Growing up in Laurel, Mississippi, Erin Napier had driven past her dream house countless times, but she’d never actually seen it. The stately, old brick Tudor isn’t visible from the road, so Erin had never realized what was hiding behind the rolling green fields and tall pine trees on a two-lane highway outside town. When her husband, Ben, sent her the listing in the spring of 2021, she couldn’t believe she had missed it all those years. “I was in love immediately—and that scared me to death,” she says. “I thought, ‘We don’t need another house...but maybe we do.’ ”

By Sid Evans

It was such an honor to present our friend and mentor, Chris Stapleton, the award that made him the winningest male vocalist in CMA history. Ben got misty-eyed when he opened the envelope. To add to this surreal experience was The Dress. I had about 12 days to find something to wear when we found out we would be presenting. I am ignorant about fashion, frankly. We are not red carpet people. I was lucky enough to meet my style icon Drew Barrymore last year when we were guests on her show. I looked up to her for so many years! I nervously reached out to her to ask: where do I begin to find a dress? I found one I loved but couldn’t find my size... Drew asked the fashion brand Marchesa to help me, and help they did. Because of her and my dear friend Melissa Cole, I’ve never felt so lovely and fancy and outside my norm. It helped me feel like I belonged when I was so nervous. -Erin

2021 was a year of big debuts for HGTV superstars Erin and Ben Napier. Not only did the home-renovating power couple premiere three new shows (season five ofHome Town, the brand-newBen’s Workshop, and the six-part docu-seriesHome Town Takeover), but they also welcomed a second daughter (baby Mae, sister to 4-year-old Helen). These days, though, action-packed years are nothing new to the Napiers — not since HGTV came calling in the summer of 2014.

By Rhonda Reinhart

Erin and Ben Napier are thrilled to be expecting their second child, but parenthood wasn't always a certain future for the pair.  "We're very, very blessed," Erin, who will welcome a baby girl in May with her husband of 12 years, tells PEOPLE in one of this week's cover stories. "I think it's really wonderful to have a sibling if it's possible. And we didn't know if it was possible."

By Mackenzie Schmidt

Late last year we brought you the news that the first couple of Laurel were headed out of Mississippi to take on their biggest project yet. Erin and Ben Napier weren’t just going to renovate one home – they were going to take on an entire town. And they were looking to their fans for suggestions. Erin took to Instagram to ask her Southern neighbors for towns who could use some extra love. "If your small town needs restoration and has homes with beautiful architecture that need some love, we want to know about it," her post read.

by Rebecca Angel Baer

When she was a girl growing up in tiny Laurel, Mississippi, Erin Napier remembers being bullied from fourth through seventh grade. “I was a bit strange and introverted,” says Erin, who wasn’t interested in makeup or clothes. “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.”

By Mimi Read

When David Bromstad, the host of HGTV’s “My Lottery Dream Home,” won that network’s reality series “Design Star” in 2006, the network was a very different place. “Coming in through a reality show, I was just at the start of the big changes that were happening,” he recalls. “When HGTV started, there were still crafts in the morning and quilting — it was a whole other genre.”

By Daniel D'Addario

She was a designer; he was a woodworker. Together, the hosts of Home Town stepped out in faith to shine a spotlight on Erin’s hometown of Laurel, Mississippi.

by Erin Napier

HGTV's Home Town stars give thanks for their beloved Laurel, Mississippi, during a "Friendsgiving" feast beneath twinkling lights.

by Laura Kostelny

Ben Napier is massive, 6-foot-6, 300 lbs. His wife, Erin — 5-foot-5, slim — is not. She calls him "Big" and cranes her neck in such a constant state of adoration that she appears to be risking long-term muscle strain.

by Karen Heller

On their HGTV show Home Town, Erin and Ben Napier have completely transformed their home base of Laurel, Mississippi, one house at a time. Now, the design-savvy duo is taking their talents to a new neck of the woods — and this time, it could be yours. 

by Hannah Chubb