Farmer Wants A Wife has become a reality TV staple since its 2007 launch, with viewers being won over each year by the sweet love stories blossoming on screen.
But the 2024 instalment of the dating show has been hit by scandals as it has come under fire from both viewers and cast members for being packed with drama and conflict.
Many fans have called for the return of Natalie Gruzlewski after Samantha Armytage took over hosting duties, while a 2024 winner has continuously slammed producers for the show’s final edit.
An ex-producer even shared their fears that the Channel Seven show ‘won’t survive’ much longer after fans claimed it is becoming more like Channel Nine’s Married At First Sight.
Amid the pile-on, Daily Mail Australia takes a look at what was arguably most dramatic series ever, which included fan favourite Farmer Bert’s shock departure.
Viewers have continually critiqued host Samantha’s performance throughout the 2024 series, calling for the return of former presenter Gruzlewski.
Former Sunrise host Samantha replaced Natalie, 47, as host last year, with the former star instead appearing in a more ‘scaled-back’ role over the past two series.
Gruzlewski had become a firm fan favourite helming the first eight seasons of the reality TV show from 2007 until 2012, before returning in 2020.
And fans have insisted they want her back as the face of the show, rather than only hosting a small Nat’s Getaway segment, as they shared their candid thoughts.
After the season finale, one exasperated fan shared: ‘I really wish Nat was doing the interviews, Sam just doesn’t come across as authentic and next to all the farmers it’s really jarring.’
Another chimed in: ‘Natalie should be the host. Sam is a pain in the a*se.’
The criticism didn’t stop there as one viewer questioned: ‘Is it just me or does Sam seem to be talking really loud?’, highlighting a common complaint among fans.
But it hasn’t all been bad for Samantha, as some viewers flocked to her defence to argue that she is a much-needed addition to the long-running series.
‘Good hopefully we can see Sam all the time, is silly chopping & changing hosts,’ one viewer commented.
A second agreed: ‘love Sam it is great she is with us for 2 years.’
Despite the complaints, Samantha has already signed a huge two-year deal with Channel Seven to stay on FWAW, which continues to make Natalie her understudy.
A source exclusively told Daily Mail Australia: ‘This new contract with Channel Seven marks a new era for her with the network.
‘They had been using her on Farmer to burn her old Sunrise contract but with Sam and the network being happy with the role in Farmer Wants a Wife this is a renegotiation some said would never come.
‘With the show flying high it was a great time to renegotiate and Samantha is looking forward to getting back out into regional Australia and making new love stories.’
The source insisted there won’t be any hosting changes to FWAW next year, despite many disgruntled fans calling for Natalie’s return to the centre stage.
They added that the format will stay the same for the 2025 series, after fans complained it was becoming like Married At First Sight with its high-drama season.
‘There is no way the network will make any changes to the format next year. The numbers are up and if anything audiences can expect next year to be even more dramatic,’ the source claimed.
‘It is clear that wider audiences love the drama and the network will always chase the ratings.’
However, some disgruntled FWAW fans recently criticised the show for its drastic changes and claimed it has been ‘ruined’ by becoming ‘more like MAFS’.
Fans voiced their dismay after a texting scandal saw Farmer Dean receive an anonymous message claiming Teegan had a secret boyfriend, in claims she tearfully denied.
It highlighted a growing concern that the introduction of MAFS-like drama could tarnish the show’s reputation and alienate its core audience.
‘I think the new producer is trying to make the show like MAFS,’ one Facebook user wrote.
‘They can edit it any way they want and make both the men and women out to be something they aren’t. All the kissing, etc, this year and the sexual innuendos are more like MAFS than in previous seasons.
‘This has really ruined the show. I, for one, won’t continue to watch it next year if it starts out like this year. In the past, the men and women were more natural, and that was what was great about the show.’
The 2024 series of FWAW was arguably the most dramatic, and saw fan favourite Farmer Bert walking away solo after deciding he wasn’t ready for a relationship.
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However, it was later claimed that he left the series because of all the ‘drama he had been pushed into creating on the show’.
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‘He was done being a puppet for the producers on his farm who continued to push him and the ladies into creating drama,’ an insider told Yahoo Lifestyle.
‘Farmer Bert was really sweet and it was sad to see him being treated like a prop.’
Another FWAW cast member has also shared her disapproval for the series as she criticised the show for her final edit.
Just days after the show finished airing, winner Daisy Lamb claimed the ‘disgusting’ edit ‘damaged’ her character and saw her receive death threats from online trolls.
Daisy, who found love with Farmer Todd Melbourne on the 2024 series, told Yahoo! Lifestyle: ‘I think the way that production portrayed our story was disgusting.
‘They chose to air highly edited scenes in which conversations never occurred and damaged the character of not only us but also our friends and family, as well as multiple girls during the series.
‘They portrayed us in such a way that brought us into public disrepute, so much so that we received death threats.’
She said herself and Todd are ‘lucky’ their relationship has survived the public backlash as she claimed most people wouldn’t be able to cope with the criticism.
Daisy also insisted viewers were shown a version of herself that wasn’t real, while slamming the show for ‘disrespecting and degrading’ her on screen.
However, she still advised next year’s contestants to give the series a go as she offered her advice to the upcoming FWAW cast.
It was far from the first time that Daisy voiced her discontent as she went rogue on social media and took aim at the show as she didn’t hold back.
She reportedly accused the show of ‘f**king’ her over as she shared the ‘honest truth’ about appearing on the show in a very bold message.
According to Yahoo! Lifestyle, she wrote in a message to any FWAW hopefuls: ‘I’ll tell you the honest truth about the whole experience and give you a play-by-play of the many ways in which production can AND will f**k you over.’
Daisy also previously accused the show of ‘heavily editing’ her conversations as she claimed viewers were not given the whole story about certain scenes.
One memorable moment saw Todd’s friends share their doubts over whether Daisy was a good match for him because she is similar to his ex-girlfriend.
Daisy also left Todd’s mother taken aback when she admitted she might already be ‘in love’ with the farmer, despite it still being early on in the dating stages.
But Daisy criticised the edit as ‘disappointing and disgraceful’ as she claimed the final result was ‘sad’, after viewers accused her of coming on too strong with Todd.
According to Yahoo!, she said: ‘Unfortunately, the editing in this series is disappointing and disgraceful (to say the least) and has given viewers the wrong idea of what happened, who I am and how the whole experience with Todd played out.’
Cattle farmer Todd also commented on the edit at the time, claiming the meeting between Daisy and his friends was ‘more positive’ than viewers were led to believe.
‘It didn’t quite exactly come across the way it was meant to,’ he told Refinery29. ‘It seemed a lot harsher the way it was put together on screen.’
Despite the rocky patches, Daisy and Todd have gone from strength-to-strength since filming and are already thinking about marriage and kids.
Amid the pile on, a former producer from the Channel Seven show recently shared their fears that the show ‘won’t survive’ much longer.
The insider slammed the 2024 series after fans suggested it is ‘veering’ to become more like MAFS when several farmers failed to find love in a drama-packed instalment.
‘Farmer Wants a Wife was widely popular because it was less dramatic and I know for a fact we used to be more focused on finding these farmers an actual wife,’ the ex-producer told Yahoo Lifestyle.
‘I think the show should have stayed in its lane and avoided casting women that are there for the wrong reasons. Other shows are already doing that in-fighting and conflict.
‘Here is hoping they go for genuine love stories this time around. As I fear the show won’t survive another series like the last.’
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