WEBVTT - Samantha Armytage - Farmer Wants A Wife - TV Host 0:00:00.200 --> 0:00:01.760 It's in the news today, but it was actually on 0:00:01.840 --> 0:00:04.080 TV Reload, the podcast Last Weep Their Life. 0:00:04.600 --> 0:00:06.040 Welcome back to TV Reload. 0:00:06.200 --> 0:00:08.800 My name is Benjamin Norris and this is your podcast 0:00:08.800 --> 0:00:11.240 to get all the inside goss on the popular TV 0:00:11.280 --> 0:00:14.440 shows you may be watching from around the world. Undeniably, 0:00:14.480 --> 0:00:17.360 our TV sets are a major part of our home entertainment, 0:00:17.440 --> 0:00:19.640 and yet still very little is note about how our 0:00:19.720 --> 0:00:23.320 favorite shows get made. However, each episode I find guests 0:00:23.440 --> 0:00:25.320 they want to dive just that little bit deeper into 0:00:25.360 --> 0:00:27.880 the shows they're currently making so that you can hear 0:00:28.000 --> 0:00:31.200 all their exclusive stories and gain access to the biggest 0:00:31.240 --> 0:00:33.440 names in Australian television. I want to thank you for 0:00:33.479 --> 0:00:36.960 downloading or subscribing to this podcast TV Reload. I love 0:00:37.000 --> 0:00:39.280 hearing your feedback, so make sure you leave a review 0:00:39.400 --> 0:00:43.080 or a comment on your chosen podcast platform. On today's podcast, 0:00:43.120 --> 0:00:46.640 I have Samantha Armitage, who is an Australian journalist, former 0:00:46.680 --> 0:00:49.680 Sunrise presenter and now host of Farmer Wants a Wife 0:00:49.800 --> 0:00:51.920 joining me to talk about her new role on the 0:00:52.000 --> 0:00:55.480 hugely successful dating series, which last night won the ratings 0:00:55.560 --> 0:00:58.200 battle as it launched its twenty twenty three season on 0:00:58.280 --> 0:01:01.959 Channel seven. Samantha Jock viewers in twenty twenty one when 0:01:02.000 --> 0:01:04.600 she quit her coveted role on the Channel seven Breakfast show, 0:01:04.680 --> 0:01:07.400 which made her a household name and staple amongst the 0:01:07.480 --> 0:01:08.280 gossip pages. 0:01:08.560 --> 0:01:09.240 She is now. 0:01:09.160 --> 0:01:12.840 Backfront and center in twenty twenty three, playing Cupid to 0:01:12.959 --> 0:01:16.760 five new farmers plucked from the paddocks around Australia. The 0:01:16.760 --> 0:01:20.080 show continues tonight and while the ads have boasted all 0:01:20.160 --> 0:01:22.880 farmers will find love. The journey is set to be 0:01:22.959 --> 0:01:26.240 heartwarming and entertaining, with three episodes a week for audiences 0:01:26.280 --> 0:01:28.680 to sink their teeth into. I will ask Sam about 0:01:28.720 --> 0:01:32.120 her transition from serious journalist to reality TV host and 0:01:32.160 --> 0:01:35.040 who has been her inspiration over the years. We will 0:01:35.080 --> 0:01:38.480 talk about Sam's decision to replace former host Natalie Gruelski 0:01:38.680 --> 0:01:41.240 and what her relationship has really been like with her 0:01:41.240 --> 0:01:44.399 behind the scenes. We will also clear up those rumors 0:01:44.440 --> 0:01:46.880 that Samantha has signed for Dancing with the Stars along 0:01:46.880 --> 0:01:49.040 with doctor Chris Brown, and will also get a bit 0:01:49.080 --> 0:01:50.280 of a tease as to what's going. 0:01:50.280 --> 0:01:51.960 To happen with her podcast next. 0:01:52.480 --> 0:01:54.880 Plus, we will get plenty of exclusives from behind the 0:01:54.920 --> 0:01:57.240 scenes of the latest series of Farmer Wants a Wife, 0:01:57.320 --> 0:02:00.320 which you can catch up on now on seven Plus. Anyway, 0:02:00.360 --> 0:02:03.160 let's bring Sam into the podcast. I'm a big fan 0:02:03.280 --> 0:02:06.000 and I really do hope you enjoy this very candid 0:02:06.080 --> 0:02:06.600 chat with her. 0:02:07.200 --> 0:02:07.960 Hey, how are you? 0:02:08.360 --> 0:02:11.040 I'm good. I'm good. I've got a pig. I've got 0:02:11.080 --> 0:02:13.239 to pick herbro doors sitting next to me on the couch, 0:02:13.280 --> 0:02:16.480 and when I say hello, I think someone's here. I 0:02:16.520 --> 0:02:19.240 hope he doesn't start barking and blow your ear drums out. 0:02:19.360 --> 0:02:19.960 How are you? 0:02:20.280 --> 0:02:23.280 I'm very well, and I have my Westy outside. Because 0:02:23.800 --> 0:02:27.120 you would know this from recording podcasts, is that pets 0:02:27.120 --> 0:02:30.280 love to be involved. So I've learned to just have 0:02:30.400 --> 0:02:33.359 him not even here because like, doesn't he get fomo though, 0:02:33.560 --> 0:02:36.080 Oh yeah, he's he's outside, Like he's two doors away 0:02:36.080 --> 0:02:39.239 from actually coming to you. From Warburton. I spend a 0:02:39.320 --> 0:02:41.520 lot of time out here in Victoria. I thought it 0:02:41.560 --> 0:02:43.440 was very farmer once a wife with my self. 0:02:43.720 --> 0:02:47.360 I'm looking over your shoulder and it looks very nice 0:02:47.360 --> 0:02:47.959 and warm there. 0:02:48.320 --> 0:02:52.000 It's really lovely. I mean in a log cabin or something. 0:02:52.120 --> 0:02:55.880 It's a log cabin that my best friend's parents build. 0:02:56.320 --> 0:02:59.120 This is now getting very far away from Farmer, but they. 0:02:59.040 --> 0:03:02.120 Built it to me, I know, kind of my brand, 0:03:02.440 --> 0:03:03.399 but they built. 0:03:03.160 --> 0:03:05.200 It two years before she was born, so she came 0:03:05.240 --> 0:03:08.160 here her whole life, and then we fell in love 0:03:08.160 --> 0:03:10.519 with it. I'm forty three, so I've been coming here 0:03:10.560 --> 0:03:11.720 now for twenty five years. 0:03:12.040 --> 0:03:12.919 Fabulous. 0:03:13.080 --> 0:03:14.520 I love to get out of the city, you know. 0:03:15.120 --> 0:03:17.839 Yeah, I know that feeling. And now we are back 0:03:17.880 --> 0:03:19.280 on brand for Farmer once a whork. 0:03:20.480 --> 0:03:23.080 I'm going to get into this because otherwise, because otherwise 0:03:23.080 --> 0:03:24.639 it I'll come undone. 0:03:24.880 --> 0:03:28.760 So just three to one. Hi, Sam, how are you? 0:03:29.480 --> 0:03:31.280 Oh? Ben? Hi, I'm very well. 0:03:31.560 --> 0:03:34.000 This is such an exciting project for you. 0:03:34.440 --> 0:03:36.200 I have to ask you were you were a fan 0:03:36.280 --> 0:03:38.880 of this show before you became involved. 0:03:39.080 --> 0:03:41.280 Yes, I genuinely was a fan of the show. I 0:03:41.320 --> 0:03:43.880 have been watching it for many years, even when it 0:03:43.920 --> 0:03:46.360 was on the other network that we can't talk about. 0:03:46.560 --> 0:03:49.080 But I have always loved it because I always thought 0:03:49.120 --> 0:03:55.640 it was a terrific vehicle for helping countrymen find decent women, 0:03:55.880 --> 0:03:58.800 which I know sounds crazy in twenty twenty three, but 0:03:59.000 --> 0:04:01.640 it is God for a lot of blokes in the 0:04:01.680 --> 0:04:04.680 country to find someone because a lot of girls seem 0:04:04.760 --> 0:04:06.840 to move back to the city or move to the 0:04:06.880 --> 0:04:09.360 city for work, and the boys are sort of, you know, 0:04:09.400 --> 0:04:11.360 if it's a family property, they're sort of stuck there 0:04:11.440 --> 0:04:12.839 or they want I mean, they want to be there, 0:04:12.880 --> 0:04:15.280 but it was hard. I saw a lot of really 0:04:15.280 --> 0:04:18.800 decent blow missing out on love or getting married late, 0:04:19.080 --> 0:04:21.000 or you know, just having a really tough time. And 0:04:21.040 --> 0:04:23.200 so I always thought it was a great show that 0:04:23.279 --> 0:04:25.800 had a great heart, and so when I was asked 0:04:25.800 --> 0:04:28.479 to be a part of it, I said, yes. 0:04:28.560 --> 0:04:30.760 It's a great synergy, and I really love the fact 0:04:30.760 --> 0:04:34.040 that you yourself have gone out into the regional part 0:04:34.080 --> 0:04:36.359 of New South Wales. But I was going to say, 0:04:36.800 --> 0:04:38.720 I wondered whether or not you were kind of already 0:04:38.760 --> 0:04:41.200 doing this show. Had you already been you know, trying 0:04:41.240 --> 0:04:44.240 to hook people up and set up this sort of 0:04:44.560 --> 0:04:45.320 dating game. 0:04:45.400 --> 0:04:46.640 Anyway, Well, you. 0:04:46.600 --> 0:04:50.120 Know, there was a lot of people in my life. Yes, 0:04:50.160 --> 0:04:52.839 I guess, I guess it was sort of happening around me, 0:04:52.920 --> 0:04:55.000 whether or not I was actually playing cute, but I 0:04:55.120 --> 0:04:58.680 was seeing it happen a lot with girlfriends of mine 0:04:58.760 --> 0:05:01.520 who were also sick of this city, who were going 0:05:01.560 --> 0:05:05.200 out to the country to look for the decent husbands. 0:05:05.600 --> 0:05:07.680 And so I did know a lot of city girls 0:05:07.720 --> 0:05:10.320 who were getting together with country blocks. In fact, the 0:05:10.360 --> 0:05:13.880 regional areas are full of the dynamics of these kind 0:05:13.880 --> 0:05:16.840 of relationships. And it's wonderful because I think this is 0:05:16.920 --> 0:05:19.640 part of the resurgence of many of these country towns, 0:05:20.000 --> 0:05:21.880 is that there's a hell of a lot of dynamic 0:05:22.000 --> 0:05:26.320 women out there and they're starting families. These schools that 0:05:26.800 --> 0:05:28.840 you know, probably in my childhood, I was at a 0:05:28.880 --> 0:05:31.960 school out of men to be public. There was twenty 0:05:31.960 --> 0:05:34.200 four kids in the whole school and six in my 0:05:34.320 --> 0:05:36.440 class all the way through to y six, and it 0:05:36.440 --> 0:05:38.039 was on the verge of closing down the whole time. 0:05:38.240 --> 0:05:40.400 So these schools are now sort of burgeoning, full of 0:05:40.480 --> 0:05:44.839 kids and full of really active, intelligent mothers. These P 0:05:44.960 --> 0:05:48.600 and C organizations are going crazy. These women out there 0:05:48.640 --> 0:05:51.640 in regional areas now running their own businesses. They are 0:05:51.680 --> 0:05:54.719 so dynamic. So I am seeing a lot of this 0:05:54.920 --> 0:05:59.159 around me. And so when I met Rich and started 0:05:59.160 --> 0:06:02.560 to make some decision to change my life around, it 0:06:02.600 --> 0:06:04.839 was I guess the similar premise. I thought, you know, 0:06:05.120 --> 0:06:07.599 I can't really you know, obviously couldn't do sunrise and 0:06:07.760 --> 0:06:09.000 in the country. But I was trying to work it 0:06:09.000 --> 0:06:10.760 out how I could do it a couple of days 0:06:10.760 --> 0:06:13.240 a week, and then I just decided I really did 0:06:13.279 --> 0:06:16.240 want a different lifestyle, so I made some changes. So, 0:06:16.680 --> 0:06:19.000 you know, I think it's it's happening all the time. 0:06:19.040 --> 0:06:22.800 And as with reality TV, you'll know this, reality TV 0:06:22.920 --> 0:06:26.040 takes what's going on and puts it under the microscope 0:06:26.080 --> 0:06:28.480 so that everybody can watch it three times a week 0:06:28.600 --> 0:06:29.800 and it's fabulous. 0:06:30.080 --> 0:06:32.960 Well, I really love a journalist in the role of 0:06:33.000 --> 0:06:35.560 a reality TV host. I mean that's always been my 0:06:35.760 --> 0:06:37.720 sweet spot. And if you look at some of the 0:06:37.760 --> 0:06:40.800 best hosts over time since you know, it really started, 0:06:40.839 --> 0:06:44.599 you know, twenty years ago, it's academic that a journalist 0:06:44.680 --> 0:06:46.680 is the best person to host a show like this. 0:06:47.279 --> 0:06:49.599 It gives it more authority. Is a great way to 0:06:49.600 --> 0:06:53.080 look at it. But did you have a favorite host 0:06:53.279 --> 0:06:57.120 of reality TV that you could go, well, that's that's 0:06:57.160 --> 0:06:58.640 amazing and I can lean into that. 0:06:58.640 --> 0:06:59.520 I can borrow some of that. 0:07:00.000 --> 0:07:03.400 My goodness. Well, I did always love and very much 0:07:03.400 --> 0:07:07.240 ADM Gretel Colleen. I used to devour her books and 0:07:07.320 --> 0:07:11.880 thought she was a very, very funny and brilliant woman. 0:07:11.960 --> 0:07:15.600 So I always liked her. I think Sonya Krueger is fantastic, 0:07:16.080 --> 0:07:19.160 Julie Morris and Chris Brown. You know, there's a lot 0:07:19.200 --> 0:07:21.560 of great people out there doing this sort of stuff. 0:07:21.840 --> 0:07:24.240 It's funny you say that, because when this job was 0:07:24.280 --> 0:07:26.880 first offered to me, I sort of thought, oh, I'm 0:07:26.920 --> 0:07:29.560 a journalist, you know, and I've done trying to work 0:07:29.600 --> 0:07:31.840 it out this morning before I spoke to you. I 0:07:31.960 --> 0:07:35.960 started working in a newsroom the week I left university 0:07:35.960 --> 0:07:38.720 in nineteen ninety eight, and that was twenty five years ago, 0:07:39.200 --> 0:07:42.040 and then I basically was NonStop ever since. So I 0:07:42.080 --> 0:07:45.000 had done a lot of time in that newsroom environment 0:07:45.120 --> 0:07:48.880 and the grind of news, which is a relentless cycle, 0:07:49.040 --> 0:07:51.440 and go to be offered something like this, which is 0:07:51.480 --> 0:07:55.880 a bit lighter. It's fun, it's sweet, it's gorgeous. It's 0:07:55.880 --> 0:07:59.400 been a great opportunity for me, and the producers are 0:08:00.240 --> 0:08:03.400 so lovely. I have to do a big shout out 0:08:03.440 --> 0:08:06.360 to Fremantle and Eureka for not only having Banjo the 0:08:06.400 --> 0:08:09.200 Labrador snoring on the floor of the edit suite as 0:08:09.240 --> 0:08:12.000 we've been doing the voiceover sessions. They've all embraced him, 0:08:12.240 --> 0:08:14.160 but they've been so wonderful to me, and they love 0:08:14.280 --> 0:08:17.480 that I can just connect with these farmers and I say, Brad, 0:08:17.480 --> 0:08:20.120 what's happening in Kuda Mundele or you know, I know Bookm, 0:08:20.200 --> 0:08:23.679 I know Couda, I know Narromine. You know, I don't 0:08:23.720 --> 0:08:27.080 know Pasiers where David's from the stand. I know stan Thought, 0:08:27.160 --> 0:08:30.680 but I've got to know some of these towns as well. 0:08:30.720 --> 0:08:33.400 But you know, it's sort of my life. You know, 0:08:33.440 --> 0:08:36.200 when you grow up in the country, you're connected to 0:08:36.200 --> 0:08:39.880 the country, so I knew how to talk to farmers. 0:08:40.240 --> 0:08:41.600 I think that it's the perfect thing. 0:08:41.640 --> 0:08:43.400 I mean, I know that it's very I mean, when 0:08:43.400 --> 0:08:46.400 you are a journalist at your high level, it must 0:08:46.400 --> 0:08:47.840 seem like, oh, reality TV. 0:08:48.320 --> 0:08:49.240 That is a bit light. 0:08:49.640 --> 0:08:52.200 But I actually think, going back to what I originally 0:08:52.200 --> 0:08:55.840 said about having some authority, I mean your unearthing story, 0:08:56.000 --> 0:08:58.280 that's what you've always been doing, and you have been 0:08:58.760 --> 0:09:00.959 amazing at being able to do that with your own 0:09:01.040 --> 0:09:04.280 heart and your own integrity. So for me to hear 0:09:04.320 --> 0:09:06.360 that you're coming to host this show was a real 0:09:06.400 --> 0:09:09.760 sweet spot because I'm like, this is Sam at her 0:09:09.800 --> 0:09:11.640 best and well lucky to have her do this. 0:09:12.040 --> 0:09:15.719 Oh thank you for saying that. I appreciate that, and 0:09:16.160 --> 0:09:18.360 you've hit the noil right in the head because it 0:09:18.480 --> 0:09:24.120 is storytelling and it's fundamental basics that it's hard, and 0:09:24.160 --> 0:09:28.240 that's what journalism, it obviously is. The news cycle does 0:09:28.240 --> 0:09:30.240 become a little bit more relentless and a little bit 0:09:30.280 --> 0:09:35.160 more hard and negative at times. But yes, it is 0:09:35.200 --> 0:09:38.160 about when I stripped back, you know, after all those 0:09:38.240 --> 0:09:40.760 years in journalism and making the changes I made in 0:09:40.760 --> 0:09:42.520 my life, and I had to strip it all back 0:09:42.559 --> 0:09:45.240 and go what do I love most about this? And 0:09:45.280 --> 0:09:47.920 it wasn't necessarily being on air, and it certainly wasn't 0:09:47.920 --> 0:09:50.119 being in a full face of makeup, and it definitely 0:09:50.200 --> 0:09:52.760 wasn't being packed or on the front of the women's magazines. 0:09:53.040 --> 0:09:54.800 And I thought, you know what I love here, Why 0:09:54.880 --> 0:09:57.880 I went into this career in the first place, is storytelling. 0:09:58.000 --> 0:10:01.040 So when an opportunity comes along and go host another 0:10:01.080 --> 0:10:03.800 show in the network that at its heart, you're right, 0:10:04.000 --> 0:10:08.400 is storytelling. It was a great opportunity that I jumped 0:10:08.400 --> 0:10:11.400 at and I have to say I have been thinking 0:10:11.440 --> 0:10:15.199 about this since we shot the show. The character here 0:10:15.200 --> 0:10:18.599 that doesn't get enough attention is the Australian boosh is 0:10:18.640 --> 0:10:21.280 the Australian landscape because the cameramen that work on this 0:10:21.320 --> 0:10:24.960 show are unbelievably talented and they have shot this scenery 0:10:25.480 --> 0:10:28.280 throughout the show that you will see that will make 0:10:28.320 --> 0:10:30.720 you so proud to be an Australian. These are just 0:10:30.760 --> 0:10:33.440 some of the most beautiful landscapes and it helps it. 0:10:33.480 --> 0:10:36.720 They're romantic because that helps the show. But there are 0:10:36.760 --> 0:10:40.000 great stories out there. These blokes, these farmers have got 0:10:40.040 --> 0:10:43.800 great storylines and the ladies who come in to meet 0:10:43.880 --> 0:10:47.679 them are fascinating, very interesting and dynamic. 0:10:48.040 --> 0:10:48.920 I love about this. 0:10:49.120 --> 0:10:50.880 What I love about this show and what I've always 0:10:50.920 --> 0:10:53.160 loved about it is that there is a very wholesome 0:10:53.240 --> 0:10:56.320 nature to it. However, there's this huge debate about what 0:10:56.360 --> 0:10:58.719 it is that people want to watch on reality television 0:10:59.000 --> 0:11:01.840 With the Juggernaut, it's married at first sight, being that 0:11:01.840 --> 0:11:03.800 there is a lot more scandal involved in that, that's 0:11:03.800 --> 0:11:06.080 a little bit more drama, there's a lot more confrontation. 0:11:06.559 --> 0:11:09.240 Whilst you guys sort of lean away from that, you know, 0:11:09.280 --> 0:11:12.040 do you think that they're I mean, what do you 0:11:12.080 --> 0:11:15.640 think audiences want. Do you think audiences want farmer wants 0:11:15.640 --> 0:11:18.360 a wife to stay very wholesome in the way we've 0:11:18.360 --> 0:11:20.480 always known it, or do you think there is a 0:11:20.520 --> 0:11:23.240 bit of a maybe, I don't know, a tipping point 0:11:23.280 --> 0:11:26.560 into wanting to lean into more of what that controversial 0:11:26.600 --> 0:11:27.800 reality TV has become. 0:11:28.200 --> 0:11:32.400 Oh, Ben, that's a big question. What do audiences want. 0:11:32.480 --> 0:11:38.600 I don't know if anybody, because everybody says, everybody says 0:11:39.280 --> 0:11:41.080 it's too much, they don't want the drama, and then 0:11:41.120 --> 0:11:43.760 they confess to you they do watch maps or they do. 0:11:43.880 --> 0:11:47.680 You know, we're humans. You do need a bit of drama. 0:11:47.760 --> 0:11:49.640 There is drama in life, so of course there's going 0:11:49.679 --> 0:11:52.320 to be drama in reality TV. I think the difference 0:11:52.360 --> 0:11:55.680 with us with Farmer is that it is definitely not Maps. 0:11:55.679 --> 0:11:58.920 There is not that much drama, but it is. There 0:11:58.920 --> 0:12:00.679 are love stories here, so you're going to have the 0:12:00.760 --> 0:12:03.760 ups and downs of people falling in love. And obviously 0:12:03.760 --> 0:12:06.720 you've got five girls out on each farm, five ladies 0:12:06.760 --> 0:12:08.719 on each farm with each Farmer, so you're going to 0:12:08.760 --> 0:12:10.720 have You're going to have your moments of drama and 0:12:10.760 --> 0:12:14.320 your moments of complete hilarity. A my add as well. 0:12:14.360 --> 0:12:18.280 But look, we do lean away from that sort of 0:12:18.360 --> 0:12:22.199 maths thing very deliberately, and really I say to people, 0:12:22.200 --> 0:12:24.960 I say to my friends and family, it is a 0:12:25.080 --> 0:12:28.480 very genuine show most of the people, all of the farmers, 0:12:28.480 --> 0:12:30.520 are there for the right reasons. They are looking to 0:12:30.640 --> 0:12:34.800 find someone seriously. And I think everybody really is there 0:12:34.840 --> 0:12:37.479 for the right reasons. They want to make good television, 0:12:37.720 --> 0:12:41.360 but we also wanted to really, you know, help people 0:12:41.400 --> 0:12:45.400 fall in love. It is wholesome. It's as wholesome as 0:12:45.440 --> 0:12:47.680 you get on television in twenty twenty three. Let me 0:12:47.720 --> 0:12:49.240 tell you that I. 0:12:49.160 --> 0:12:51.320 Think it's a good alternative. You know, No, that's you know. 0:12:51.559 --> 0:12:53.760 I think everything has its place. 0:12:54.360 --> 0:12:56.160 What I thought was interesting about what you were saying 0:12:56.160 --> 0:12:58.720 there is about us all wanting to find love. I 0:12:58.720 --> 0:13:01.440 think we all fear like you know, we grew up 0:13:01.440 --> 0:13:04.280 watching Disney movies. You grew up wanting a love story 0:13:04.360 --> 0:13:07.160 for yourself. Do you think it's becoming easier or do 0:13:07.200 --> 0:13:10.839 you think it's becoming harder? With you know, apps and technology? 0:13:11.400 --> 0:13:13.520 You know, what do you think or how do you 0:13:13.559 --> 0:13:15.760 think finding love is in twenty twenty three? Is it 0:13:15.800 --> 0:13:17.520 easier or harder than it's ever been before? 0:13:17.760 --> 0:13:20.440 Well? I think finding true love is incredibly hard and 0:13:20.480 --> 0:13:23.640 if you find it, you're incredibly lucky, and you should 0:13:23.640 --> 0:13:26.120 grip onto it and hold on to it like I did, 0:13:26.280 --> 0:13:28.080 because it took me a long time. Don't forget. I 0:13:28.080 --> 0:13:30.400 didn't get married till I was in my early forties. 0:13:30.440 --> 0:13:34.160 So by no means was it easy for me. That's 0:13:34.200 --> 0:13:37.200 an interesting question, Ben. I don't know. It should like 0:13:37.280 --> 0:13:39.400 everything else in this day and age, it should be 0:13:39.440 --> 0:13:42.800 easier because technology should make things easier. But rich has 0:13:42.840 --> 0:13:44.880 two daughters who are in their twenties, and you know, 0:13:44.880 --> 0:13:48.040 it's quite it's quite acceptable that all these apps that 0:13:48.040 --> 0:13:50.280 they got, you know, Richard's the youngest daughter said to 0:13:50.320 --> 0:13:52.160 me the other day, Oh, no one talks face to 0:13:52.200 --> 0:13:57.720 face anymore, Richard. I were like, what, so quite acceptable 0:13:57.720 --> 0:14:00.480 for that generation, that that's how they do me. And 0:14:00.559 --> 0:14:02.840 yet then she says, oh, there's some real losers on there. 0:14:02.880 --> 0:14:05.680 You know, you've yah got a bruit. And I was like, 0:14:05.720 --> 0:14:08.240 good Sash, I should hope you are being very choicy. 0:14:08.760 --> 0:14:13.320 But so I think it's incredibly hard to find love, 0:14:14.080 --> 0:14:17.880 and I don't know if I don't think technologies is 0:14:17.960 --> 0:14:21.520 making that any easier. But I think if you if 0:14:21.600 --> 0:14:23.880 you take your time and you find the right one, 0:14:23.920 --> 0:14:27.360 then it's so worth it. And love is everything, isn't it, Ben? 0:14:27.480 --> 0:14:29.760 Like I mean, it's really you know, without loving your 0:14:29.840 --> 0:14:32.120 life what do you have? Love and health? I realize 0:14:32.160 --> 0:14:34.560 now at the ripe old age of forty six, about 0:14:34.600 --> 0:14:36.280 the most important things you can have. 0:14:36.920 --> 0:14:38.320 Well, I'm in a relationship now. 0:14:38.360 --> 0:14:41.120 I've been in one for nearly fourteen years, and in 0:14:41.240 --> 0:14:45.800 the LGBT IQ plus world, it's a very rare thing 0:14:45.840 --> 0:14:48.040 to find a relationship that has sort of lived that. 0:14:48.280 --> 0:14:51.000 I always say to people, we've been together fourteen years, 0:14:51.440 --> 0:14:54.680 but in straight terms, converted from gay terms, that's like 0:14:54.800 --> 0:14:55.880 seven hundred years. 0:14:56.120 --> 0:14:59.600 So it's hard to find love. 0:14:59.640 --> 0:15:02.400 But I mean, I think it's you know, if you 0:15:02.440 --> 0:15:04.760 find it, you're right, you've got to hang on to it. 0:15:04.800 --> 0:15:06.880 And there's a lot of there's a lot that we 0:15:06.920 --> 0:15:09.600 aren't talking about though, with young people when it comes 0:15:09.640 --> 0:15:12.080 to compromise. I think if you want to be in 0:15:12.120 --> 0:15:15.120 a good relationship, there is an enormous amount of compromise. 0:15:15.400 --> 0:15:18.280 And I think, without saying something so negative about the 0:15:18.320 --> 0:15:21.640 next general the generations below me, but I don't think 0:15:21.680 --> 0:15:23.640 they want to compromise. I think they've always had things 0:15:23.680 --> 0:15:26.320 at their fingertips. So I think that there's a lot 0:15:26.440 --> 0:15:30.440 that you know, we as you know, forties, can teach 0:15:30.520 --> 0:15:33.000 young people about how to make relationships work. 0:15:33.440 --> 0:15:36.040 Yes, because relationships are work. I mean, it's not all. 0:15:36.480 --> 0:15:39.320 It's not all you know TV shows that wrap up 0:15:39.320 --> 0:15:41.520 in an hour and everybody ends happily. You know, it 0:15:41.600 --> 0:15:43.680 is hard work. And you know, I'm new to this 0:15:43.800 --> 0:15:46.920 marriage thing. Fourteen years, I see. I think fourteen years 0:15:47.040 --> 0:15:50.600 is fantastic achievement. We've only been married too. And I 0:15:50.640 --> 0:15:54.040 have some days where I go, oh my god, But 0:15:54.040 --> 0:15:54.760 but no, I love it. 0:15:55.320 --> 0:15:56.400 That's a real relationship. 0:15:56.400 --> 0:15:58.640 And Richard would probably say the same thing, right, you know, 0:15:58.760 --> 0:16:00.320 like if you're going to have a if you're in 0:16:00.360 --> 0:16:03.320 a real relationship with someone, you've got to unpack your 0:16:03.360 --> 0:16:05.040 bag of shit in front of this person and they 0:16:05.080 --> 0:16:08.160 have to do the same thing. And you know it 0:16:08.200 --> 0:16:10.560 has to be balanced, you know what I mean, Like 0:16:10.600 --> 0:16:13.280 you have to have both people being real, and that 0:16:13.560 --> 0:16:16.120 creates problems in every day, every day. 0:16:16.000 --> 0:16:19.280 Life one hundred percent. And I guess farm at the 0:16:19.320 --> 0:16:21.840 show is at there at the beginning of this. But 0:16:21.960 --> 0:16:25.760 I quite like this show because I think it is 0:16:25.880 --> 0:16:30.040 it is a whole different scenario. There's that romantic ideal 0:16:30.080 --> 0:16:32.480 of a countryman and living on a farm and you know, 0:16:32.680 --> 0:16:36.480 having chickens, but the reality of that and I keep 0:16:36.600 --> 0:16:38.440 saying this during the show. I think people are sick 0:16:38.480 --> 0:16:40.560 of me saying it, but you know, if you really 0:16:40.640 --> 0:16:43.120 want to go into that life, it's wonderful and rewarding. 0:16:43.160 --> 0:16:45.920 But it is totally different to the city. It is 0:16:46.200 --> 0:16:48.840 not easy. It is it can be quite isolated. You've 0:16:48.880 --> 0:16:51.520 got to be a particularly resilient woman and you've got 0:16:51.560 --> 0:16:55.480 to realize that that man, you know, farming is not 0:16:55.600 --> 0:16:57.960 My mother used to say this about my father. Farming 0:16:58.040 --> 0:17:01.120 is not just a job, but it is a lifestyle. 0:17:01.440 --> 0:17:03.760 So you are moving out there and that man will 0:17:03.800 --> 0:17:05.760 love the land, and you've got to love the land 0:17:05.800 --> 0:17:08.600 too and be part of that partnership, which I think 0:17:08.640 --> 0:17:12.080 is a really nice well. I think it's really interesting 0:17:12.119 --> 0:17:15.680 because it's more than just those reality shows where you 0:17:15.760 --> 0:17:17.800 throw a wine glass at each other and then you 0:17:17.880 --> 0:17:19.840 go to a commercial break. I mean, this is this 0:17:19.920 --> 0:17:22.000 is a lifelong thing that you have to commit to 0:17:22.040 --> 0:17:24.399 and it's not going to be easy. You know. These 0:17:24.520 --> 0:17:28.199 ladies that come out to be on this show know that, 0:17:28.960 --> 0:17:30.919 and I think that's part of it too. I think 0:17:30.960 --> 0:17:35.040 it's wonderful that Australia gets to see the beauty of 0:17:35.080 --> 0:17:37.960 our country and you know that old thing that the 0:17:38.000 --> 0:17:40.200 Australia is riding on the sheep's back. You know, it's 0:17:40.240 --> 0:17:43.760 part of our culture, this wonderful agricultural industry that we 0:17:43.880 --> 0:17:45.919 have that has supported us for so many years. And 0:17:46.240 --> 0:17:49.440 I love that we just all still love our farmers 0:17:49.480 --> 0:17:50.000 so dearly. 0:17:50.359 --> 0:17:52.479 This is not a spoiler as well, but we are 0:17:52.520 --> 0:17:55.080 promoting this show by saying that all of these farmers 0:17:55.280 --> 0:17:58.639 find love. Do you think that's a bold move to 0:17:58.720 --> 0:18:01.600 take away from us wondering whether or not they do 0:18:01.680 --> 0:18:04.280 find love? I mean, is that an interesting decision for 0:18:04.320 --> 0:18:06.200 you guys to make, to tell us that it's all 0:18:06.200 --> 0:18:06.639 good to end? 0:18:06.680 --> 0:18:06.880 Well? 0:18:07.160 --> 0:18:10.639 Well, because when we were filming, they all were falling 0:18:10.720 --> 0:18:13.800 in love, they were all finding love, and I did 0:18:13.840 --> 0:18:17.560 stay to the EP one day. Oh my god, what 0:18:17.600 --> 0:18:21.680 are we going to do? How do we tell Australia 0:18:21.720 --> 0:18:24.000 about this? Like is it just you know, if everybody 0:18:24.000 --> 0:18:26.400 falls in love, it's like, oh, well, that's the end. 0:18:26.400 --> 0:18:30.320 No one's going to watch. It's actually far more fascinating 0:18:30.359 --> 0:18:34.040 than that, because this is the journey. Ben. You've got 0:18:34.080 --> 0:18:38.399 to work out which one which lady each farmer falls 0:18:38.400 --> 0:18:41.760 in love with, And like all of our paths to love, 0:18:41.800 --> 0:18:46.080 there's ups and downs so I think the fun and 0:18:46.320 --> 0:18:50.040 the adventure in this season's show will be the viewers 0:18:50.080 --> 0:18:53.800