HGTV couple Ben and Erin Napier have a love story for the ages. After more than 20 years together, Ben finally pulled off the most special surprise for his beloved wife.
Special Mother’s Day
Erin — who married Ben in 2008 after meeting while both were attending Jones College in Mississippi — shared a photo of her priceless Mother’s Day gift, and shared the backstory.
“In 1997 my parents bought a brand new Jeep Cherokee Country. Olive green with a tweed interior,” Erin reminisced in a Wednesday, June 17, Instagram post. “We drove it all over America, and in 2002 it became mine because I was playing a lot of shows and needed to haul my amp and guitars.”
Unfortunately, the car was totaled just two years later when “a driver coming over a blind hill” crossed into oncoming traffic and crashed into her.
“I was heartbroken,” Erin continued. “It had a Blind Melon sticker on the back windshield and [Counting Crows] ‘Recovering the Satellites’ in the CD player.”
Now, more than two decades later, Erin revealed, “I would still be driving it today if that accident had never happened.”
According to the mother of two, “Ben has been searching the country for one exactly like it since we met. Many came close, but never the ONE. Until this year, for Mother’s Day, he surprised me.”
“It was exactly like mine, with very few miles on it, hiding out in North Carolina. I am 20 again when I drive it,” Erin continued. “My mama cried a little when I drove up their driveway in it. She said it felt like we went back in time. Now my girls pick the CD we play from my CD books in the backseat. ❤️”
In addition to the vintage car, Ben surprised his wife with a collection of era-specific CDS that “he thought [she] would have loved back then.”
“He KNOWS me,” she gushed.
Erin’s mom, Karen Raspberry, added a fun tidbit in the comments.
“Your dad and I were the same ages as you and Ben are now when we bought that Jeep. I want to go back to 1997 😢” she shared.
“Well that just murdered me mama. HOW COULD YOU,” Erin cried.
Fans Swoon
“Home Town” fans gushed about Ben’s surprise of a lifetime in the comments section of Erin’s Wednesday post.
“Aww! Ben, you are a keeper! We definitely need more Ben’s on the world. I love this for you Erin❤️” one follower wrote.
“Can’t say how much I love this! Getting this memory and feeling back, sharing it with your girls ❤️” another gushed.
Another fan commented, “He gave you such a wonderful gift… a Time Machine and all those wonderful memories came right back to the present! What a guy! Enjoy it!”
The Napiers’ dear friend and owner of the Heirloom Hotel, Mallory Raspberry, joked, “Now if Jim could find my 2002 Mercury Cougar we could cruise around town 😂 they were such crappy cars that you can’t even find any 😂😂😂”
“The COUG! You were a hot chickie in that thing!” Erin reminisced.
