Farmer Wants A Wife has been dubbed as Australia’s most wholesome and delightful reality TV show, and one hand, it sure seems that way. There are 22 couples still together, with a bunch of children and marriages to boot.
But not everybody donning the Akubra has had an amazing time — there have been some messy moments, ‘villains’ spoiling the show, and on last year’s season, it appeared producers had accidentally matched two cousins. Now that’s not exactly what you’d call a rootin-tootin good time!
While Farmer Wants A Wife 2026 has been mostly smooth sailing, let’s take a stroll and look back at some of the weirdest and most shocking moments that have happened on and off screen over time.
Farmer David’s terrifying kissing technique
Remember Farmer David from season 13? While he loved a cheeky pash with his lucky ladies, he kept his eyes WIDE OPEN while he was doin’ the deed. Hello?! That’s almost psychopathic behaviour — who keeps their eyes open while kissing?!
Fans were horrified by his kissing technique, with one writing: “I cringed every time it happened”, and another saying it “creeped” them out.
To be fair, he did kiss an awful lot of ladies on his farm, so perhaps he was trying to remember who he was making out with. The only thing worse than kissing with your eyes open would be passionately murmuring another woman’s name.
Karli’s shady move with Farmer Bert
Onseason 14, Karli threw a bit of a tantrum when Farmer Bert chose to go on a special date with Brooke. The couple had a lil’ romantic picnic, and all seemed to be going smoothly… until they returned to the farm.
Karli stole Bert away as soon as they got back, and decided to woo him. Apparently, her idea of romance was to chuck a blindfold on him while feeding him chilli. According to her, this chilli-feeding date proved there was incredible “chemistry” between the pair.
Poor Brooke was left feeling ripped off and heartbroken, saying she was “hurt” by what Karli had done. It was kinda shady!!
“There was a weird energy,” Brooke said. “I feel like there were some games at play and I just didn’t want a part of that… I don’t care about what Karli was trying to do, and I have nothing nice to say.”
Former FWAW contestant slams the show over poor conditions
FWAW 2024 contestant Ellen shared a few spicy Instagram Stories last year while watching the show and claimed the ladies would be served “warm champagne” and a gross cheese platter, which could have been “sitting there for hours”.
“These poor girls literally wear the same dresses, hair and makeup for days on end,” she claimed. “These girls will be criticised for being upset, but they have literally spent back-to-back days… filming until it is dark… It’s so emotionally draining, and you get exhausted.”
On a Farmer Wants A Wife Facebook group, she exposed the filming conditions she and other contestants were subjected to.
“[Contestants] are grilled on emotions all day by producers. They fill your head with all these expectations, but they all bring up all these memories of failed relationships,” she wrote. “Literally, during our lunch break, we were locked in our Budget rental van and brought lunch. We had to be accompanied to use the portaloos. It’s not glamorous at all.”
Farmer Brad’s wife Stacie almost died
Farmer Wants A Wife’s Farmer Brad met Stacie back during the 2009 season of the show, and the pair tied the knot one year later. They’ve since had three daughters together and are one of the successful 22 couples still together to this day.
However, in August 2023, Stacie had a brain aneurysm, which saw her collapse.
“I thought she was going to die in the helicopter. I chartered a plane and flew her to Sydney,” Brad told Woman’s Day. “They operated on her and I was told to prepare myself because she would have no quality of life and wouldn’t be able to walk or talk.”
Stacie miraculously made a full recovery and stunned doctors when she was walking just days after her operation.
“The surgeons were gobsmacked. They said, ‘It’s not medically possible, it’s a miracle, so someone up there was looking after you!’,” Brad recalled. “It certainly made us reassess a few things. Sometimes you get so caught up on the little things and now we realise life is a blessing.”
Farmer Wants A… Cousin?
During last year’s season, Farmer Jarrad and Brianna had a spark but soon freaked out when they realised they were potentially cousins.
When Brianna revealed she had grown up in Coffs Harbour, Jarrad told her he had family down there, specifically, the Page family.
“But… I’m [a] Page,” Brianna said.
After comparing their relatives and not finding any in common, the pair declared they weren’t cousins. Are we convinced? Maybe that’s why he didn’t choose her in the end!
Brianna reflected on her wild time in an Instagram post, saying: “Jarrad is a legend and absolute gentleman, and I feel so lucky to have had this whole experience. Also, NOT Jarrad’s cousin (FML AGAIN).”
Farmer Andrew and Claire’s super messy split
Farmer Andrew and Claire seemed to have a fairytale romance and were planning on getting hitched after he popped the question in March 2024. However, by July that year, the wedding was off. She was spotted listing her wedding dress on Facebook Marketplace and Andrew shared a statement on Instagram about how “painful” it was to walk away.
“We’ve both emerged stronger, wiser, and more attuned to what really matters,” he said. To rub salt into the wound, he also started talking about their relationship breakdown in the media.
Claire hit back in an interview with PEDESTRIAN.TV, saying she wasn’t happy seeing her ex waffle on about their relationship online.
“I just can’t believe that he can give an interview about the breakdown of our relationship but he can’t even have a conversation with me,” she told us. “Some closure or a conversation with him about everything would have been the least he could have done, after I gave up my life to move there. The lies and deception from him are actually crazy, and honestly I’m glad I’m not marrying into that.”
‘Villain’ Daisy spoils FWAW 2025
It seemed like Daisy from Farmer Wants A Wife 2024 was making it her life’s mission to spoil the show in2025. She’s been outspoken about being given the ‘villain edit’ and claims she was mistreated by production, so this was a perfect way to get revenge.
Earlier on in the season, she shared a snap on Instagram revealing that Farmer Jarrad chose Chloe as his lucky lady — and this turned out to be correct!
In a chat with Yahoo! Lifestyle, Daisy confirmed that the farmers all found their wives during the 2025 season. “I believe all of them find someone. I’m not too sure if they all stay with them, but I’m pretty sure they all find someone,” she said.
She has also spilled to Chattr that Farmer Thomas ended up choosing Clarette and they were living on his farm together.
Ooft. That’s a lot to take in! There have certainly been some wild moments over the years, and with how popular the show is, it doesn’t seem like it’s going to stop anytime soon.