As a home renovation expert, Erin Napier is used to restoring homes,
but her own transformation is nothing short of spectacular! She has been inspiring millions
of fans as a successful television star, small-town advocate, and author,
but it’s her struggles with motherhood and health battles that make her so relatable to fans.
The TV sensation has been super transparent about her struggles with mental and physical health.
Earlier this January, she posted a collection of rare throwback photos of her hospital stay
back in 2014. She revealed that she was diagnosed with a perforated appendix,
and has been experiencing troubling symptoms from her illness till today.
Part of her caption read: "My appendix has been gone along with the physical suffering
for 8 years now, but I’ve been learning through conversation with my friend who is a therapist
that it left some deep ruts in my neuro pathways that have left me
with an extreme fear and preoccupation with sickness, nausea in particular, ever since."
She confessed to experiencing panic attacks and anxiety since her surgery.
It's not every day that we see celebrities talking so openly about their mental health,
but it's just one more reason fans admire the Home Town star so much. Her honesty garnered immense
support from many, including popular Hollywood actress Drew Barrymore who commented on the post.
"I love you Erin and this does help to know and I believe we are lucky
to have a window into you that will also help others!!!!!!!!!!!
Thank you for sharing.” Her post reminded us that no matter how successful or popular one maybe,
we're all humans who have to go through our fair share of ups and downs.
She even discussed the sensitive issue in her book Make Something Good Today: A Memoir,
which she co-wrote with her husband in 2018. The uplifting book reminds readers to seek
out the good in life even when times are tough. From their struggles to triumphs,
it includes anecdotes of the couple's relationship before and after achieving fame.
The couple welcomed their first child, Helen, in January 2018, but it was different for the
duo the second time around as they had to make several adjustments with the arrival of their
second daughter, Mae last May. In an interview with Today Parents, the mother-of-2 explained
that she and her husband went through a ‘period of grieving’ before Mae’s birth.
"I was just grieving our time as a family of three and thinking it will never be like this again.'"
But once baby Mae made her grand debut, the duo’s fears went away.
"All of our worries were unfounded," she stated. "It feels like Mae was always there."
As a home renovation expert, the 36-year-old isn’t a stranger to the ins and outs of refurbishing
homes, but there is a special project she and Ben have been working on - their second
home outside Laurel, Mississippi which will be documented on Home Town as well.
She previously confirmed to PEOPLE about her family’s new abode.
"We are doing a house for ourselves! That is something very different.”
Despite being married for over thirteen years, the college sweethearts are still obsessed with
each other. Erin revealed she wakes up to a sweet surprise from her spouse every single morning.
“Ben is the biggest crush I’ve ever had in my life and now he’s my husband and it’s crazy to me.”
She added, “I think it’s always important to
remember the way you thought of each other in the beginning.”
Ben also reminisced the first time he laid eyes on his wife and shed light on her eccentric style.
“She was walking across the student union in loose-fitting jeans and she had on a tight
yellow T-shirt and she had short hair. It was very unique for a small school in southern Mississippi.
There was inner confidence there that allowed her to be able to do that.
She just carried herself differently.”
Erin loves sharing her life’s most cherished moments, with her 1.3 million followers
who always shower her with positive comments and words of encouragement.
Her Instagram is a true depiction of her personality as it showcases her most authentic
side and is filled with honest confessions of her physical and mental health issues.