Home Town stars Erin and Ben Napier reveal their daughter’s name was unveiled on This Is Us

Home Town stars Erin and Ben Napier reveal their newborn daughter Mae’s name was secretly unveiled on This Is Us months before her birth


HGTV’s Erin and Ben Napier divulged on Monday that their newborn’s name was actually revealed on hit drama show This Is Us earlier this year. 

Even before the Home Town stars welcomed daughter Mae on May 28, Erin shared that the infant’s name was actually ‘snuck’ onto the show by good friend Chris Sullivan, who plays Toby. 

Sharing a screen grab of a notepad full of names as penned by Sullivan on television, Erin also revealed that Mae’s middle name (which has yet to be announced) also made its way onto the list. 

TV debut! Home Town stars Erin and Ben Napier revealed that their newborn daughter Mae’s name was actually revealed earlier this year on This Is Us by good friend Chris Sullivan who stars on the show; pictured January 2020

In the NBC drama, Sullivan’s character Toby was seen jotting down a list of potential middle names for he and on-screen wife Chrissy Metz’s daughter. 

And on the list he snuck in the name ‘Mae’ amongst a dozen others, with Erin sharing that he did it to see if the Napiers would ‘spot it.’    

‘An Easter egg from our friend @sullivangrams: earlier this year on This Is Us, Kate and Toby were at the hospital awaiting their baby. Our friend Chris, who plays Toby, was writing down ideas for the baby’s middle name and he snuck Mae (and her middle name!) in there to see if we would spot it when we watched the episode,’ she wrote.  

And as stated in her caption, Mae’s middle name also appeared on that same list which sent fans into a tizzy trying to guess the chosen moniker. 

Big reveal! In the hit NBC show Sullivan's character Toby slipped the name Mae on a list of potential names for he and on-screen wife Chrissy Metz's daughter

Big reveal! In the hit NBC show Sullivan’s character Toby slipped the name Mae on a list of potential names for he and on-screen wife Chrissy Metz’s daughter

This Is Us: Evidently, Sullivan who stars as Toby Damon has known their daughter's first and middle name for quite some time

This Is Us: Evidently, Sullivan who stars as Toby Damon has known their daughter’s first and middle name for quite some time

Not yet revealed: And as stated in her caption Mae's middle name also appeared on that same list, which sent fans into a tizzy trying to guess the chosen moniker

Not yet revealed: And as stated in her caption Mae’s middle name also appeared on that same list, which sent fans into a tizzy trying to guess the chosen moniker

‘I’m guessing Mae Elizabeth because Elizabeth is written twice,’ wrote one fan, with others seconding the notion.  

The home renovation pair added a second daughter to their family on Friday May 28, joining three-year-old Helen. 

They chose the name ‘Mae’ after Erin’s beloved Aunt Mae, and announced the arrival on Instagram with tiny polaroids of intimate hospital moments. 

On Monday Ben shared a photo of their two daughters bonding. ‘This is a very memorable Memorial Day weekend for me and my girls,’ he wrote. 

Sister bond: 'This is a very memorable Memorial Day weekend for me and my girls,' Ben wrote as he shared a photo of the pair's two daughters together

Sister bond: ‘This is a very memorable Memorial Day weekend for me and my girls,’ Ben wrote as he shared a photo of the pair’s two daughters together

New arrival: The Home Town stars welcomed Mae on Friday May 28 and chose to name her after Erin's Aunt Mae

New arrival: The Home Town stars welcomed Mae on Friday May 28 and chose to name her after Erin’s Aunt Mae

‘While we are excited to have another daughter to love, we are more excited to see the bond she and Helen will have. They’re already so in love with each other!’ the couple told PEOPLE

The pair announced they were expecting in April, keeping the pregnancy largely underwraps despite knowing since September. ‘We’re having another baby,’ the pair told the publication in the spring.   

The second pregnancy continued to be a sort of miracle given Erin’s health battle which began when she was just 19. 

The designer struggled with severe stomach pain for years before doctors informed her she had a perforated appendix, which had caused immense internal damage. 

And as the constant rupturing had caused her organs to become wrapped in scar tissue, doctors told her that she may not be able to have any children which she called ‘very sad,’ before they got pregnant with Helen in 2017.

Miracle baby: The high school sweethearts married in 2008 but were unsure if they would be able to start a family due to Erin's perforated appendix which caused internal damage but they welcomed daughter Helen in 2017

Miracle baby: The high school sweethearts married in 2008 but were unsure if they would be able to start a family due to Erin’s perforated appendix which caused internal damage but they welcomed daughter Helen in 2017