Ben Napier Reveals He Struggled to Pay His College Tuition at Ole Miss: 'I Sold Plasma, Traded Vehicles'
The HGTV star opened up about trying to “make ends meet” during his college years in an Instagram post on Tuesday
Ben Napier is revealing the drastic measures he took in order to pay for college.
In an Instagram post on Tuesday, the Home Town star, 39, shared a video that he narrated for his alma mater, the University of Mississippi, to promote their "Ole Miss Giving Day." Alongside the video, Napier penned a powerful caption about his struggle to afford tuition after transferring to the school from a community college.
"While attending @jones_college, I lived with my best friend who convinced me to transfer to @olemiss," Ben wrote. "@erinapier transferred with me and for 2.5 years, I worked as hard as I could to earn a degree."
He continued: "It took financial aid of every kind in order for me to pay for school. I worked, scored free meals, took out loans, sold plasma, traded vehicles, earned scholarships, walked to school, sublet apartments, and anything else I could think of to make ends meet."
The HGTV star added that he's "proud to be on the other side of that" and that he "jumped at the opportunity" to help out his former university when they asked for help with the effort to bring in donations. "It felt sort of full circle," he said.
Erin, 37, shared her admiration for her husband's hard work by reposting the video onto her instagram story with the caption, "proud of you, @scotsman.co," and a heart-eye emoji. The couple share two daughters — Helen, 5, and Mae, 22 months — together.
The school also has a special place in the couple's history. "My last semester on campus, I asked Erin to marry me and a year later, we had our wedding on campus," Ben wrote.
Last August, Erin shared a sweet throwback photo from the exact spot where their romance began at Jones College.
"Had lunch at our alma mater today, and took a picture in the spot where we met in the yearbook office," Erin wrote beside a photo of the two in college. "We were 19 and 21 and had no idea this is what our future would be like. Still my biggest crush."
She also included a present-day photo with her husband as they visited the same yearbook office 17 years later.
Earlier in March, Erin expressed her gratitude for Ben as he was building their home gym despite having a shoulder injury.
"Somehow despite having a torn rotator cuff and us barging in and slowing him down daily, @scotsman.co has been building a gym in the barn and lost many lbs. and holy smokes what a babe with good blood pressure 😄," she captioned a photo of Ben taking a break in the gym to spend time with their daughters.
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Last Friday, she shared a photo of her husband after his rotator cuff surgery as he rested on the couch sporting a sling and hospital bracelet.
"Rotator cuff repaired ✅ bone spur shaved off ✅ cartilage trimmed," she wrote.
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