Ben Napier appreciates all that he has because he intimately knows how it feels to lose it all. During an episode of Sadie Robertson Huffâs âWHOA Thatâs Goodâ podcast on October 15, 2025, the HGTV star and expert woodworker opened up about the hardship his family faced while he was young.
âGrowing up in my house, when I was a little kid, my parents lost everything financially,â he shared, adding that it actually happened twice and revealing how those experiences shaped his outlook on life.

Ben Napier Says His Family Was Left With One Old Car After Bank Took Everything Else
Sitting next to his wife and âHome Townâ co-star Erin Napier, Ben shared on the podcast what he remembers about the first time his parents, Wayne and Bennie Napier, had to start all over when he was young.
He said, âThey literally had this old Datsun car because the bank said, âThat car has no value,â so they let my dad keep it. ⌠One of my earliest memories was riding down the road in this car and the hood flew up and busted the windshield. And my dadâs solution was he jerked the hood off the car and threw it in the ditch and kept going. So this is the kind of car weâre talking about.â
âUntil that point, up until them losing everything, like, my dad was a big farmer,â Ben continued. âIt was this weird bank loan situation that is actually an illegal loan. They canât do them anymore and, anyway, he lost everything and he rebuilt it all and then he lost it all again.â
Ben Napier Says Second Time His Family âLost Everythingâ Was By Choice
In June, Ben shared a similar story with Country Living and explained, âThe second time he lost everything was when he became a preacher. Or rather, he gave everything up. He was a truck driver and was very successful in a time when you could make a lot of money as a truck driver. He owned an 18-wheeler, a semi. It was probably the only time since being a father that he was financially stable. But he felt this higher calling on his life and gave it all up and sold everything.â
Ben added, âIt was impactful for me because, there he was, giving everything up. We sold our farm. We had a house and 10 acres and a barn. Sold his truck, sold his trailers, went back to school and got a degree and then got his masterâs from Duke University.â
In 2021, Ben shared on the âBiscuits & Jamâ podcast that their familyâs life changed drastically at that point, explaining, âGrowing up, we didnât have a house that we grew up in. My parents are both United Methodist preachers, and anybody who knows anything about the United Methodist Church is the preachers move, and so we lived in several little small towns and big houses, small houses, you know, really dumpy houses and some really great houses.â
Ben Napier Says His Parentsâ Sacrifices Taught Him to Appreciate the Present
HGTVOn the âWHOA Thatâs Goodâ podcast, Ben said watching his parents sacrifice for their family and appreciate whatever they had, taught him to appreciate the present and not worry about the future, because sometimes things turn out even better than expected.
âMy perspective on heartache and loss was from watching my parents lose and rebuild and start over and then have a surprise baby late in life when, as far as the world was concerned, they did not need that child. And he was, you know, a miracle situation.â
In an essay Ben previously wrote for Guideposts, he shared that he was 10 when his mom informed him and his two brothers that a new sibling was on the way. He wrote, âI heard her tell friends that this baby was a surprise. I wondered how that could be if we knew it was coming. Well, our baby brother arrived just as the holidays were beginning, and he was the most awesome gift.â
Benâs ability to stay in the present moment isnât nearly as easy for Erin, who has talked openly about her anxiety. She listened intently during the October 15 podcast as he reasoned, âAt the end of the day, everythingâs going to be okay. Yeah, itâs hard. It will be very hard. You will have very hard days.â
âAnd for Erin, that is probably her greatest fear is not being prepared and not, like, planning,â he said, to which Erin replied, âYeah, not seeing it coming â whatever it is.â


