Details About HGTV Couple Ben & Erin Napier's First Kiss

Longtime married couple Ben and Erin Napier are not only business owners, but also the co-hosts of the hit HGTV reality series "Home Town." So, it should come as no surprise that the Napiers live a really lavish lifestyle. Ben and Erin wed in 2008 before welcoming their two daughters into the world. Not only that, Erin gushes about her husband just about every chance she gets. But it begs the question: Just how did Ben and Erin Napier meet in the fist place, and what was their very first kiss like?

In a 2019 Instagram post, Erin explained that she and Ben officially crossed paths for the first time back in 2004, just four years before tying the knot. At the time, they were both attending Jones County Junior College in Ellisville, Mississippi — which is nearby to both Ben's hometown of Collins and Erin's hometown of Laurel, the latter of which being where the Napiers live now (and where HGTV's "Home Town" takes place, of course). 

During a March 2025 episode of "Home Town Takeover" (a spinoff of the original "Home Town"), Erin told the story of their first kiss as a way to offer a bit of context after Ben brought her a bottle of peach soda as a romantic gesture. "The night we went on our first date, we stopped at a gas station," Erin said (via Instagram), adding, "He got a peach soda, our favorite — my favorite, and his favorite. And we shared it. We were headed back to the dorm, he was going to drop me off. And then, he said, 'Would it be all right with you if I gave you a kiss?' That was our first kiss. It tasted like peach soda."

As for how the adorable HGTV stars initially got together, their origin story is even cuter. Erin Napier had been tasked with contributing to a story about Ben Napier for the school yearbook. However, she had actually admired him from afar long before getting that fateful assignment. "I was the design editor and for two years had noticed him, always the center of attention, everyone's best friend, my biggest crush," the "Home Town" co-host recalled. Once her yearbook duties were complete, Erin and Ben went on their first date, at which point the future reality TV stars locked lips for the first time.

From that point on, the Napiers' love story progressed remarkably quickly. As Erin shared in her 2019 Instagram post about how she and her husband originally met, "December 8, we took the photos for the yearbook. 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." Indeed, Ben and Erin's wedding took place just a few short years later at the University of Mississippi, aka Ole Miss, where the two transferred following their time at Jones County Junior College.