From Farmer Wants a Wife to MAFS and The Bachelor – which one equals lasting love?

Married At First Sight, The Bachelor and Farmer Wants a Wife cop flak for manufacturing relationships — but there is a strong chance of finding real love. See how they compare.

Lisa WoolfordNational Entertainment Writer

3 min read

April 3, 2023 - 11:26AM

News Corp Australia Network

Reality

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Matchmaking shows such as Married At First Sight, The Bachelor and Farmer Wants a Wife have been quite the source of our guilty pleasures for years.

While there’s been a pretty abysmal success rate on modern-day reality love romance programs – here’s looking at you MAFS – and the prospect of finding long-lasting love seems unlikely, it’s not all fauxmance and failure.

In fact, reality TV has spawned some great romances and psychotherapist and couples counsellor Melissa Ferrari thinks there’s great potential for people to find their “one”. But she cautions people need to have a clear vision of themselves and what they want.

“I think if you’re a person that is solid in yourself, if you’re a person that is really clear on what you want, if you have a vision around where you’re heading and if you’re able to roll with the punches and still maintain a solid sense of yourself, I think it’s a great idea,” she said.

“But is it for everybody? Probably not.”

Psychotherapist Melissa Ferrari. Picture: Supplied

Farmer – which returns for its 13th season on Easter Monday – is one of the most successful dating shows with 170 marriages, five long-term relationships and 388 babies worldwide. Locally there’s a healthy crop of couples living out their happily ever after on the farm with nine marriages, five long-term relationships and 25 babies.

Farmer favourites Will Simpson and Jess Cova remain eternally grateful for their stint on last year’s season of the reality show.

The couple – who have barely spent a day apart since Will declared his love for Jess in the finale – would never have crossed paths if they hadn’t taken the plunge and signed up for the show. Jess lived in Queensland, while Will was based on his Berriwillock farm in northwest Victoria. She’s since moved to the farm and they can’t believe a little more than a year ago they didn’t even know each other.

Will Simpson and Jess Cova have barely spent a day apart after they fell in love on 2022’s Farmer Wants A Wife ended. Picture: Supplied

They trusted Farmer’s wholesome reputation for matching people for their potential for love, and not to manufacture drama for ratings. They both had their families’ eventual support, after both sides were a little protective and worried how they would be portrayed.

“You do hear about shows, like MAFS and maybe even people from Farmer that cop a lot of crap due to editing,” Jess said.

“I had grown up watching Farmer with Mum and Dad and knew its reputation was good.”

Still, both carefully weighed up the pros and cons before putting in their applications.

“I don’t make any rash decisions,” Will said.

“And I knew I would just be true to myself the entire time. True to who I am, to my morals, my values and then there’s nothing that can be twisted or shown in a bad light. And it worked out really well.

“That’d be my biggest advice is that you need to be comfortable with yourself.

“People do and can come unstuck and that happens outside of TV shows if you’re in a their relationship before they’re ready.”

Fourth-generation farmer Will Simpson with Jess Cova on their season of the wholesome dating show. Picture: Seven

Their social media following has exploded to more than 50,000 each, and the pair laugh as they clarify that, unlike others, that was never their intention.

“It’s crazy to think that there are 50,000 people out there who want to know what we are up to,” Jess said

“If I ever share anything about Will, the amount of messages I receive is crazy. And they are really supportive, I haven’t copped any bad sentiments.”

Farmer Wants A Wife, Easter Monday, 7pm, Seven

LOOK AT THE NUMBERS

Five new farmers are preparing to follow their hearts on what promos are dubbing the most romantic season ever of Farmer Wants A Wife. This year’s farmers include Brad, 32, from Cootamundra, NSW; David, 29, from Pozieres, Queensland; Brenton, 26, from Darriman, Victoria; Matt, 23, from Bookham, NSW; and Andrew, 41, from Narromine, NSW. And – for the first time in the show’s 13 seasons – each one will find lasting love.

As far as dramatic, twist-filled dating shows go, Farmer Wants A Wife Australia is up there with the best of them. But there’s just one major difference: the impressive number of couples who’ve stayed together after the show.

Let’s see how Farmer stacks up against the other reality juggernauts.

Cameron Merchant and Jules Robinson on Married At First Sight – they later married in real life and are one of the few success stories from the show. Picture: Supplied

Married At First Sight

10 Seasons

Matches: 94

Marriage: 2

Lasting Relationships: 7

Break ups: 85

Babies: Five

Success rate: 9.5 per cent