Exclusive Interview: ‘Farmer Wants A Wife’ Behind-the-Scenes Revealed
The hit FOX reality dating show, Farmer Wants A Wife, is down to this season's last two episodes. Soon, fans will learn which of the four farmers found a potential spouse and who will go back to the farm single.
Taste of Country had the chance to talk to farmers Brandon Rogers and Ty Ferrell about their experiences ahead of the shows finale.
We learned everything from behind-the-scenes secrets of production that viewers didn’t get to see to the selection process of the women and if the farmers are friends in real life.
This Wasn’t Farmer Ty Ferrell’s First Time on Camera!
Back in 2014, Ferrell and his ex-wife Sarah (whom he shares his daughter with), starred on a pilot called Small Town Big Style. A fairly large camera crew would follow them around, so he wasn’t too thrown off by the camera production of Farmer Wants A Wife.
“It gave me a bit of familiarity with what was going to happen,” Ferrell says. “But it was still just a different take [with] it being a dating show.”
Their Farm and Ranch Duties Still Had to Happen While Filming
All four men are farmers by trade — living out the name of the dating show! Therefore, although they were there to find love, they also had to keep up with their daily to-dos.
Farmer Brandon shares that he would sneak away when he could and get stuff done around the ranch. For Ferrell, his biggest adjustment was getting things done but on someone else’s schedule.
“There’s a schedule, a process that everyone in TV world knows and goes by, and they know what’s going to happen,” Ferrell shares. “Being a personality and coming in and having to submit to that was very different.”
“We are all very used to scheduling our daily actives and doing whatever we want,” he says. “I wanted to fight it, but then was like you just tell me where I need to be. What’s going on? It was kinda fun!”
Ferrell shares that adhering to a schedule run by someone else allowed him to be able to have space to reflect each day and take the full process in.
Technology Was New to Many of the Farmers
For some of the farmer’s, they went from living in a remote area to becoming television sensations. It’s a lot to explore in a short amount of time.
However, Farmer Ty was already in the social media game.
“I had just gotten a TikTok and was not crazy about it at all,” he said smiling.
Many might not know that Ferrell also has an eye for photography, taking picture of horses and ranch life.
What is the Selection Process for Farmer Wants a Wife?
For Farmer Ty, his “yes” involved not just him but his 12-year-old daughter as well. In our interview with him, the farmer opened up on what the conversation with his daughter looked like ahead of the show.
“It was basically, 'Hey I might get the chance to do this dating show and potentially find somebody, what do you think?” he shares.
His daughter's response was effortless with no hesitation: “Oh my god, that that would be great. Yes, do it!”
For Farmer Brandon, it was his stepsister who urged him to apply. He also shared that the women who applied would watch a one to one-and-a-half minute video of each farmer. On the farmer’s end, they received headshots of the ladies, with a few brief sentences on who they are.
As he flipped through the headshots, Farmer Brandon’s focus was on the women’s locations.
“I wanted to find someone that wasn’t doing the same thing I was doing,” he shares. “As well as the opportunity — when I’m not farming and it’s my off-season — good places to travel.”
Additionally, he looked for women who were close to their families and enjoyed being outdoors like his does.
Are The Farmers Friends in Real Life?
“All of us farmers are good friends and then a handful of ladies, we all have a group text,” Ferrell shares. “We are all going through this experience and we are the only ones who know what it’s truly like to experience that situation.”
Where Did They Film Farmer Wants A Wife?
The production really did happen right on the farmer’s land.
“The days were long,” Ferrell says.“It was 12 hour days of filming. The days would rotate…you might 7 in the morning or 10, and then your start time would be your end time in the evening. Toward about halfway through, I would go in and lay on the floor just because you’re mentally and emotionally exhausted. The aspect of being on and off camera.”
When they weren’t filming and Farmer Brandon was tending to his land, he assured us that the women were never bored.
“The house is fairly big with a nice, big backyard, if they weren’t binge watching Love Is Blind or something on the TV, they were hanging in the backyard and thoroughly enjoying themselves,” Rogers shares.
He also added that production really didn’t come in and add too much to the house decor — what you see on the show is authentic.
Catch the finale of Farmer Wants a Wife on FOX this Thursday (May 9) at 8PM CT.