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Ben and Erin Napier are helping an old friend find her forever home.
In PEOPLE's exclusive sneak peak of the season 5 premiere of HGTV's Home Town, airing Jan. 3, Ben and Erin are searching for a home for their friend Brooke, who was married to Brandon Davis, a camera operator and assistant on the hit HGTV series who died in 2018.
After the tragedy, Brooke — who shares son Kingston with Brandon — met and fell in love with her new husband, Robbie. The two tied the knot this year and are now looking for their dream house with help from Mississippi's most famous renovators.
"When I owned a stationery company, Brooke was one of my very first employees," says Erin, 34, in the sneak peek above.
Brooke, a professional photographer, also shot Ben and Erin's wedding, Erin's maternity photos, and their now-3-year-old daughter Helen when they brought her home from the hospital.
"She captured the very important moments in our lives for a very long time and I love her dearly," Erin says. "And Robbie is new to the family and we're so excited he's here now."
Brooke explains her connection to the show and the Napiers in an emotional on-camera interview.
"I'm definitely familiar with Home Town and the crew. My late husband actually used to work on the crew. He was a camera assistant," she says, adding while holding back tears, "I know I'm trying not to cry through this."
"Brandon passed away suddenly about two years ago," Erin explains. "It was devastating to the whole community, everybody knew him, everybody loved him."
Erin says that after Brandon's death, Brooke was at rock bottom, having to raise her son alone. But luckily, the Napiers helped Brooke and Kingston through the tragedy.
"Ben and Erin had a huge part of the journey that Kingston and I took," Brooke says. "They helped support Kingston and I financially and just emotionally. It was a great time of healing for me and for Kingston."
And Brooke is grateful to have found her new husband, who helped restore her happiness and start to rebuild.
"When I met Robbie, I knew he would be an incredible father," she says.
Season 5 of Home Town premieres Jan. 3 (8 p.m. ET) on HGTV.
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