Paramount Network’s hit series “Yellowstone” has many women looking for their own Rip Wheeler or Kayce Dutton, and now the new reality dating series, “Farmer Wants a Wife,” on FOX just might give them that chance.
The show, which originated in the U.K. and airs in 32 countries, features four real life farmers and ranchers looking for the right woman to settle down with on the farm.
It’s also been dubbed “Yellowstone” meets “The Bachelor,” with women vying for the heart of four All-American men.
Fox News Digital spoke with the farmers looking for love, Hunter Grayson, Ryan Black, Allen Foster, and Landon Heaton, ahead of the show’s premiere to get their insight on the comparison between the two shows and the appeal of becoming part of the farm lifestyle.
From left to right, Hunter Grayson, Ryan Black, Landon Heaton, and Allen Foster star in “Farmer Wants a Wife.” (Michael Becker / FOX)
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“I believe [it] is the fact that cowboys, in my point of view, is they connect with nature,” Black said of the appeal of cowboys and farming. “They connect with the land, they connect with animals. I mean, that’s who we are. And I think that nature itself has an attraction to that because, like God’s said, take care of the land, you know, take care of the animals, like Noah’s Ark. It’s like a universal thing.”
“It’s as American as it gets,” Foster added. “And, you know, I think ‘Yellowstone’ has done a good job of explaining that from 1883 to 1923. It’s as iconic as anything in America. And, you know, we cowboys have been around all this time, and we’re still here. And, you know, we’re still at the core of America, I think.”
“… We cowboys have been around all this time, and we’re still here. And, you know, we’re still at the core of America.”
Although, as Heaton noted, “it’s getting harder to be [a cowboy].”
In preview clips for the show, the women make mention of the fact that they’re looking for something different in the dating scene.
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One woman, who comes from Orlando, Florida, describes her hometown as being “very much a hook-up culture.”
Another says, “Farmers are known to be genuine, honest, hard-working people. And that’s the person that you want to start a family with.”
In a press release from FOX, the show is described as, “Women will leave behind the dating apps and pursuit of love in ‘the big city’ in favor of classic American courtship. The farmers will take their group of daters to their farm and show them what it is really like to live as ranchers do—from tending to the homestead to feeding cattle and baling hay. For the daters, the realities of this lifestyle may beg the question: how much of your life are you willing to change for love?”
A total of 32 women will try to win the heart of the farmers on “Farmer Wants a Wife.” (FOX)
Grayson said he thinks the COVID-19 pandemic spurred some of the interest in moving to more rural areas.
“You know, people were trying to get out of the cities, and they were looking for that connection to the land,” the farmer told Fox News Digital. “And we’ve seen such growth and development in rural America where these small towns are starting to really grow out a little bit. And so people are wanting that connection back to their roots. And, you know, they not necessarily want to be confined into the concrete walls of the city. And I think this is giving people a little more of a window into that escape and the potential of something there for them in the future.”
The farming/ranching/cowboy lifestyle does require adjustment though.
“It’s difficult at best,” Foster admitted. “You know, you’ve got great days where things go well for us cattlers … But more often than not, you’ve got things that, not to be a Debbie Downer, but most of the time things don’t go the way you planned. And you know that that’s something that just has to be adapted to, and you have to overcome that. And I think a strong and willing partner is a big part of that.”
Allen Foster meeting one of the women interested in being his partner on “Farmer Wants a Wife.” (FOX)
He continued, “As men, we wear a lot of that that stress and heartache on ourselves. And we rely on ourselves more often than we should probably. And I think that a fine, strong woman that can, you know, say ‘It’s okay, we’ll try again tomorrow.’ That goes a long, long way. You know, not that she needs to fix everything or make it all better just to say, ‘Hey, I’m with you, and no matter what, things are going to be okay.'”
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Black summed up it in one word: understanding. “That’s all,” he noted. “We don’t want a woman to fix things for us. That’s not the manly way of moving. We just want her to understand when we, when we frustrated, we just want some understanding.”
Country music star and actress Jennifer Nettles hosts the series, acting as a guide for the would-be romantics.
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“I call myself the fairy godmother,” she said in an interview with USA Today. “This is not their world at all, and even the environment of romance can be quite uncomfortable. So I get to encourage them. Sometimes I have to say, like, ‘Come on, attaboy’ or ‘Get along little doggie, let’s make those connections.'”
Sugarland member and actress Jennifer Nettles hosts “Farmer Wants a Wife.” (John Shearer/FOX)
Nettles also noted there are key differences to this dating show, despite its comparisons to “The Bachelor.”
“Most of them aren’t accustomed to any sort of farm life,” Nettles adds. “So for them to come and say, ‘Am I willing to change my lifestyle like this? Is this a lifestyle I’m interested in?’ It’s a very specific culture.”
With the lifestyle change and romance in mind, the question of course is: Did any of the farmers find a wife on the show?
“Stay tuned to find out!” teased Grayson.
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“Farmer Wants a Wife” premieres at 9 p.m. ET on FOX
