‘Can you find me a gorgeous farmer?’ Why Samantha Armytage is constantly asked to ‘play matchmaker’

Since leaving her role at Sunrise, Samantha Armytage has been inundated with requests to play matchmaker – and this is the reason why.

Since taking the reins of wholesome and successful dating series Farmer Wants A Wife last year, Samantha Armytage has become a sought-after matchmaker.

Whether she’s enjoying a day at the races or simply standing in the supermarket check-out queue, strangers seek her out as a modern-day cupid.

“[They say] ‘I have a son – or a grandson or even a daughter – and I would like them to meet a farmer or be a farmer on the show,’” Armytage tells The Binge Guide.

“I’m blown away by how many people want to be part of this show and how many people apply every year,” she adds.

“I won’t name any names, but you would be amazed how many people stop me at functions and say, ‘Can you find me a gorgeous farmer?’”

Samantha Armytage has received one consistent request since becoming the host of Farmer Wants A Wife – to play matchmaker. Picture: Getty Images

In her first year presiding over the show, all five farmers found love by the time the last episode aired last May.

Two of those couples, David and Emily, and Andrew and Claire, have since become engaged, while another, Brad and Clare, announced the birth of their son in December.

Even before 2023’s happy news, Farmer had spawned 10 marriages and 26 babies during its 13 seasons on air.

“The strike rate [for happily ever afters] on this show is just unbelievable,” Armytage enthuses. “I just hope we can top last year because that was incredible.”

Armytage – who herself married Richard Lavender, a horse breeder, in 2020 – says the reason that so many happy relationships come out of the series is simple.

“I think the success of it rests at the feet of the farmers,” she explains.

“I think they genuinely come on the show looking for love. And I think the way this show is cast and put together is very clever and very conducive to finding love and genuinely matching people.”

Samantha Armytage is on the cover of The Binge Guide – read the full story on the flip side of Stellar. Picture: Seven

Here’s how it works: once five farmers are selected from properties across the country, their profiles are advertised online.

“The ladies apply to meet a certain farmer, so there’s already an attraction there. Then it’s just up to them throughout the show to actually make it work,” Armytage explains.

While the motivations of the contestants are genuine, inevitably there are some fireworks. “Anyone who’s ever fallen in love or gotten married knows there are ups and downs and the show follows those,” she says.

“So, there’s a good dose of drama, of course. But it’s not confected.”

For Armytage, another big selling point of Farmer is the fact it’s something of a love letter to rural living, striving to showcase the beauty – and hardships – of life on the land. And as someone who was raised on a sheep station near the Snowy Mountains – and now happily lives a relatively quiet life with Lavender on their rural NSW property – Armytage takes pride in sharing some of the country lifestyle with viewers.

“We should be so proud of our farming community in this country and our beautiful scenery and our unbelievable crops that help feed the world and the unbelievable farmers who create them,” she says.

“It’s so nice for me to be part of this show, but it’s also easy because it’s just me.”

Farmer Wants A Wife premieres at 7pm on April 14 on the Seven Network.

Originally published as ‘Can you find me a gorgeous farmer?’ Why Samantha Armytage is constantly asked to ‘play matchmaker’