The sixteenth season of Farmer Wants A Wife is upon us, and rural Australia has once again opened its gates to love, loneliness, and an impressive amount of hand-crafted gifts.
The 2026 premiere wasted no time setting the scene, giving us a small peek into this year’s proclaimed ‘hottest farmers ever' – a high claim considering the show is in its 16th season, but they definitely weren’t kidding. These five dashing farmers had women fanning themselves, hysterically giggling, and even fainting - both off and on the tellie.
For the premiere’s thirty-nine women, the pressure was on to see whether chemistry could be established in a four-minute first date. Here’s Countrytown’s breakdown of the first two episodes of the season.
Episode 1: Alex, Dylan, and Jason
In episode 1, we were generously met with the meet-cutes of hopeless romantic Alex, rodeo charmer Dylan, and gentle giant Jason.
Farmer Dylan
Our first farmer, Dylan, looks after sheep in the work week, and tears up the rodeo in between. A true cowboy at heart, the 24-year-old from Cherry Gardens, South Australia, learned his passion for horses from his beloved ‘nan’.
A clear role model in all his decisions, Dylan’s love for his nan is shared with first date Ally, a 23-year-old chocolate shop assistant who lives with her ‘Granny Anny’, and describes her matriarch as a ‘bestie’. Ally has good taste in first dates - literally - as she blindfolds Dylan and quizzes him on a taste test of her assorted chocolates from work. Both avidly looking up to their grandmothers, both sharing dietary requirements (dairy-free chocolate was shared), and both incredibly smitten with each other, the pair seemed to hit it off, and we wanted to see more!
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But then, the more girls we met, the more we couldn’t help but think that the casting team was damn good at their job. 23-year-old Renae began her date with Dylan by gifting him a hand-crocheted miniature horse wearing a cowboy hat, and Dylan was instantly hooked on this sweet animal-lover of a bachelorette.
Scarlett, 22, a polo player from Melbourne, also caught Dylan's eye - though he openly admitted city girls haven't always worked out for him, even when he can't help being drawn to them. The city girl vs country boy tension will no doubt stretch across the season.
Dylan's five: Renae, Ally, Lily, Tennille, and Scarlett.
Farmer Jason
Jason is a fifth-generation dairy farmer from Coolabunia, Queensland, a dad of two and - most notably - a social netball Goal Attack. This man gets up at 5:30 am to milk 180 cows and still has the energy to be this lovable.
His date with 28-year-old Beth, a vet from WA, was easy and unforced. The two shared quick wit and bonded over the particular challenge of dating when you have kids, and with Beth’s love of animals on top, it’s no wonder she was picked first.
Then along came Poppy, managing to take Jason’s heart in two very different directions. While a for-sure frontrunner at first, Poppy soon shattered the mirage by admitting to Jason that she wasn’t hot on having her own kids, coming to her own terms and admitting she’d love to be a stepmother instead.
Jason, who would love to add to his small army of two, let out an evident ‘eugh’, and it was hard to watch. You'd think that's the end of that, but then we heard Poppy’s name chosen from the bunch. Jason admitted he was completely smitten and started quietly wondering how he might bring her around to the idea of kids. Whether that's a love story in the making or a slow-motion complication depends entirely on how the season plays out, but either way, it's going to be interesting.
The episode's most dramatic exit came after Jason made his final picks, when Bene, a customer service worker, mum of one, and genuinely likeable presence throughout, fainted from the heat and adrenaline of the day. She recovered quickly and kept her sense of humour, which made her an instant fan favourite even in leaving.
Jason's five: Beth, Logan, Jessica, Jessie, and Poppy.
Farmer Alex
If Dylan was the rodeo cowboy and Jason the gentle giant, Alex is the quiet creative you didn't see coming. The 28-year-old cattle and mushroom farmer from Kin Kin, Queensland, sets himself apart from the rest as the show's first-ever mushroom farmer and a total artsy type at heart.
He’s an unpredictable pick, but an interesting one at that. Not to mention he’s definitely on the Gen Z/Millennial cusp as we see by him quoting Eminem, describing fungi as "weird and wonderful, just like me," and casually revealing that his dream wedding is ‘Twilight-inspired’. Yes, like the movie, “Pacific Northwest, dried wood, moody lighting”, he adds. A man of very specific taste, and entirely unbothered about it.
His dates matched the energy. 24-year-old event manager Suzannah kicked her date off with nothing but her quirky sense of humour, and even calmly managed to remove a spider from Alex’s hair halfway through. Delia, 29, brought a personalised playlist complete with a DIY record pop-out - the kind of gift that tells you someone actually paid attention. Eddy, the 30-year-old lawyer, set up a truth-or-dare golf game for their date, which is exactly the kind of left-field confidence Alex seemed to appreciate.
Then Rachel, 25, sat down and told him she hates mushrooms. He farms mushrooms. She offered a diplomatic compromise, saying she'd tend to them and sell them as long as she wouldn’t have to eat them. Sure, transparency is key, but this seems like it might be a deal breaker. He chose her for his five anyway, so something must have landed, or some drama must be unfolding in the next few episodes.
Alex's five: Eddy, Delia, Suzannah, Gabbie, and Rachel.
Episode 2: Zac and Jarrad
In quick succession from Monday’s premiere, the following night’s airing gave us the second half of farmer introductions, with the show’s youngest and oldest bachelors, Zac and Jarrad. By the halfway mark, all five farmers had made their picks - and the 24-hour dates had already begun.
Farmer Zac
Zac is a 24-year-old apple orchard farmer from Forest Range in South Australia who describes himself as sporty, outgoing, and someone who bakes for fun. He was visibly nervous upon arrival, describing the experience of merely getting to this point as a “roller coaster, and admitted beforehand that “sometimes pretty ladies can make me a little bit nervous.” Enter Miranda.
Zac’s first date was with Miranda, a 21-year-old real estate professional from Queensland who swam competitively for 15 years and grew up on a farm. On paper, Miranda’s background and noticeably larger screen time made it seem like maybe there could be something here. In practice, she arrived with the energy of someone who knows exactly what she wants. She openly admitted she’s “high maintenance” and only dates blue-eyed guys because she wants blue-eyed children. Zac, to his credit, took this in stride. He was smitten.
The rest of his final five brought their own flavour. Mieke, 22, is a flight attendant who describes herself as a farm girl at heart, drawn to Zac’s down-to-earth nature and love of simple moments. Maya, 22, is a medical receptionist from Victoria who has taught herself piano, watercolour painting and latte art from YouTube - a creative energy that seems well matched to someone who bakes in his spare time. Jessica, a dietician from NSW, said she values deep connection and “making sure everyone feels seen and supported,” which feels like exactly the kind of person you’d want around on a quiet farm night. Grace rounded out the five.
Zac’s five: Grace, Miranda, Mieke, Maya, and Jessica.
Farmer Jarrad
Then came Jarrad, the 41-year-old almond farmer from Taylorville in South Australia and the self-described gentleman of the season. A single dad of two boys aged 9 and 12, Jarrad has been through heartbreak before and made no secret of it. “I’ve had my heart broken before, and that was just devastating,” he said ahead of the show. “You do need to be brave to find love. I want to get it right this time.”
His women were a strong group. Brodie is a self-proclaimed high achiever and musical theatre nerd who was drawn to Jarrad’s rugged look and loves the finer things. A city girl with country girl potential, perhaps? Cara, a paralegal, described herself as caring and charismatic with a sense of humour, looking for stability and security with a “masculine man.” Carly is a fertility nurse who loves the outdoors and believes she and Jarrad share similar values. Georgia and Yvonne rounded out his five.
Jarrad’s five: Brodie, Cara, Carly, Georgia, and Yvonne.
The 24-Hour Dates
With all five farmers’ selections made, the 24-hour dates kicked off - and delivered some of the season’s best moments so far. Each farmer chose one woman to bring to the farm a full day before the rest arrived. Zac chose Grace, Jarrad chose Carly, Jason chose Beth, Alex chose Eddy - honouring the wager they made during their golf date - and Dylan made the episode’s biggest shock call, choosing Ally over Renae. Even Ally told producers, “I thought Dylan was going to pick Renae.”
Dylan took Ally to meet his best mate, Billy Bob - a horse - before the two went for a ride together. Dylan was impressed that Ally, not a horse rider, gave it a go without hesitation. Later, by the fire, Ally admitted her biggest fear is infertility and gave an impassioned speech about wanting kids and wanting to experience pregnancy.
Dylan listened, stood up, said “let’s go and get warm, hey” - and walked off. Ally told producers she was a little disappointed. Then Dylan came back and kissed her mid-sentence. Very rom-com. The two were later spotted making out in the woods, so it’s safe to say things recovered.
Alex took Eddy through his mushroom greenhouse, told producers she has “the most phenomenal eyes” and that he can’t look at her for more than three seconds before blushing, then gifted her a gold pendant with a pearl before the two shared a kiss. Alex is clearly smitten!
Jason and Beth wasted no time going deep over a romantic dinner. Beth asked about his ex, to which Jason responded with a very relatable “Jesus.” He opened up about his son’s mum not being around, and Beth shared that her daughter’s father is in the picture, but that nothing would hold her back from moving to the farm. The conversation led to a rather passionate kiss, followed by an evening of cuddling and flirting.
Zac and Grace had the season’s most frank conversation: Grace told him she felt it was “a little bit bros at the moment.” Zac admitted he’s shy and sometimes struggles to express his emotions. The honesty led to the season’s first kiss, which Grace described as “weird and unnatural but good.” Not exactly a love sonnet, but we’ve seen romances built on less.
Jarrad and Carly had a serious but warm conversation about kids and step-parenting. Carly confirmed she wants children and is happy to take on a step-mum role. Jarrad said he was glad they were “on the same page” and then kissed her. Just the kind of energy Jarrad seems to be going for.
What’s Next
With all five farmers now locked in, the full picture of the season is starting to take shape. Twenty-five women remain, heading to farms across South Australia and Queensland with hope, good outfits, and varying degrees of agricultural experience. A proposal has already been teased in this year’s season trailer - so it’s safe to say the stakes have never been higher.
Farmer Wants A Wife airs Monday, Tuesday, and Sunday on Channel Seven and 7plus.
