Two Canberrans will be looking for love on the latest season of Farmer Wants a Wife which returns to small screens next weekend.
Amaroo's Sahara McLellan and Campbell's Josh Huxtable are among the singles looking to win the heart of a farmer.
Josh, a chef turned apprentice carpenter, is one of the men looking to find a connection with Farmer Paige, a 27-year-old sheep and cattle farmer from Cassilis, NSW.
Sahara, who is a leading seaman in the navy, is chosen to get to know Farmer Will, a 26-year-old crop and sheep farmer from Victoria.
Sahara, 26, moved to Canberra last year for work, growing up in Maitland in the Hunter Valley.
"It was just one of those things, I was scrolling through Instagram and I saw Will's video that the show puts on there and I was just drawn to him. It seemed like we had a lot in common and he was really down-to-earth," she said.
"I would normally never, ever apply to be on reality TV. I watch a little bit of reality TV but the thought of me being on there is terrifying. But I just had a gut feeling about it and I was ecstatic that I managed to get on and he wanted to meet me."
Josh Huxtable, 28, was a chef for a couple of years at Canberra restaurant Aubergine, before he had a couple of career changes, moving into demolition and then carpentry.
He said applying for Farmer Wants a Wife was a last-minute decision saying the Canberra dating scene wasn't that great.
"I mean, there's plenty out there but I'm not a big one for online dating or social media dating," he said. "In general, I wasn't that in love with the dating scene in Canberra. I was in a pretty committed relationship for the last couple of years."
Josh, who grew up in the Southern Highlands, said he had always hoped to settle down with a rural lifestyle. And whether that it with Paige, remains to be seen.
"Paige was fantastic," he said. "I really enjoyed meeting her and spending time with her. We see the world similarly so we go on in that regard."
Josh said he didn't have a problem dealing with other men also wanting to win the heart of Paige, saying he got on with them all.
"It was basically a boys' trip away, if I'm honest," he said.
"From the moment we all got thrown in together, there were a few hiccups with COVID so we all spent more together than we should have.
"I think the guys were there for the right reasons. And if someone was a frontrunner, we weren't going to get in their way. The boys were all quite a mature age, I think I was one of the younger ones.
"We've all been around the block enough to know it doesn't work out sometimes. And if it didn't work out for us, don't cry about it, just move on and encourage everyone."
Sahara, meanwhile, sounds smitten by Farmer Will.
"Will is more handsome in person, which is surprising, because he is very handsome in the photos," she said.
"When I saw him, it was like, 'Oh, my gosh'. It was really surreal. He's also very lovely. He was genuinely there to find someone to be his wife for the rest of his life."
She wasn't looking for a rural life but was happy to move to the country for love.
"I said this to him as well, it's not something I thought I would be doing. Like, it's not something I ever pictured for myself," she said.
"But when I applied, I actually sat on the application for about a week. I was thinking, 'Do I actually want this?'. I didn't want to waste anyone's time and it's a big deal to even put yourself in that situation.
"I thought about it and growing up, I did spent a lot of time on a dairy farm with family. So, I definitely was very open to it, but it's not something I've spent my whole life thinking, 'Oh, I want to be a farmer's wife'."
Sahara said applying for Farmer Wants a Wife was a genuine attempt by her to find love.
"I'd been single for about five years up until the time I applied, so I was sick of it," she said.
"I lived in Sydney for six years before I came to Canberra. I've been in places where there are lots of people but I just haven't been able to find the right person.
"I was quite hurt in my last relationship, I sort of backed away from dating for a while. The dating apps just don't work for me, to be honest."
And she got on with the other women, also vying for Farmer Will's attention.
"I didn't struggle too much with that," she said. "I think some people can get really caught up in the idea of the whole thing. It's not a competition. And you've really got to step out of that mindset.
"I just tried to be confident, trust what I was feeling. But, yeah, I did get along with the majority of the girls."
She was excited but nervous to see the show go to air.
"It's one of those things, you don't know what to expect. How is it going to be edited? What are they going to show? What are they not going to show?
"But I'm very excited. It's a lot of anticipation."
- Farmer Wants a Wife returns at 7pm on Prime7 on Sunday, September 4.
