Erin Napier Says She Dated a Guy Before Her Husband Because 'He Looked a Little Bit Like Ben Napier'

The HGTV couple is celebrating their 19th wedding anniversary

Ben Napier and Erin Napier attend the 56th Annual CMA Awards at Bridgestone Arena on November 09, 2022 in Nashville, Tennessee Ben Napier and Erin Napier attend the 56th Annual CMA Awards at Bridgestone Arena on November 09, 2022 in Nashville, Tennessee
Ben Napier and Erin Napier, November 2022. Photo:

Taylor Hill/FilmMagic

Erin Napier has always had a thing for her husband Ben Napier!

As the Home Town television host, 38, and her beau, 40, celebrate their 19th wedding anniversary, Erin let fans in on just how into her spouse she was long before the pair ever became an item. 

“I was dating him because he looked a little bit like Ben Napier, this guy I had a crush on,” Erin said of a college sweetheart named Charlie. 

The confession came from an adorable Instagram post she shared on Friday that’s rooted in tradition. 

Each year, the couple celebrate their wedding anniversary with “Love Week” — a time when they show their appreciation for one another with heartfelt social media tributes. 

In Friday’s upload, Erin began her Instagram carousel with a photo of herself holding a typed love letter from her HGTV co-star husband. In the message, Ben admitted he already “knew by December 8th” that Erin was the one when he skipped out on a trip to New Orleans with his friends because “cheese sticks from Sonic and talking in your Beetle sounded better.”

In the next slide, the designer shared a story of her own.

Erin stated that before they began dating, Ben would receive so much attention from “various cheerleaders and dance team girls” that she “felt like I was living in She's All That and he was being nice to me on a bet.”

erin-ben-napier-hometown-hgtv erin-ben-napier-hometown-hgtv
Ben Napier, Erin Napier. courtesy HGTV

Thankfully, the art student wasn’t stuck in a 1999 rom-com, and she’d soon come to realize that “Big Ben” was serious about getting to know her better. 

She recalled being surprised that “he, somehow, knew my full name,” and also invited her to eat with him in the student union. 

Continuing her story, she said on Dec. 8, 2004, she and Ben met up so she could take his yearbook pictures. Although he “looked like Robert Goulet on SNL,” she was thrilled at the thought of spending time with the big man on campus. 

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“At one point once we were alone, while I was interviewing him, he leaned in closer to me — he smelled so nice and I noticed how exactly straight his teeth were,” Erin wrote, adding how her “heart raced” when he seemingly leaned in for a kiss she avoided. She explained her reasoning, saying, “I denied it obviously, because you can't fall in love and kiss someone 12 hours after meeting them can you?”

The Heirloom Rooms: Soulful Stories of Home author concluded her story by adding that despite being turned down for the smooch, Ben still asked her out, suggesting the two of them “go for a drive.”

“This is my favorite week on social media,” a fan commented on the post. Another said the couple — who share daughters Mae, 2, and Helen, 5 — had a love story “worthy of a Hallmark Movie adaptation ❤️.”

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