Ben Napier is a big guy who likes big hugs, according to his wife and "Home Town" co-star, Erin Napier.
And that's something she learned that about him way back in their college days.
“On December 7, 2004, I woke up in my dorm and went to class like any other Tuesday,” Erin recalled in an Instagram post she shared on the 18th anniversary of that occasion. “In a yearbook meeting, it had been decided by the staff that we would write 10 articles for the book on the most interesting people on campus. The first choice was unanimously Ben Napier, and as design editor, I said ‘I can be there for the photoshoot if I need to be. It’s no big deal.’"
Well, it was kind of a big deal, considering that Ben was her "biggest crush since Ryan Dunn in the 10th grade." Not that he knew that.
"(Ben) was such a fun person to watch, to be around," she continued. "I wanted so badly to be his friend. He made anyone he spoke to feel like they were special, he sat with the person eating alone. And because of that, I loved him before I even knew him."
But the yearbook project was all it took to get to know him.
“Ben went to the yearbook room that morning to find out about the photoshoot and the article,” she wrote. “When he walked in the room, 2 other girls were already talking to him, laughing, flirting. ... I walked by and he reached out for my arm — for a hug (!!!!), and I, ever coolly, gave him a one-arm side hug."
That, however, wasn't good enough for Ben.
"We were only acquaintances who had spoken 4 times total, but he said 'two arms, please!” Erin remembered of the moment. "He wrapped me in a hug. For the first time I noticed how very big he was — 6 feet 6 inches and nearly 300 pounds. I felt as small as a bird. I could smell the laundry detergent he used, his cologne, and I melted."
Evidently, he did, too, because she added, "6 days later we decided we would get married."
The HGTV renovation experts swapped vows four years later in a ceremony officiated by Ben’s dad, Wayne Napier.
Since then, Ben's love for Erin — and his love for two-armed hugs — hasn’t waned a bit, as an image that accompanied her Instagram post proved.
“Good morning!!! When you get up, I would like a hug," read message typed on her husband's letterhead, dated Dec. 7, 2022. "Two arms, please? I love you."
Instead of signing off with his name, he simply wrote, "Big."
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