By Shawn Smith
HOME TOWN stars Ben and Erin Napier are the proud parents of two daughters, Helen, 7, and Mae 4, but they didn’t always know if kids were in the plan.
“We both have shifted our focus to the girls completely, which is something that is crazy because neither one of us were like…we weren’t looking to have kids,” Ben told Annie F. Downs on the “That Sounds Fun” podcast.
For Erin, she wanted to have children but was uncertain if she would be able to after discovering that she had a perforated appendix in 2014.
“I was really, really scared. They said I could likely get pregnant but told me it could be difficult to carry a baby full-term,” she told PEOPLE magazine when she was expecting their second child. “I was terrified to even try, because what if I can’t, and then I’m just devastated? What if we try, and something awful happens and it’s this tragic loss for us?”
Ben was more impartial to parenthood before having children, but that’s totally changed.
“And I was of the mindset, you know, I grew up with three brothers. I have lots of nieces and nephews. If you want to, great. If you don’t, we’ll be good” Ben told Downs. “But I cannot imagine a second that they don’t exist”
The college sweethearts, who have been married since 2008, believe communication is necessary for a healthy marriage.
“Erin and I always say communication is a key element in a happy marriage,” Ben revealed in an US interview.
Working together on three successful shows has given the husband-and-wife team plenty of practice.
“The vast majority of our job is a director saying, ‘Hey, that just happened — give me some thoughts on it,’” he said. “We ping-pong off each other.”
“We’ve been together longer than we’ve been apart. We learned how to communicate together. It’s effortless now,” Erin added.
Thoughtful gestures in their marriage don’t hurt either, whether its Erin taking out the garbage or preparing coffee for her husband for the next day.
Related: Erin & Ben Napier on Expecting Second Daughter: ‘We Didn’t Know If It Was Possible’
“We went to Ole Miss to speak at an event, so I put his Ole Miss mug [out]. It’s a little secret language we have. It’s just a mug, but it’s meaningful,” Erin revealed.
While Ben takes care of their garden.
“That’s a romantic gesture to me,” The Heirloom Rooms author said. “He makes sure we have something fresh I can [harvest] to cook.”
Another romantic gesture of Ben’s is love notes that he leaves Erin.
“They don’t say anything profound,” she said. “[just] things like, ‘I’m so thankful that it’s you and me, and that this is what our life is,’ or, ‘Thank you for being mine, and I’ll always do my best for you every day.’”
Throughout their life together, whether it’s with family or business, they’ve learned one thing: expect the unexpected.
“[W]e don’t really plan anymore, because everything that we have planned never happened. The thing that did happen was way, way better than what we had imagined,” Ben said.
As it says in Proverbs19:21, “Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.”
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