Erin Napier and her husband Ben are teaming up with friends and family for HGTV‘s “Home Town: Inn This Together.” Erin’s bestie, Mallorie Rasberry, spilled the beans on their friendship, including a time the HGTV star “messed up” her hair.
How Do the ‘Home Town: Inn This Together’ ‘Framily’ Know Each Other?
On “Home Town: Inn This Together,” the Napiers lend their renovation knowledge to help Mallorie, her husband Jim, and Josh Nowell as they work to make their dream project — The Heirloom Hotel — a reality.
In a May 2026 interview with HGTV, Mallorie explained how they all know each other.
“Erin and Jim are first cousins. Their dads are brothers. Josh and Erin went to high school together, and then at University of Mississippi, Erin and I were roommates, and Josh and Ben were as well,” Mallorie explained.
She added, “As for Jim, Erin was doing an art show for her senior thesis, and he came up to support her. I met Jim that night. We were engaged a year later and married a year after that.”
Erin shared, “The night Jim met Mallorie, he decided to stay another night and then another night because he was smitten. Jim was always family, and Mallorie was like a sister. So when he and Mallorie started dating, they were kind of like siblings to me.”
Fans can see how proud Erin is of her “framily” in a preview for “Home Town: Inn This Together,” where she notes, “I’m excited for people to see how talented Mallorie is.”
She adds, “When the building is done, it’s going to look like one of those black and white photos of the department store has come to life. It feels like it’s been in black and white and so sad for so long — when the people who live here see that dilapidated building finally restored, it says something.”
Erin Napier Made a Big Mistake Early in Her Friendship With Mallorie
When asked if there was a moment early on that they knew they’d be close friends, Mallorie recalled a time when Erin offered to highlight her hair. It didn’t go so well, but their friendship endured.
“One time, I was talking about how I didn’t have any money and I needed to get my hair done. And Erin was like, ‘Girl, I can do it. I can highlight your hair,'” she shared. “So, we went to the store together — we’d only known each other a few days at this point — and she bought a whole bunch of hair stuff and did my hair.”
“And it’s awful. Just awful,” Mallorie said. “Remember when at-home highlights first came out and you’d pull pieces of hair through holes in a cap? If that isn’t an indication of our friendship, then I don’t know what is. She messed up my hair and I still talked to her.”
Erin shared, “I think the reason Mallorie has always felt like family to me is because there’s something about her that reminds me of my mom, who was a very feminine country girl. Mallorie grew up on a country farm, but she was Miss Hospitality. She was a cheerleader. She was in the band. She wasn’t a prissy girl, and she knew how to get her hands dirty. Which is a lot like my mom.”
