Farmer Joe Bobbin went into this season of Farmer Wants A Wife knowing exactly what he was looking for in a future partner.
The 33-year-old grew up around strong women and he knew he wanted a partner who was strong-willed, tenacious, and who won’t let anything stop her from getting what she wants in life.
“My mum, grandmother and sisters are all really tough women, they’re all go-getters, they don’t let anything hold them back,” Farmer Joe Bobbin tells Refinery29 Australia over the phone.
His mum Dinah, who he supported through breast cancer treatment, has lived many lives and has always gone after what she wanted. For Farmer Joe, he’s always known that he wanted to end up with a woman who had the same sense of adventure and determination.
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“My mum put herself through university at 50 and is now a social worker," he explains. "Before that she did a traineeship to become a chef and was Apprentice Chef of the Year and cooked in Michelin Star restaurants in China and Hong Kong."
The cattle and sheep farmer met eight women during the speed-dating round and invited five women — Sarah, Claire, Keely, Cayla and Chelsea – back to his farm for the farm stay. Once the ladies arrived at the Bombala farm, Joe had to quickly adjust to living with women.
“Five women turned up at my doorstep,” he laughs. “There were hairdryers and straighteners everywhere — it was a bit of mayhem!”
Despite the sudden increase in hair-styling appliances, the cattle and sheep farmer knows he struck gold with the five women he invited back to the farm.
“All the ladies who came to my farm were really fun and really mature and there wasn’t much tension or drama in the household — everyone just really got along and was there for the right reasons,” he explains.
The women got along so well that Farmer Joe didn’t even consider inviting another woman back to the farm when she turned up at the group’s get-together this week. Olivia, who met Bert during the speed-dating round but was ultimately sent home, convinced the producers to let her meet with Farmer Joe to see whether they had a better connection.
After talking with Olivia for fifteen minutes, Joe decided not to invite her back to his farm stay.
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“Like I said, all the ladies really got along and they were there for me," she says. "They didn’t see it as a competition — they just wanted to be themselves and whoever I decided to be with was the person it was meant to be, you know what I mean?”
“And Olivia didn’t really fit into that group, there was tension right from the start,” he continues. “I thought Olivia was really brave to do what she did and I couldn’t knock her on that, and she was stunning and lovely, but I’d made connections in the house already.”
At the time of publishing, Sarah, Claire, Keely and Cayla remain on the farm. When it came to whittling down the women to his final choice, Joe said the process was actually really easy and natural.
“Because we were all open with each other, they were probably not feeling it with me either,” he explains.
“You could sort of feel it coming and everyone was like ‘Yeah I thought it was me because we haven’t had that connection,' and they could see a connection somewhere else,” he continued. “It was really tough to make those decisions and send people home but at the same time it was easy knowing we were already sort of feeling it.”
While Farmer Joe remains tight-lipped about which woman he ultimately chooses at the end of the season, he said the decision came “naturally” to him.
“When it came down to it, I had to go with my head and my heart and choose the lady that I had the most chemistry with,” he explains. “It was pretty simple in the end.”
At the stage, fans believe Joe is most likely to choose Sarah in the finale episode, with her odds sitting at $1.40 on Sportsbet.
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