A Dramatic new Dating Show (Part 2)

Also on the show today, one of the farmers farmer Hunter. I think you just like saying farmer. I do like saying farmer he is I was gonna I was trying to figure out a way how can I say he is as full as a tick on a bloodhound. Lots of rednecks sayings and lines on Farmer ONTs a Wife. It's the new show on Fox where four farmers are finding love, trying to find love, but not giving up who they are, which is they're farmers. They're living on

the land. So we got four men from the heartland and we have women from all across the country vying for their love and attention. Although not all of them are up for this. You know. The show had me thinking because of the format of it, the way that

the women move in right away with them. They see these guys whole real lives right from the start, and I kind of started thinking about like you and I and dating, and you know, the question of when do you reveal your whole true self and show your whole true life to someone that you're dating. It should be, in my opinion, if you're smart a slow burn. Oh interesting, I didn't expect you to say that I'm a slow reveal. Leave a little something to be desired, a little something

to learn, just in that. I think relationship chips have stages. They moved to a certain point, like yes, I thought I love you early on, but we've created and gone so much deeper now, so true that I want to reveal more to you in more intimate ways, whether it's my kids, my mom, my dad, what I really think about my mom and my dad and my brother, you know. But you know what I mean. It's like, I think you scratch the surface early on, and it's like you

can have them into the house or whatever. But I think then you go much deeper as you go, so I would say a slow burn. Are you saying not? Well, I have this friend and I will say she's she's been on the struggle bus in dating and I've tried to I don't agree with some of her opinions, like she said, well, I'm myself, my whole everything about myself right from date one, and so then like if they don't like me, it's like take me or leave me. And if they don't like me, then that's it and whatever.

And I think there's a balance because look, you don't want to misrepresent who you are and you don't want to be that, you know, like the movie Runaway Bride, where she's like changing Julie Roberts's character infamously changed how she likes her eggs for each guy. You don't want to change who you are for someone, and you don't

want to misrepresent who you are. But at the same time, I think in different areas of our lives, like you don't walk into a business meeting and act exactly like you're full self, or you have different versions of yourself, like I have who I am in a first business meeting with somebody, and then I have who I am when I'm like with my siblings or with you, and so we have these different versions of ourselves. And I think when you're first dating somebody, be yourself, but be

a certain version of yourself. Hopefully you could come across crazy the best version of yourself for that particular moment. Like I wasn't doing my Voldemort impression for you on the first Trust me, I did not know that's what I was buying into. I wasn't talking. It's which Harry Potter book isn't. Yeah, she didn't give me the Harry Potter test of what house you're in? All that has to come. Can we do the Harry Potter test for

people right now? Not yet? Okay, the one question test Instagram if you want to do the test, because how are people going to answer that you would have to go through It would be very tough and convoluted, which I also feel like if you reveal everything about yourself, it's like drinking out of a fire hydrant early on. That's a lot for somebody to take in. Let them drink out of the water fountain. Well, that's the thing. It's going to be interesting to see on Farmer Wants

a Wife like I would be. You know, obviously this is a TV show, it's an experiment, and so we're going to throw these people in right away. And the question is, can you take the full reality of someone's life, everything about who they are, the way they live, everything, right from day one. Like with you and I, you actually introduced me to the kids fairly early on, but you also said, look, a, my kids are older, they're teenagers.

They're not you know, you don't have to worry about like a younger child forming an emotional attachment to you right away. Because I was a little nervous. And then you said, I have my kids fifty percent of the time, So if we're going to be dating each other, you're going to see him quite a lot. I am trying to think of how quickly I like threw you in. It really was pretty quick. But again I think I just there's also something exciting about maintaining a little mystery too,

and unfolding things. Speaking of mystery, oh yes, and unfolding. And we'll get back to Farmer One's why because we're going to have Jennifer Neddles and country Icon. I think you have a little bit of a celeb crush. I do have a celeb crush on Jennifer Nettles. She's incredibly talented. Yeah, it's like I've been a big, yeah, huge fan Farmer Hunter. We'll see if I'm a fan. I got to talk to him, see what this farmer is all about. But the mystery that is Aaron Rodgers. Again, this is when

our two worlds kind of collide. Green May Packer quarterback Aaron Rodgers. You're transitioning into the most dramatic headlines of the week. Yeah, this has been a dramatic headline that you and I talked a lot about. He is an eccentric guy, to say the least, and he's been known for he goes on these meditative trips, these retreats. He marches to the beat of a different drummer, and he recently just went to a quiet, dark retreat. Quiet is

an understatement. Okay, I'm going to take this over because for once I can speak on a sports story. As you said, usually our world's don't intersect, but when sports comes into the entertainment websites, when I see it on those that I know. Now, Aaron Rodgers has dated a lot of famous people, so I do know who he has,

stated Olivia mun and stand to Patrick yes. So Aaron Rodgers, in trying to figure out his next step in his football career, has revealed that he went to not just a quiet a four day silent retreat in almost total darkness, in a space an unknown location that was at least partially underground, and the only thing he had was a bed, a matt on which to meditate. And that's it. Yea, I saw this. It's at Skycave is the name of it. It's a three hundred square foot it partially underground hobbit

like dwelling. I saw. You can see the door, so it really is like the Hobbit. Okay, so he's paying to go be in. He's paying essentially to be in solitary confinement, which is in is in some way forms of torture and imprisonment. But yes, I think we shut down Guantanamo Bay because of this. No, but it's you and I have a little different opinion on this. We do, I think. Okay. I came to Chris and I said, this is you would be wild to me. I would never do this. First of all, I am way too

afraid of the dark. I mean every night when we go to sleep, I'm waking up a couple times in the night, and I don't know if anybody out there has contacts or glasses. My contacts prescription is eight point five. Think of readers like readers, glasses are like one point five, like the bottom of a coke bottle. That's what you wear when you're six. Yes, yes, she's an eight point five. So I wake up in the middle of the night, I see a shadow. I'm like, someone's in the room.

I'm screaming. I'm waking you up. The idea of being in four full, twenty four hour periods of total darkness is terrifying. How long what's the over under on Lauren Zima in this room? How long? What do you mean in the hours? Could you make it a day? If I was able to just pull the plug, I would giet it maybe an hour. I don't know. I'd lose all sense of time. I also can't handle the idea of not talking to anybody for four days. Like the guy who runs the retreat will stop by and just

check on you. He checks on the guests. By the way, the door is not locked. You are in control. There is a light switch. The room is fully powered. You can flip on the lights. You can walk outside, you can walk in the woods. But the idea is to put yourself in the uncomfortable and live in the uncomfortable. And what Aaron was saying, and what others that do this say is it is working on those six inches

between the ears. It's about putting yourself in the uncomfortable and not reaching for your phone, reaching for food, reaching for exercise, reaching for whatever that breaks that uncomfortability. You got to live in it and sit in it. Sometimes I get scared about if I do experiences like this, like what might break in my brain or something. That's what scares me a little bit. But then I also see what you're saying. Okay, I didn't know he could

take a walk in the woods. That makes if I could get outside, although then I'd be afraid somebody to be in the woods. Anyway, This is also like we could really dig into how this is Like a huge part of this is how women are raised with so much more fear and instilled with fear and to be afraid than men are. Yeah, I mean, pretty valid point. The only other person I saw that did this was this guy that crossed Antarctica and has summited Everest twice.

He goes there religiously and as seven day stints in this room. Okay, so would you do this? I think it would be interesting. And so you know a Aaron's look, he's thirty nine years old, he's done. He went down to Peru and did what hyahuasca? The psychedelic. Yeah, the psychedelic. So he's been known to do these things, and this is just another step as he's trying to figure out, by the way, if he's coming back to Green Bay, and if he does, he's due fifty nine point four

million dollars. I don't have to sit one day in the dark to just come back and pick up sixty mils. But this is what Aaron has done to contemplate his future and put himself in that uncomfortable position. He is an interesting guy. So would you do this? I have been to a silent monastery, you have. Okay, look at this. The mystery unfolds. I did not know. I was on the board of my church. This was back in California.

And you go up to this where the monks are in Santa Barbara, and you live in silence among the monks for one to three days. And so there are times that you speak when you're in prayer or whatever. But for the most part, the entire places in silence you have. You have no phone, no reception, We're not in the dark, and there are other humans around and you're eating, but that's it. So I think it's pretty liberating. It's pretty interesting. What did you take away from that?

You just spent a lot of time and thought, But what did you takeaway? What did you learn about yourself or what did you what was your big takeaway that you would remember. I've always been a believer that you need to be comfortable with yourself, by yourself, within yourself. I've always believed that It's what honestly got me through the Bachelor and Batch rec because I traveled so much

of the time by myself. I would often not go with the cast, so I would be by myself traveling for days, wouldn't speak to anybody, and became very comfortable, almost too comfortable with that. I think it's important to have that spirituality, to be able to go within yourself and be silent. It's a powerful thing. Well, this does I did do And first of all, I just I can't believe I never knew this. We've we've got to

go on a long date and keep learning about each other. No, I did do the hiking retreat that I did in the fall, and I told you one of my takeaways from that. Now it was on a much smaller scale. We did these hikes every day, these twelve mile hikes, and if anybody follows me on Instagram, I was doing ten k a day, ten thousand steps a day to prepare for that. What I was preparing for was twelve

miles a day of hiking. And on the last day, they purposely spaced us out on the hike so that we had to hike alone, that you couldn't walk and talk with somebody else, And so I hiked by myself for a couple hours. And actually that was a big learning moment for me, because something I do think I have to work on is like being okay in the silence, being okay with myself. I always think my mind goes

crazy and I need to talk to people. And I did walk away from that thinking, wow, I enjoyed being by myself and I like experiences that push you to change. So I'm totally in for this. I have to say. What scared me about the Errand thing was the darkness. I couldn't be in the darkness for four days. That's what's interesting is and again there are breaks from it, but to be enveloped in that darkness and there is

no reception, that's a lot. Although well, you made a good point, and I will say we were talking about this a little bit before the pod. You said, we do have to put in our minds the perspective that Aaron Rodgers, the level of fame he has, the level of money, he's like got it, Like you said, figure

out what he wants. He might need some silence. There's a lot of step out a lambeau Field where there are hundreds of thousands of people screaming and yelling, you know, and to break away from that and just be quiet. I respect that. He's a very interesting guy. I've met Aaron on a number of occasions. The first time I met him, this is true story, really bizarre. I was at Bellair Country Club in LA playing golf with a friend of mine and he says, hey, do you mind

if this other guy joins us. It was Aaron Rodgers. This is pre Jojo and Jordan being on the show. He was dating Olivium on He says, hey, I had a bizarre connection to oliviam On through Oklahoma, and she said, Yo, she speaks highly of you. We love the show, we watch it. He was a pretty religious watcher of The Bachelor. He and oliviam On and we talked a little bit about it and all that had had a good time. Flash forward a year later Jojo season of The Bachelorette.

Jordan Rodgers his brother. It kind of comes to light that he is estranged from his family. He doesn't speak to Jordan or his family, and we kind of blew up Aaron's life a little bit in that regard. Then I see him at another Gulf event at and T Pebble Beach. We're up at Pebble and I specifically sought him out when we were private and there were no cameras around. I didn't know if he was going to choke me out, punch me whatever. I was like, hey, are we okay because I kind of blew your life up?

And he says, none, no, man, We're all good. Don't worry about it, and he was actually very generous and kind about it. I see these two sides of him, and I find it very interesting in your take on this. I love Jordan Rodgers. I like Aaron Rodgers. They're both good guys. Yeah, you know, Aaron's a little eccentric and little you know, kookie, but who cares. He's not hurting anybody.

So I find it interesting that if I didn't know them as brother and I was at a bar with Jordan Rodgers and Aaron walked in, I would get up, give Aaron a high five, give him a hug, and say, hey, man, come meet this guy. Jordan. He's a quo. He played he played football as well, and you should talk. Yeah, y'all should talk. You're really going to connect. If you took away what they are angry, whatever happened, they would actually probably be friends if they ran into each other.

I just I thought of that as very odd. Yeah, well, I mean we have to remember we don't know what we don't know. There's probably there's history, so many layers to that and things that have happened that we have no idea about, even though we know and love Jojo and Jordan. Yeah, gosh, it's so hard because family estrangements are something that I don't think we talk about that

much in our culture. It has this kind of faux paw to it and get So many people I know, including myself, have like family members that they don't talk to or haven't seen or are estranged from. And the thing that's tough about family is, on the one hand, you think to yourself, well, gosh, it's family, you know, can't you just work it out. Can't we put it

aside whatever it was and figure it out. And then on the other hand, our family, these are not people who we choose, you know, your friends or people you choose, your family you're born into. And just because someone's your family member doesn't mean you're going to get along with them. So I see both sides of it. I also wonder sometimes maybe and hopefully you know, there's a time heals

all wounds. Factor. Our familial relationships are so long in our lives, and I don't think any family member can go through years and years without having a fight or an issue, although you and I talk about that a lot. I fight with my family so much more than Chris doesn't. But yeah, it's it's interesting. I wonder, I wonder if anything will ever change there, because everybody in that situation seems great. Um, although you know, we certainly don't know, right, Yeah,

we don't know the real score. Yeah, yeah, and that's not for us to know unless they want to come on the show. And I'll have them both on and let's patch this. Let's bring this family back together. Another major headline that hit this week that hit close to home literally in figurative. Where did it hit? Hit? Honestly a little bit below the belt. This headline hits a little bit below the belt. My old friend Dean, Dean Anglert from Bachelor, Bachelor, Paradise fame. I think Dean's most

known for Bachelor and Paradise. Yes, don't you remember Dean was like, I mean he and Kaylin are together now. But yeah, wasn't Dean the original? He was like the start of all that f boy stuff. Yeah, but his hometown really made news. That's on the show too during the Bachelorette he was. But regardless, Dean now engaged to Klin.

This we're going from like one eccentric story in one of centric guy to the next because Aaron Rodgers and Dean are a little bit similar in that way, the quirkiness, Like right now we would be talking to Dean about this story we're about to talk about, except he's an Antarctica. Oh, yes, you couldn't get a hold of him because he's an Antarctica. You actually tried to get in touch with him, right, He's always in a van somewhere. He's in a van

somewhere way south of the border anyway. So the story is this, Dean went on a podcast and was saying how he feels it shouldn't be just incumbent upon the woman for now. I think it started with Kaylin, just

to be clear. Kaylin went on their podcast and said that Dean has told her he doesn't think the birth control should all fall on the woman, and so he thinks maybe he should get of a sectomy now because they're not ready to have kids yet, and then it would he would just undo it and get a reversal when it's time to have kids. Now, I think he's taken this a little further now and actually spoken to a doctor about it. But Dean, that is not the

birth control you're looking for. There are others at the pharmacy. There's a whole aisle where you can put things on where things Okay, wait, I have to call you out on this right now. I think that what Dean's saying is very right, It is all in the woman, I will say, and I haven't. If Dean's had a conversation

with the doctor, I haven't listened to that. My first reaction was, Okay, wait, I gotta go research this because I mean, if a sectum, he's a pretty serious surgery, right, and how and most importantly, how successful are the reversals, because you don't want to go have a surgical procedure where you might then never be able to have kids. But I will say that, Okay, for example, I know a lot of women who have IDs getting an IUD,

and I don't have one. But getting an IUD, from what I've heard from all my good friends, is so painful. It is. I mean, I have had women say that they think you should go on they wish they'd gotten to go under for it because it's super painful. And so that's not nothing. And women taking birth control pills every day for months or years of their lives, that comes with major risks. I mean, it's hard. There's birth control, while so important, every option comes with the downside. Dean's

not wrong, but he's also not right. Okay, why don't you just tell everybody just be real? Chris Harrison about why you said it hits below the best. This is an operation I'm I'm very familiar with. I went through this operation post my two kids, so I've been there and done that. And the operation itself not a big deal. Really, I probably shouldn't say that that way, but it's not. It's really not a big deal. How do you mean it just it's not it's not painful, it's not that uncomfortable.

It's just you get it done. It's i mean, probably took thirty forty five minutes. They put a little booboo strip on you and you go. You know, they pull your vast deference two about they cut it, they carterize it. And here's the problem. I also know people who have gotten reversals. The reversal is painful, it is much more of a laborious project. I'm not a doctor. I have played one on TV for twenty years, but I'm not

a doctor. But I do know plenty of people because I am of that age where a lot of my friends have done this, some have gotten reversals. Yes, it hurts, and the pain thing, it's not a big deal. I'm not saying don't do it for the pain, but it's also not. It's not. And I know I don't know what the averages are. I don't know what the percentages are. But I know two guys that I talked to this week I played golf with. Both tried to have reversals. Both did not work. One had to go in twice

and the other guy just didn't work. There's a famous broadcaster, sportscaster. He tried to get a reversal. He told me about it. So it is much it's a much more intensive project to try. And because when they cut your vast deference tubes and they literally carterize it, you're smoking. It's like think of a welder. They're welding it shut. So they

got to find those two water and connect them. So it's not just as easy as hey, I'm gonna cut these Yeah, I'm gonna turn the spicket off for a little bit and then we'll turn it back on when we want to have kids. So I again, Dean, you're not wrong. I appreciate what he's saying, and you're right. It shouldn't just be on the woman, and it shouldn't be that you can't go through a little uncomfortable pain

or whatever to get this done and be there. But I don't know if you're right in this is the correct path for you if you really want to have kids soon. So when you were saying, Dean, there are other methods of birth control available, what you were trying to say A condom? Okay, I mean put on a condom. They got lots of them. It's just an easier way

to go. Well, look, I was doing some light googling. Again, I'm no expert, but I saw one doctor talking about how like eighty five percent success right on the reversals, which is high, but still do you want it to I mean, if you're if you've never had kids and you're doing this as your birth control method, it sounds like you would not want to go to the sectomy route when you're you'd then only have an eighty five percent chance of If you had told me when I

was twenty five, twenty whatever, when I knew I was going to have children, that I wanted to have children, that was a part of my life plan, if you had said, hey, go through this, it's going to knock fifteen to twenty percent off your chance of having a kid. It's already kind of difficult enough for many couples to have children. As you know, that's not knocking. Fifteen to twenty percent off is a big deal, Like, that's not

not a percentage I would be willing to take. Well, everyone, you know, we thought we were talking about Dean and his dramatic headlines, but now Chris Harrison has revealed he had a vasectomy. And on that note, we're gonna snip this and take a break. When we come back talking to Farmer Wants a Wife host Jennifer Nettles, I will not bring up my vasectomy. And one of the farmers, Hunter Grayson, going to join me on the show. We'll be right back. Welcome back to the most dramatic podcast ever.

Chris Harrison here. The new show on Fox is Farmer Once a Wife. The new host is Country icon Jennifer Nettles. A move I didn't see coming, but a move I love. And she joins us now on the pod. Jennifer, thank you so much for being here, Thank you for having me. We are you? Are you in Nashville? No, I'm home. I'm in New York. Oh, New York. New York is home. New York is home. Really not a Southern girl, Well a southern girl at heart where I lay my head happens to be in the big city. We're down here

in Austin, Texas. So we love our country music. And I have been a huge fan of admirer of you in your music. But I love seeing you on Farmer One's a Wife. My one nitpick about the show not enough Jennifer Nettles, You know what, That's what I said too. This show is great, but I'm just gonna get a little more me. I'm glad. I'm glad you feel that way,

you know what. I'm producers, if you're listening, hey here, from one reality show host to another, it's probably just triggering to me because I fought those battles every day as well. Do you guys realize how funny I was? That's right, don't you know? Don't you know? Yeah? But one, but one thing I really do want to see more of, and hopefully we'll get there, and I've only seen the

first episode was this relationship, and I'm curious. I had a very interesting relationship with the Bachelor Bacherette because I had one person to worry about, and that was something that we fostered in the whole show was about one person. You're obviously dealing with four farmers across the country. Not so easy for you. So how was your relationship with the four farmers and how did you feel you were

being used in that way? So the format is obviously a bit different than what you describe in your experience, and for good reason, because there are four different farmers. That being said, the majority of my interaction and connection was when everyone came together. Yeah, and we came together

every episode for these big social events. Okay, so that was the majority of my interaction, which was I considered I consider myself more like a fairy godmother kind of role where I get that yeah right, you know where I come in, and I like pat them on the especially for the guys, especially for the guys in this scenario, because these are four guys. They are they are real life farmers. They are they have dedicated their lives to their work, which means where farming is concerned, it is

very demanding. And they live in small towns, you know. The joke that they've made is like, look, I know all the women in this town and I'm related to half of them, So like, what's a guy to do? Um? So that being said, that then you put them in this environment where they've never had, you know, possibly one woman on their farm, much less a whole group of them. Okay, and there's cameras, and it's as as delicate of a subject as love. So it's super exposing and super vulnerable.

So these guys needs the couragement, Like, all right, they're also really good freaking guys, Chris, here's here's there. They're like really nice people, so they don't want to hurt anybody's feelings. So the entirety of the time, it's just like, Okay, I know you don't want to hurt anybody's feelings and say that you have more of a connection with one than the other. But you can't live forever on your farm with eight women. I'm sorry, Like it's you just can't.

Well did you notice that that change, because obviously that's something that each Batcher and Batchette has the toughest time with. It's oddly those early we call them rose ceremonies, by the way, what did you guys call them? That? The hay bale ceremony, the round up? Well, and there isn't that that's another that's another distinction that it's not the same. There really isn't a ceremonial moment. It can happen at any point in the show. I was just wondering what

you guys called it early on as everybody got together. Um, but I did you find that, not that they've become more calloused, but you almost become better at breaking up because you realize at the end of the day, like you said, you're not going to have eight wives, You're not going to have that many, So you are there to meet one. You're there to meet the love of your life. Did you find it got easier for them? Were you able to facilitate that better as time went on?

I found that it did get easier. I found that at the very least, I think they became more comfortable. I don't know if I would say easy, but they definitely became more comfortable and more experienced slash more practiced at realizing Like, look, guys, there is a timeline structure here. I know it is a reality show, but the the you know it is we do have a show to make, right. Yeah, I'm curious. Obviously, great call by Fox and by the production team to call you to do this. You are

a natural fit. What made you want to do it because obviously you have the sky's a limit for your your career. You're crushing it in the country music world when they call you, what was it about this that you said, Yeah, you know what, I'm going to go do reality t You know, I've done a little bit of it here and there before. But really, for me, what got me with this show is, you know, as a as an artist, as a storyteller, I love telling stories, and I love and as a romantic, I love a

love story. Okay, so who doesn't. So this I really as I had learned more about the concept and saw, you know, a few of the episodes from other shows in other countries that they've done, I really felt like, this is my opportunity to facilitate someone else's love story, and I love being that kind of observer. For me as an artist, I definitely pull from that, you know, observationally, but to get to actually be a part of it with someone, even if it's just adjacent, I felt like

that was a really fun opportunity. Well, and you've been in the trenches before. You have loved publicly, you have lost, you've been divorced, you've been remarried, so you have been on that coaster ride, which I think is important as a host because you have to truly be empathetic and understand what are these people looking for, what are they scared of, what are they afraid of in all of this, So it makes you a better host. Oddly, the crazier

stuff you've been through personally. Yeah, I mean, and I don't even know if I would says it's the crazier because when we look at the majority of people, you just life, it's just like it's just for people. But I will say, you know, the more challenging and therefore on the other side of it enriching. I think that does add a patina, or it adds a level of grounding where you're able to then offer something experientially that feels authentic to someone who might be searching and struggling

within that kind of scenario where love is concerned. So I said the same thing. I oddly was hired because I was married and had a child at the time. But I felt like I became a better host once I got divorced and realized, oh, this is what's out there, this is how hard it is to date. Yeah, and also I think you know, it's just the older I get, Chris, the more I realize that I have gone into way darker caves and therefore come out way more enriched, with

way more skills than I ever did in my youth. Right, And not to say because at the time everything feels you know, when you're geting it, everything feels big. But as I look back, the stakes as we get older, become higher and higher. But so do you know, so do the rewards. And so I feel like, yeah, that's that's valuable, man. And that's what's beautiful because we start seeing that in your music, you start seeing it in your hosting skills, in your life. And I'm sure this

has poured out into the pages of your music. Has there been some correlation or some kind of crossover into your music from all this and this experience? I mean, of course, I always you know, there are some there's some of my music that is confessional, there's some of it that is observational, there's some of it that is absolutely fictitious. Um. But but I but you know, as as an artist, we can't help but put our own

parts of ourselves into it. I may not understand what a specific scenario is, but I definitely understand my version of what the emotion behind it is. So all of that, all of that life experience, for sure, it becomes what I draw from as a writer and as as a performer and as an artist or as a host, you know, all of it. We pull from all of it. It is interesting and I'm curious about your your idea of what it was going to be like to host a

reality show and what it turned out to be. We know, I did a little bit of it with this show back what eleven years ago, UM called Duets very different. It wasn't it wasn't romance reality, it wasn't dating reality. It was like music competition reality. So I desert that I did go big show. I was a judge on that. Um so, so some of that live in the moment element of it. You know, I definitely love and can

feed off of that. But but never having done um the dating shows and the romantic shows, I wasn't necessarily surprised, but I was happy to feel the connections that I did when I was like invested myself, you know what I'm saying, Like, Oh, if I always felt if I cared, then the people watching are going to care. Well, there

you go. And that's true. That's true because at the end of the day, it's like we're all and I say this as a fan, whether I'm listening to music, watching television, a movie, or whatever it maybe we all want to see elements of our own humanity within that. So when when the person who is in the role as a host is invested, you can be invested too, especially if you trust that host. You know, and are you a big fan? Are you a big country fan?

In that, do you try to see who's on the horizon, who's up and coming, or do you just listen to your old your old favorites, M a little bit of everything. I mean, I'm you know, now because of social media, I definitely get more information about who's on the horizon. And with the way just simply with the way that those algorithms work, I know, with the way that the algorithms work, you know, they know what you like, they know what you listen to, and they're going to offer

you some more of it that they think you're gonna like. Um, some of which I do and some of which I don't. I'm always watching my peers in terms of who they also might be championing um so a little bit of both. But I listen, I am definitely I'm going to age myself here when I say this, but I'm definitely of the age where, yeah, I love going back and listening to what I have always loved listening to, which which

is who oh my god, so many. I mean like it depends like Linda Ronstad, uh Stevie Nicks, the Indigo Girls, Indigo Girls, all right, nineties baby right there, Oh, big time, big time, big time, you know, and then and on that. I could go off on a whole agent. We could get into RM, we could get into Tory Amos, we could get into we could go you liked a little

alternative back in the day, Oh totally. You were like back into depeche Mode and Dran Durana you two, and loving all of it, Okay, new wave, old way, all of it. Yeah, I was. I was into all that the cure forget about it. I mean, like loved, loved, but I love all music and I still do. I still do. But you know, in terms of when I think about country, then I would probably go back to the nineties too, you know, and I would look at the Shannias and the Faiths and the Dixie Chicks and

you know, and and the Garths. Oh yeah, Martina McBride, we can go on nineties Ladies for forever. Trishi, Trisha Yearwood was killing it, when Kathy mattea Carpenter who I still love, Oh my god, Nancy Griffin, Patty Griffin. I mean, let's was there a place that when you it may not be like Madison Square Garden or someplace huge, but was there a place when you played there you thought

I did it? Like this is the place, Like I'm here in Austin, Texas, so you know, whether it's Greenhall, maybe you play a cl live or there's just certain haunts around here that people play and you're like, this has always been the place for me? What what bar? What place was that for you? I mean I grew up cutting my teeth in a little listening room in Atlanta, really Decatur, Georgia called Eddie's Attic, and that place is a gem of a space. But it's tiny. It's like tiny, tiny, tiny,

little listening room space. And that's where I started out. But so many artists continue to flock to that, you know, almost in pilgrimage. All that being said, for me in terms of what you know might be more well known, I would say a couple of things. Red Rocks for sure, Iconic um Sesame Street. Wow, Okay, didn't see that coming. Yeah when because I you know, I grew up watching Sesame Street and all of these artists that I loved

were there. Okay, everybody, James Tabe, You're right, everybody. And so when I got on Sesame Street, I just I don't know, it held such meaning to me. I don't know if that sounds no, No, I love that answer, but it's true. So so I and that shows also to the spectrum in this wide, wild career that you know, everything from Red Rocks to you know, to to Sesame Street is just wild. I think Kennedy Center Honors was

huge for me when I I got to honor. I got to perform on that twice, one honoring um Neil Diamond and the other Bruce Springsteen. I just saw him here in Austin last week at the Moody Center, seventy three years old and just killing it, killing the game, I mean crushed it. And the King, George Strait is the one who came on and introduced him. It was a great night. Oh my god. So I now that I know your musical taste, was Red Rocks a big deal for you because of the YouTube video? Totally? Totally.

I wanted the smoke, the red, all of it, all of it. That's funny. Go back, kids, go google YouTube and Red Rocks and the famous video. That's that's very funny. So one thing about hosting a reality show like Pharmer once a wife, your love life and your private life becomes more open, or at least that's what people expect, right, So have you found that? Have you found a lot more interviews? People are asking because you seem to be a little private about your love life this go around private. Yeah,

I'm super private about it. But at the same time, while you know, I have some things that are protectively off limits for me, myself, my heart is very open, so you know, where sharing the matters of the heart without trying to get into like weird celebrity details that people just want to know, which I don't even want to know that about other people, but okay, some people do. I definitely feel open when I share. When I share it from that context, you know what I'm saying from

the context of But did that change. You were married once before, were you more open in that affair relationship than your second marriage? Like, did you learn something from that first one where you're like, Okay, next time, I'm gonna kind of keep the door a little closed. No, I mean the ways that it's happened for me over my career where where that you know, that graph of

my personal life and my work life I've intersected. The timing of it has been such that I've I've never been one to be super out there in terms of my private life. I just feel like, you know, for me, I put myself into my work so much, and the people that I love I want to protect them and they don't need to be subjected to that. And I've always been like that. To see what's next for you so much friend, um always always fingers popping. I mean I have. I just announced this last week. I'm in

the movie The Exorcist. I just got no way in terms of my acting yep, yep. So I'm always congratulations, thank you, And it's a it's a it's a key role. And I can't say a ton about it because they just announced it and they're trying to keep everything else under wraps, but it's it's I can't wait for everybody to see it. And it has been so enriching and rewarding, so we get to see a dark side of Jennifer Nettles.

M I love it. And then what else, you know, I'm working on a musical that I've been working on for years. It has become Chris what I call my great White Whale. It is my Mobe Dick. Okay, I am obsessed. I am, and it's too at critical mass right now where it's it's I've spend most of my creative time on that. So you've reached that tipping point. We're doing this. This is going oh yeah, oh yeah, it's happening, and it's like, you know, it has picked

up momentum as it has started to circle. So it's like, okay, like it is. It's it's getting ready for whatever the next phase is. But it is definitely that's been a long and rewarding process and by nature, those are quite timely to right. So those are those are a couple of things. Obviously righteous gemstones on HBO that I do. We finished our third season that should be out I think the summer. Maybe, I don't know. If they've announced

when that's happening. But yeah, so a few things coming up and then play a little country music on the side and host a reality show. Been a little bit of country music and yep, I'll be in your homes every night that you will, I don't know, click it or stream it. Jennifer, we have never had the pleasure of meeting, and I'm so glad you took the time to come on. You are an absolute gem and I really, honestly I mean this. I really enjoyed you on Farmer Wants a Wife. I think you did a great job.

You fit in for someone who's I know you've kind of dabbled in it, but to step into that role it's not easy, and it's easy to look like a fish out of water, and you didn't. You look really comfortable you That means a lot coming from you, Chris, Thank you so much. Really enjoyed it. So thank you for being here. And I look forward to what's next. And I'll see you on Broadway then, Yes you will, Yes you will, my friend. Thank you, all right, take

care of Jennifer, you too, Jennifer Nettles. What an absolute dream, sweet, talented, incredible, The host of Farmer Wants a Wife. Farmer Wants a Wife. There's four cowboys in there. Coming up next. One of those cowboys, Hunter Grayson, is going to join us right after this. Welcome back to the most dramatic podcast ever. Chris Harrison and we just talked to the amazing Jennifer Nettles, the host of Farmer Wants a Wife. Well, I wanted

to talk to one of the farmers. What was it like to be one of the four joining us from I assume Georgia, Hunter Grayson. He's out there on the farm. Hunter. How are you doing, Bud? I'm doing pretty good. How are you doing? If anybody thinks that this show is not legit, trust me. I've been waiting on Hunter for fifteen minutes because I don't know where you are. But he has no service. He has no wireless internet. The poor guy can't even get in to do a podcast.

I had some cows get out telling him I had a podcast. Apparently not a good enough excuse for the bovine. They didn't seem to care at all about the fact that you had an interview to do. Hey man, congratulations, it's really good to meet you. Watch the first episode and really had a lot of fun. As a Texas guy, I relate to this show as I think a lot of people in the Heartland will. What was your first take when you heard about the concept and how did

you get involved? Did someone initially bring you up or did you actually go and try this out yourself? Initially I was approached for being on the show, and you know, at the time, I was single and just there hadn't been a whole lot of luck in the dating world prior to and so you know, but you know all two, Well, so I'll just kind of like, why not try it on TV? Yeah, well, it reminded me of I used to host a show called The Bachelor, and we did a season with this guy, Chris Souls, who was a

farmer out in Iowa. And I went to his house and so I know, when you say you are out there, you guys are out there. I mean, where is the next big town from your house? If you got in a car right now you wanted to go have a good meal, how far are we driving? Oh, you wanted an average meal, you could go the Athens, Georgia. It's about fifteen minutes for me. Atlanta's about an hour, So well, actually Atlanta's an hour from Atlanta, so it just depends

on drafting. So not easy for a guy like you to find love, no, sir, And they bring you on this show, And what was the process like at first? Because I know you guys did some whittling down before that first episode. How many women did they show you? What was your process like going through and trying to figure out that initial eight that you started with. Oh goodness, Uh, that was pretty grueling. If I'm gonna be you know,

straightforward and honest. It's We were presented with some profiles of some just stunning ladies, and we kind of got a little brief bio about them and where they were from, and just you know, just kind of got kind of a foot in the door about who we might be meeting, and we had to sort through the ones that we thought were going to work better on our individual farms

and ranches. And it was kind of, you know, almost like a dating profile that we sifted through originally and sorted it down to the ones we got to meet. And sparks flew from there. And you go from being single on your farm there in Watkinsville, Georgia, and now you have five women who you do not know and you really have never met other than the one speed

dating moment, and you're gonna move them onto your farm. Well, Chris, I would say I've done crazier things in life, but I don't know that that would be the most truthful thing I've ever said. Yeah, it was a it's been an eye opening experiences U Thus far, it's been a phenomenal ride, and I'm just really looking forward to what it has laid ahead. What was the most awkward part? You know, because you know when on other shows there's a mansion, there's a resort, you know, it's it's a

curated experience. This experience, you're going straight to the hometown, straight to Hunter's actual farm in his house. So what was the most awkward part of opening up your life like that to these ladies and national television. You know, Uh, that's a great question. It's I thought a lot about that, and I think that's that answer changes on a on the daily, but it um, you know, I let the

ladies live in my house. I actually live in an apartment over the top of my bar, and I saw a barn minium, and I let the ladies live in my house. And I lived in my rodeo trailer, which is, you know, just a living quarters horse trailer, and that was a big adjust to me. I was. I moved from a you know, twenty two hundred square foot apartment to a eight by twenty foot long living quarters and my dog quickly kicked himself out of that and he decided to come live with the girls. Smart. That's a

smart dog. I can't blame him. So can this work? Can we bring these city girls out to the farm and you truly find love this fish out of water kind of social experiment. You know, I have said at least one hundred thousand times stay tuned to find out, and I think i'd answer I have to answer that to myself with this, I will say with this show, and I'm not I don't have a whole lot of

time to watch a lot of shows and whatnot. But I know, like you said, some other shows, they're going off to boor or boor or whatever around the world and basically going on on, you know, a vacation with the group of people that they're pursuing and then they have to come back to reality. This show really does put the real in reality, like they're not. We didn't go on some glamorous vacation to just go hang out for two months. This was these ladies put their life

on hold and came out here. See what we do here out in the ranch. And what they didn't know they picked up quickly and we're at least willing to learn. Look, and I'm sure, I'm sure it's different for Alan and Ryan and Land and the other three farmers and cowboys in this show. But for you, what is a day in the life like you know? Whoever, if you end up with somebody, is their life? What can they expect on the daily? Um? Uh, A lot of early mornings, late nights and a lot of hard work in between.

But it there's a lot of beauty in it. It's one of those professions. It's that it's not a profession, it's a lifestyle. It's uh a lifestyle that basically just takes over everything about you. You know that we've had good days, bad days, fun ones, tough ones, everything all in between. But there's there's so much beauty in the simplicity of certain aspects of it and the trials of the hard parts that it just averages it all out and it makes it just a beautiful, a beautiful way

of life. And you know, I'm not gonna say whoever they or may not end up with is a lucky one or anything like that. I'll definitely be a lucky one. I'll be the lucky one based on the women on My Way exactly. It's something that I'm so excited to share with someone. It's a see you run a two hundred acre ranch, I mean legit cattle and horse rancher.

Little known facts because we haven't really gotten to know you yet in those early episodes, but you play in a band called Hunter Grayson and the Hat Creek Band. So quick shout out to the boys. Jennifer. Jennifer Nettles Country Music Icon is the host of this show. You're in a band, You're a country boy. You love country music, it's in your blood. What was it like? I mean, this is a woman who you danced to her songs.

That's right, That's right. It was when I walked through the barn door and saw her, I was just, you know where I'd heard that she was going to be the host, and I was already excited about that. But when you're just when you're standing there and you just you're hit by. I mean just she's just naturally a star, like I'm just I don't mean just on stage. She's just such a bright person and she made everything so

enjoyable and as easy as it could be. I mean, there were a lot of difficult decisions, but just her her genuineness is like she just made everything so easy and so smooth, and she just had that good down home field. It made everything absolutely that much more enjoyable. You know, the band stuff cool, and so I just to be standing next to country music royalty like that

was was a cool little depth in my step. Well, and I talked to her earlier, and I know it was difficult because we're talking about four cowboys at four different ranches around the country that aren't easy to get to, so she didn't get to spend a ton of time at each house. But was she able to impart some wisdom and kind of help you guys when y'all were

all together. Yes, she offered so much wisdom and guidance, and she was there with us through every step, the fun times we had, the tough times we shared, and you know, it was we've really become a really close, close knit group and it felt a lot like family when you're making these tough decisions and everybody had each other's back and yeah, from the guys to the girls. I mean it was everything. Everybody was such a good team, a team player and just supporting each other and you

know everybody's endeavors. It made everything truly a great experience. Be honest, did you slipper a demo tape and just say, hey, this is this is the Hat Creek Band. Just take a listen, tell me what you think. No, sir, I'm sure I'll kick myself later in life for that. But you know, I love the music, but I didn't want I didn't want this opportunity to be just like pushing towards my music. This was I'm not looking for a partner, business partner, you know, farmhand or anything like that, or

a publicity deal. I'm looking for a partner in life, and I really wanted at the end of the day, I'm a cattle wrencher. I happened to sing music, and I've had some success with that and it's been a lot of fun. But there's never been to be a song song, or a note played or a stage performed on that's going to keep me from missing my potential kids first steps. Your bandmates are going to kick your butt, but I appreciate the sentiment. Hunter. I'm glad I got

to know you man. You are the real deal. And this show is too. Farmer Wants a Wife it's a it's a great look into the heartland into a bunch of working cowboys who are looking for love, and I wish you the best. I can't wait to see how this turns out for you. Thank you so much, Hunter Grayson. My thanks to Hunter and Jennifer Nettles for taking the time today. And if you want to see how Hunter, Alan, Ryan, and Land and all four cowboys do, I'll check out

Farmer Wants a Wife. Good show, good social experiment there on Fox. Thank you for joining us and I cannot wait to talk to you next time on the Most Dramatic Podcast Ever because we have a lot to talk about. Thanks for listening. Follow us on Instagram at the Most Dramatic Pod Ever and make sure to write us a review and leave us five stars. I'll talk to you next time.