Farmer Wants a Wife star Joe Bobbin has spoken out following the announcement of his split from contestant Sarah Carey.
Speaking to Yahoo! Lifestyle, the farmer kept his response to their split brief, stating, “The only comment I’ll make is you can’t force love.”
Farmer Joe’s comments come less than one week after Sarah broke the news of the couple’s split, writing to Instagram, “Joe and I separated a few weeks ago. This has been one of the hardest times of my life so I want to sincerely thank those who have sent kind messages checking in on me and for welcoming me into this community.”
“I understand there may be a lot of questions regarding why, but at this time, I’m not ready to talk about that as I’m still processing the information myself. I really appreciate you respecting my privacy.”
News of the couple’s breakup comes a few months after the pair first sparked engagement rumours after Sarah posted a singing video to Instagram wearing what appeared to be an engagement ring.
Sharing the video, Sarah revealed that she had written and performed a song for Farmer Joe during the season – but producers had cut it from the final edit. Performing the song for her followers, fans were quick to spot a ring on her left hand and quickly jumped to the conclusion that it could be an engagement ring.
When approached by Yahoo! Lifestyle, Farmer Joe didn’t quite deny the rumours, joking, “It was only a week ago we were short odds for being broken up. We move quickly around here.”
However, Sarah confirmed to the publication that the pair weren’t ready to become engaged just yet.
“Those rumours aren’t true; the camera was flipped in selfie mode, and the ring was actually on my right finger,” she confessed. “Loved the enthusiasm from everyone, though!”
As one of the audience’s favourite pairings of the 2024 season, fans remained closely invested in the couple’s love story both during and after the show.
Joining the series as a sheep and cattle farmer from Bombala, New South Wales, Farmer Joe quickly became a stand-out character on this year’s season of Farmer Wants a Wife.
It hadn’t been an easy ride for Joe on the farm, who thought he had found “The One” earlier in the series in Susie, who was his mum’s choice and a late addition to the group. But a shocking confession that she couldn’t handle farm life led her to exit from the show.
Despite the unexpected setback, by the end of the season, Farmer Joe had fallen for Sarah, a livestock administrator and New South Wales native who grew up on a farm.
“I had a feeling that Sarah would make it pretty far on the show from when [we] very first met. We’ve lived a very similar life,” he told WHO.
During the finale audiences watched Farmer Joe declare his love to Sarah, asking if she wanted to join him on the farm.
“This is one of the hardest decisions I’ve ever made,” he admitted, before declaring his love. “I love the person you are. I love how strong and determined you are.”
“It hasn’t always been easy with us. We’ve had some tough times. I’ve sometimes felt that you’ve pulled away,” he continued. “But I also know that you can be a shy person and take your time to get to know people.”
“I also like that you challenge me. I don’t have all the answers for us, but I do see myself falling for you in the future. I want to tackle the future with you by my side, and us as a team.”
Joining the cast for the reunion episode, Joe and Sarah revealed that one-month post-filming, the pair’s time on the farm was not entirely smooth sailing.
“Sarah came and spent some time on the farm with me and we didn’t get off to a great start. We weren’t seeing eye to eye, we were butting heads…it was like a sugar crash,” Farmer Joe admitted.
“We quickly realised that we weren’t in a relationship that had been going for two months, we were in a relationship that had been going for two days. We were learning new things about each other. ”
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