If anyone has earned the right to hand out dating advice, it’s HGTV sweethearts Ben and Erin Napier. Nearly 20 years into their marriage, the Home Town stars are still laughing, still talking nonstop, and still absolutely sure they chose the right person. Now, they’re opening up about how they knew they were “the one” for each other—and what they wish younger daters would do differently.
A Campus Meet-Cute That Changed Everything
Fans know Ben and Erin as the warm, down-to-earth couple transforming homes on HGTV, but their own love story could be a rom-com all on its own. The pair met back in college in 2004, when Erin interviewed Ben for the school newspaper. For Ben, the moment is still crystal clear.
“I remember seeing Erin the first week of school,” he previously told People of that first encounter. “She was walking across the student union, and she had a pixie haircut. I didn’t know what a pixie cut was at the time, but I knew I liked it.”
From there, things moved fast—very fast. Erin has shared that just six days after they officially got together, they were already certain of their future.
“Six days later, we decided we would get married, and that was that,” she wrote in a 2010 blog post. No long, drawn-out questioning. No will-they-won’t-they drama. Just two people who looked at each other and felt, very clearly, that this was it.
Speaking to Fox News ahead of their Home Town season 10 premiere, Erin reflected on that moment of certainty. “I feel really lucky that we both knew,” she said.
Ben and Erin Napier Share No-Nonsense Dating Advice with Fans
Nearly 20 Years, One Big Team
Today, nearly two decades into marriage, Ben and Erin sound just as sure as they did in those early days. When asked what challenges they face as a long-married couple who also work together, Ben’s answer was surprisingly sweet.
“The only challenge is trying to surprise each other with something,” he admitted.
Erin laughed and backed him up. “It’s real hard,” she said. “We’re together 24/7 so we have, I will say, pretty much perfect communication with each other. We know everything. We have no secrets. ’Cause you can’t have a secret when you are with someone constantly.”
That kind of total transparency doesn’t just happen—it’s a daily choice. And it’s exactly what shapes the dating advice they now share with others who are still searching for their person.
The Dating Advice They Wish More People Would Hear
The couple, who share daughters Helen and Mae, are refreshingly direct about love. For Erin, the real problem isn’t that love is hard to find—it’s that too many people are afraid to be honest about what they want.
“I feel like people don’t take enough risks anymore as far as just saying it. Saying what you really think,” she told Fox News. She pointed out that it’s easy to slip into a comfortable, half-hearted relationship that isn’t going anywhere. “What if you’re like just lukewarm dating someone forever and they have no intention of being with you forever? What are we doing? What is the point? What are we doing?”
She believes it’s better to be brave and clear, even if that leaves you vulnerable. “I think it’s a lot better to say the truth even if it gets you like…” she began, before Ben gently finished the thought for her: “…Even if it breaks your heart.”
Together, they make it sound simple: say the quiet part out loud.
“Where Do You See This Going?”
Both Ben and Erin agree that the fastest, most honest way to truly know someone is to be upfront about where you see things going. Erin says she hears this struggle all the time from younger people in her life.
“I know young people in their 20s who are trying to date. And they’re like, ‘I don’t know if he likes me. I just can’t tell,’” she shared. Her advice? Stop guessing and start asking. “And I’m like, just say, ‘What do you think about me? Do you like me? Do you want to marry me?’”
Ben jumps in here too, offering his own version of the same idea: “‘Where do you see this going?’”
It’s not about rushing into marriage on day three. It’s about refusing to waste months—or years—with someone who doesn’t share your vision. For the Napiers, clarity, honesty, and communication aren’t just nice ideas. They’re the foundation of a marriage that’s lasted nearly two decades.
A Love Story Still Unfolding on HGTV
Fans see the finished product every week on Home Town: the shared laughs, the easy teamwork, the way Ben and Erin move around each other like they’ve been doing this forever. But behind all the renovations and reveals is a simple truth they keep repeating—say what you feel, ask what you need to know, and don’t be afraid of the answer.
As season 10 of Home Town airs Sundays on HGTV, viewers aren’t just tuning in for design inspiration. They’re getting a front-row seat to a partnership built on honesty, humor, and a promise made long ago by two college kids who decided, just six days in, that they were all in.
For anyone still searching for “the one,” Ben and Erin Napier’s message is clear and surprisingly comforting: Be brave enough to ask the real questions, strong enough to hear the truth, and open enough to recognize it when love shows up—pixie haircut, big heart, and all.
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