has time to reverse. But the most revealing comment came from her own mother.
As a mom to two young girls — four-year-old Helen and 13-month-old Mae — Napier spends all the time she can with them, despite her wildly busy schedule filming “Home Town” and its spin-offs with her husband, Ben, as well as promoting her first children’s book. The couple told the Today Show in Dec. 2021 that neither works beyond their agreed-upon 8 am – 5 pm window in order to have ample quality time with the girls. But becoming a mom has made Napier realize how much more time she still wants to spend with her own parents.
Mom, Fans React to Napier’s Emotional Post About Her Dad
On July 11, Napier posted a throwback Instagram photograph of her dad, which she said her brother sent to her and was taken 15 years ago.
“He looks like my brother. He looks my age,” she wrote. “I facetimed Daddy this morning when the girls woke up, and we go see him or he comes over about every other day. I’m realizing (especially after reading This Time Tomorrow by @emmastraub) how important it is to keep learning about our parents, to keep calling them, inviting them over for breakfast or supper.”
And then Napier revealed a regret she has, which she hadn’t even realized before becoming a mom. She wrote, “I watch Ben’s face when the girls lean their heads into his shoulder and wrap their little arms around his neck and regret that I didn’t snuggle my dad more when I was little. Maybe I’ll try to start now. I guess it’s never too late?”
Fans flooded the heartwrenching Instagram post, encouraging Napier to make the most of the time she has left with her dad.
One woman wrote, “It’s never too late until it’s too late – don’t pass up on that time with your daddy – Luther wrote a song that resonates with so many of us today “Dance With My Father” – if I only had one more chance…”
Another shared, “It’s hard when you’re in the middle of life sometimes to think about the rest of it. Your daddy knows you love him but it’s good that you’re aware of what slips past so many of us before it’s too late.”
But one comment stood out from all the rest: a response from Napier’s own mom, former real estate agent and author Karen Raspberry. She wrote: “You were always too busy to snuggle when you were little. You always had something creative you needed to do.”
Napier hasn’t responded to her mom’s comment, but one fan replied, “I think her creativity paid off!”
Napier Has Expressed Gratitude for Her Creative Childhood
Though she may have been too creative to find time for snuggles, Napier has said having the freedom to be creative was one of the best things about her childhood. In a July 2021 interview on the “Biscuits & Jam” podcast, Napier talked about her mom’s creative influence on her.
“I thought she was a professional artist when I was little because she painted all the time but she was actually a realtor,” she said. “We were always making things, creativity was a big part of growing up in that house.”
Napier has spoken publicly about being bullied as a girl, and how she found solace in creative pursuits. “I was a bit strange and introverted,” she told “Southern Living” magazine in April 2020. “Library time was my favorite. I had a fossil collection. I would put together natural history dioramas in old shoeboxes. Or I’d stay home and make a tiger costume—that was really exciting to me.”
And she praised her mom for encouraging her creativity. “My mother had been a stereotypical Southern popular girl—the head cheerleader in high school and college,” Napier said. “But she never tried to push me into that mold. She told me to be exactly who I wanted to be and to never ever do anything just to fit in.”