It's in the news today, but it was actually on TV Reload the podcast last week airline. Hey guys, welcome back to TV Reload. I want to thank you for clicking and downloading on today's episode with Samantha Armitage, the host of Farmer Wants a Wife for twenty twenty four, which starts on Sunday night at seven thirty on Channel seven.
Samantha Armitage is an Australian journalist and television presenter. Sam was previously co host of the Seven Networks breakfast television program Sunrise from twenty thirteen to twenty twenty one alongside David Kosh. Only a few years ago, Samantha was slowly integrated into the Much Love reality series, and last year her inclusion as a full time host saw the show
rise sixteen percent in its category. This season, thousands of eligible women from all around Australia applied to meet the farmers, and after a series of speed dates in the Hunter Valley, the farmers will choose their top five ladies to invite back to the farm. During the first two episodes, I can reveal that the five farmers from twenty twenty four season, Bert Dean, Dustin, Joe and Tom must choose five out of the eight ladies to return to their farms across Australia.
This leaves a total of fifteen women who had been hoping to find love having to head home before their farmer journey can even properly begin. It's actually really brutal, but I know you guys are going to love it. Samantha reveals her thoughts about the media landscape and if she has closed the door on her journalistic career for good. We will unpack the new Farmers and find out if the Victorian farmer Tom is too young to be looking
for a wife. You will get some interesting insights into Samantha's move out of Sydney and what she thinks of the workforce for women in a post COVID world. I'm also delighted to hear what Sam thinks of me pitching Farmer Day from Big Brother fame and if it's time we see a queer farmer on this show. There is so much to unpack with Samantha today, so sit back and relax as we unpaw the wonderful world of Sarma Wants a Wife for twenty twenty four. Hi, Sam, how are you?
I'm good.
How are you.
I just think you're getting your dog out of the room.
I used to have to do that too, he'd start barking.
Last year, when we were talking, you had Banjo sitting with you. So I'm sorry to hear that Banjo is no longer with us.
I know me too. He was a darling, I means very very shit.
Well, Oscar's fourteen, and I tell you the other day I was walking him and this lady cart to and she said, oh, I used to have a Westy. They live until they're about ten and then they just they just fade away. How old's your dog? And I was like, fourteen.
Well, the little dogs can go on and on. The bigger dogs that are harder. I know a mate who's got a Westy who's sixteen.
He's sixteen, so I.
Think they go on forever. So yes, when they're gone, you miss them because they are such a part of your life. So it's been very sad times for mat.
Looks quite good to be busy now.
I'm so sorry. You know what a great way to start a podcast. Let's just make you cry like that's great. I'm the best podcast ever. Anyway. Well, welcome back to another season of Farmer Wants a Wife. You know, you would have to be so happy with the rating spike that happened with the show once you joined. I mean it's the highest It was the highest rated entertainment show on the network last year.
Yes, it was huge. I didn't see that coming. So I was very very pleased with that, as you would be when you when you join a show and it does well. It was up sixteen percent last year on the previous year, so that's just unheard of in free towear TV in this day may so I was very pleased with that. The beauty of the show is the people, and the farmers are so so genuine and so lovely, and we had such a great group last year and they all found love. I mean, it was just you
couldn't you couldn't write the script on that. And this year, I'm pleased to say, is it's just as good. We're found some really lovely farmers and some really impressive ladies, and I think we've got the recipe for another great season.
Well, last year, as you said, all the farmers found love. I mean, I don't know if you saw this, but even Brenton and Rachel have been hanging out, and he was the only farmer that you know that separated over the last twelve months. And now he's recoupling with one of the girls that he was on the show with. So we're back to one hundred percent success, right. I know.
It's an amazing how life turns up. I did read that too, and I thought, oh, good on him. You know that, isn't that wonderful? And actually, during the show last year when it was on air, because I let Richard, my husband, just watch it as a normal viewer, I'd never tell him what's what's happening. All the ways to the show. He wanted Brendan to pick Rachel, and then when Brendan didn't, he was disappointed. And now they're together.
Is he allowed to say? Is Richard allowed to say anything to you while watching the show? Because I was chatting to Sonya Krueger recently and I asked her about Craig watching the show with her and she was like, oh, no, we've got a rule. He's not allowed to say anything.
Oh no, commentates the whole time he and he gets really into it. It's really because I you know, because I've been there on set, so I know what's happened? And I know, you know, all the personality type, but he gets really invested in it, and he's constantly saying to me, I think you know, so and so is going to get together. And I'm like, oh, do you really think that? Okay, will you just have to watch next week?
How is your poker face? Are you able? No?
My poker face is excellent. I'm very good at not blubbing. And he enjoys it, so that's nice. But I mean, look, it's just such a great show. The brand is incredibly strong. I literally have people walking up to me in the streets saying when Farmer on, I can't wait. I want my son to go on it. You know, it's so popular, and its amaze me how quickly viewers have sort of,
you know, put me together with the show. Normally, as on air personality, you take a few years to become part of a show and the branding situations behind the scenes, but this is instant. It's been incredible.
Well, I think that you're the most overqualified host of a reality show that we've ever seen in this country, and I love that you're a journalist in this role. I want to ask you, though, do you actually use your journalistic background. Do you put it to work whilst filming? Do you find yourself asking leading questions?
Well, I think that's part of it. I mean, I'm not trying to do gotcha questions with the farmers because they're really you know, they're not politicians. I'm very kind to them, and also they're so nervous that my job with them is to put them at ease, help Australia get to know them and help them come out of their shells and then create a match. But obviously, you know the skills you have as journalists for interviewing people and asking questions of people and storytelling, you know, at
the heart of this show. I know it's a reality dating show, but really it's about telling stories. And you know, that's what I do for a living. It's what I've always done for a living. So it's a great opportunity for me to use some of my skills. And you know, the producers are constantly saying to me on set, I can't believe you speak farmers, and I'm like, well, I did grow up in the land, and my father was a farmer and my brother's a farmer, and now I'm
married to a retired farmer. So you know, I know farmers and I know country people because I am one. So the producers was surprised.
There's something about you, Sam, like I just want to tell you my story, do you know what I mean? Like, there's something about your manner and the way that you talk to people that is quite authentic that makes people feel at ease. And I don't know, I just want to tell you my most embarrassing stories.
Oh well, that's great, then tell me anytime.
Look I do.
It's funny as I get older, the older I get, the more I enjoyed listening, you know, the less I enjoy talking. So it's probably a good show for me to be on at this point because there's not a lot of listening going on in the media these days. It's just a big talk fitt, isn't it. So I quite. I mean, I think that's the whole point of the show. You've got to encourage the farmers and the ladies. You know,
you want to tell their stories. You want to set this up for the audience at home, but you also to listen to them, and you have to know when to not talk, let things breathe a bit. So that you really get to know people and you can get to, you know, get stuff out of them so that the show is genuine because it's coming from their heart. And I think we manage that pretty well well.
I think when it comes to my favorite journalist, actually when it comes to my favorite actors, when it comes to people in general, I like people who are curious, and people who are curious they want to ask a good question, but they want to listen to a good answer. And I think that's what makes good journalism. That's what makes me be drawn to people you know, and you know.
Ben, I've been a journal for twenty five years. I'm ashamed to admit. That shows you how old I am. And it's fascinating. Everybody has a story. It doesn't matter whether you're on Sunrise interviewing you know, celebrities from Los Angeles or you're just dinner party at Wagga. Everybody has some kind of story and all you have to do is ask or just stick quietly for long enough where they feel comfortable to tell you. And it should be fascinated.
But unfortunately, the way society is, it's just everything's so loud and noisy, and me, me, me, that you know, I think that is one of my strongest feels is that I can listen. But as you can tell from this podcast, I can also talk.
Quite well, so can I. That's why we need a talking stick every year. Like, you know, I listened back to our chat last year and it was a good yarn like but I mean, I was going to ask you today because we were talking about this last year. In nineteen ninety eight, you joined your first newsroom, and you've been away from that for a little bit. You've
sort of been away from that environment. Is there an ech that you want to scratch to go back to that and or have you closed the door on that part of your resume.
No, I haven't closed the door on it. But the itch is not itchy at the moment, and I.
Think, excuse that's crazy anyway.
I know I'm gross.
I led you there, Sam, I led you there, So it's my fault me there.
I'll blame you. No, Look I do. I look at the new cycle at the moment, and I'm not that interested. To be honest, I am incredibly choosy about what I read and what I listened to. And you know, I've seen it from the inside, so.
I understand how this all works.
I see the amount of bias in the news these days. I see the amount of noise. I know the characters, and I'm not that interested. So I'm not sorry that I'm not part of that at the moment. But also I subscribe that, you know, if you're not in any arena, you know, getting your ass kicked, then you don't have a crack at the people who are. So I'm not. You know, I take my hat off to anyone who wants.
To go in there each day and do it.
I just don't at the moment because the new cycle, you know, I think about the last couple of years, you know, talking about.
COVID, it's a long day. Yeah, oh it's a lot.
And then you know, now talking about Trump every day, and you know, we just move in these circles and rubbish, and I think I'm really glad to not be in that.
At the same time, I feel like there could be a really good companion piece because I can imagine you going out there because things have changed since COVID, and I think that there's more people living in regional areas. I'd love to see you go out there and talk to the women that are now out there working in regional areas, that are making a living out there. I'd love I mean, that's you know, I guess it's one thing.
That's that's one job, and then I guess if you put your hand up for that, then they're probably doing a lot more. But I'd love to see you go out there and talk to people in Australia that had been affected by COVID and had a lifestyle change.
Yes, well, it's interesting because I'm seeing it firsthand because I'm you know, I live while I live in the Southern Highland, so we're not exactly that isolated, but I'm certainly out of Sydney and my father's Wogga and my brothers at Yas, you know where. I know the regions, and we spend a lot of time driving around the regions, going to parties in the you know, I see I talk to a lot of country people, and I see the houses being built on the suburbs, you know, the outer suburbs of Wogga.
Expanding into the paddocks.
There is such a movement, such a migration to the regional areas at the moment that it's quite extraordinary to see that and then I guess, sighing into the show into Farma, what I'm seeing in my real life and is being reflected in the show quite nicely, is that women who in my day, and certainly in my mother's day, I found old saying that, but women who had to go to the city for their careers. They didn't wanted to be a farmer's life and stay at home and
have children and maybe be a school teacher. They wanted to keep their careers going and.
Have good lifestyles.
And that can happen now, you know, with Zoom, I mean yes, as you say, COVID has dramatically changed the way we work. So you've got this situation where all these incredibly dynamic, powerful, strong, career driven women and now pick those careers up, to pick those jobs up and
take them to country areas. Maria farmers have a family with a great lifestyle with space for the kids to run around, and you know, not be you know, agitated by the city living and still keep their jobs, you know, still have their own lives and their own independence, and still use their brains. So it's wonderful. It's a great migration that I'm seeing in my real life. And then I'm seeing it on the show. I think it's wonderful.
Yeah, do you know what I also think is that we don't necessarily know how easy it is for everyone. But back when Farmer once a Wife first started, it was kind of a daunting prospect to these women. You know, do you want to marry a farmer live out there? And there'd be no internet, there'd be none of that. They were sort of isolated themselves. Where these days that's
sort of broken down a bit. And as you mentioned, like, women are far more dynamic these days and are able to have their cake and eat it too, And who doesn't want to move out to the country and raise their children? I mean, sounds far too appealing to me.
I know it is. It's a great I mean, it was my childhood, so I know what it's like to be a kid in the country, and it's great and it sets you up to be you know, in my case, my family's case, I think are really well rounded and you know, your values. I can't generally, I suppose I shouldn't generalize here that. You know, country values are a traditionally.
Very good value.
You know, you hard work, Honestly, there's nothing wrong with that. So I love that there's this migration going on, and I love that I'm seeing it in real life as well. And there's also this situation I know, I went to it for many years where you know, you're in the city, you're dating blokes in the city. You get to a point where you're bit disillusioned with the blokes in the city and you think, you know, there's a romanticism to marrying a farmer, and the show sort of captures that.
But it's a real thing. So, you know, as far as reality shows go, to me, it's the most authentic sort of reflection of the real world.
But you know, it's really interesting because I think back, because I'm forty four, and I think back to when I would be looking for, you know, to find someone, and I used to go to the pubs and the clubs and things like that. I felt like we had
to work a little bit harder. Do you think that the way in which there's apps and dating apps these days, do you reckon that's affected the way that some of these men might socialize because they're limiting it that sort of face to FaceTime that we were having before.
Oh god, well, I can't speak Sam.
We've been off the market for a while. We don't know. I have to watch VI Cares.
God, yeah, thank god, I've been off the market.
But I do look.
I look at Richard's daughters, who are in their twenties, and it's just a whole different world now. I think my day it was no one. You know, I've never done it. I never could because I was hosting a big show and it was not I just never did it. I didn't want to do it, and I wouldn't have done it.
But now you apps, did you imagine the headlines from that? Good lord, Oh my god, can you imagine?
But now young people are you know, it's perfectly acceptable. This is how they meet online and they get to know each other online really quickly. And I don't know for good off the bad. Society will work that out in the next couple of decades. But so who am I to say? But it's a very different world now. Gosh, you don't know me to tell you that.
No. But also, Tom is twenty two, right, and here's from Victoria, And I think twenty two is too young. Do you think twenty two is too young to be looking for a wife when you're out there in the regional environments.
Well, look, of course it's the course. You know, he's a very he's quite a serious young man and he's quite well. I wouldn't have picked him at twenty two. I think he's quite mature, and he's quiet, and he's quite introspective. He's a nice young bloke, Tom and you know, he wanted to apply he I think particularly, Look, I don't know, this is just country people and this is
just human nature. But I think what you've seen your parents do in their marriage, I think what you've seen your grandparents do in their marriage.
Affects you quite heavily.
And I think he had a very happy family situation that he was coming from. That he wanted what the generations before him had and I sort of admire that, you know, I mean.
I've got I couldn't have got married at twenty two.
I'd like to all my young female friends to keep their rings off their fingers until they're thirty. I might go and travel and finish your career. You all finish your education, I think is important. And I'm like, so I said that to my sister, and she she didn't end up in a serious relationship until she was thirty, but she'd traveled the world, she'd got a degree. I don't know. I just think that I tell everyone under the age of thirty, but who am I some person city, Well, this is the peaks to.
Their own and I'm very the older I get, the more, you know, I just think, you know, live and let live and Tom and last season we had Matt who was twenty three. He was pretty young too, but he was really serious and he's done. Like I think, these blokes know when they're ready, and if they're ready at twenty two and twenty three, then good luck to them. I mean, my father was kind of think. I mean, I'm not are, but my father was twenty four when
he got married. Mum was twenty one and in those days, no I thought twice about that. Admittedly that was seventies, but who knows. Who knows when you when you're ready, you're ready. And it's quite nice for us on the show to have that mix of ages because the the older farmers are you know, well into their thirties.
So that's good.
Yeah, well, I think a good mix is always right, you know. What I was also thinking is that whenever I watched the show, people talk about the diversity and people always ask me. They're like, are they are there any gay farmers? Like, are we going to see any gay farmers on this show? I'd love to see that. And I'm like, well, if there are, and there would be that apply and they'd be on the sho show. But I was just talking to my friend farmer Dave the other day, who was on Big Brother Wise and
he's now single. Do you reckon that farmer Dave?
Like?
If I ring him and pitch this idea to him, Derek and he'd be good on the show.
Yes, of course if we wanted to come on. Yes. Look, this issue comes up every year with diversity, with culturally diverse farmers or gay farmers, and we are we are not shutting that down. Well, the producers are very open to anyone who wants to apply. The problem is it's really hard to find people who want to go on television and look for love from diverse backgrounds. They do try every year, and every year it comes up, but they have to want to be on television. So that's the key.
You're going to fill out the application for him. They'll just have the producers turn up at his house because you know Dave would love to be on TV.
Well, I think they're casting for the next season right now and we're onto it.
But we're onto it. Before I let you go, I need to talk to you about your my favorite celebrity clickbait story, because I don't think I've ever read clickbait story that's ever true, and we need to bust one. Because I was in the supermarket i Reckon a month ago when I saw your face on the front of the whole magazine. It said that you're moving to America. And then I read the article because obviously I'm that person.
You can't just look at the picture. I've got to read the story, and it was like, you know you're going to leave farmer wants a wife because you're going to now be an American. Well, I mean, I think it's a terrible time to go to America with Trump over there and all the rest of it. What do you make of that story.
I saw you? I do I do know. I did see it. I normally don't see thos magazines. Thank God, I have better things to do with my part. My person sat, but I did. I sat down in the hairdresser, actually my hair dress the habit sitting there for me, and I said, what is this because it was a terrible old photo because of course that's what they used on the property from twelve months ago when I was walking through the rain into Carlin Jackie Oh to do an interview with them. So it was a very old photo.
Wow.
And I think it said I was fleeing to America, but I was actually walking into a radio station last March. Don't see you go. There's your first clue. But I know I'm not going to America. I am quite happily ensconced in the Southern Highlands. And you know, it's quite funny, you know, it amuses me now when I was doing Sunrise and it was all a little bit more hectic, but.
You're tired of doing those hours. I had a breakfast radio where I was getting up at three, you know, to be in the station at three thirty, and people would write stuff about me at the time and it was never true, and then I would be very sensitive. And I think that there's something about getting up at that time and being tired and being more susceptible to being upset about it. Where now if someone writes that stuff, I just I think it's a good laugh. I just laugh at it.
Well, this is what this is.
Yeah, this is my point.
I used to get upset by, well, not not really miss silly, but some of it. I'd get upset by and I'd say, this is not true.
Where is it you.
We've got to get on the now, well your family.
I can detach from it now. I actually did read that article two and it's actually hilarious because when you're reading about yourself like that and go where and let me tell as soon as a magazine like that is, I saw what's close to demansa is saying, you know that they've just made it up.
I've got a little faith.
Yeah, it's kind of funny unless it's topometry and then you take action.
You know. The other thing that was people keep saying because I was googling this morning, this is obviously my journalistic degree. Found everything from Google. No, that's not necessarily true. But they were talking about Natalie Groowski and they said that you're in a fight with her. Now i'd spoken to her. No, there's no fight. But do you think it's very boring when we pit women against each other like that for no reason in the media landscape? Do you think that's very lazy journalism.
Oh, it's very lazy. How silly to be carrying on like that. In twenty twenty four, No, Natalie growslik Iss divine and we get on very well. And she's an absolute sweetheart. So don't listen twenty.
Of the nonsense.
Okay, I'm going to take that from you. Well, the last question I ask is the same thing I ask everyone. I think this is episode three hundred and ninety nine, So thank you. Close to four hundred episodes mental and I know you did podcasting, so you know that that's a lot of episodes. It is, well that, yeah, but what is something from behind the scenes that this year is farmer? Something that you can tell us kind of like a funny story or funny anecdote from your time filming the series.
Oh my goodness, No, you're putting me on the well.
I think last year, what did we talking about. We mentioned the the the B and S ball where there was moscitoes or something I can't remember, and all of them was Alado.
It was the leech crew got leeches on their legs out of the grass.
Let me think, Oh my goodness, you put me on the spot now and I can't think of any gothip for you mean, one night we shot the Country Ball. We filmed the Country Ball. It's in just me in the Hunter Valley, and we had a fire pit. You know, everyone loves to sit around the fire in the country. But then we're kind of film and the crew were trying to throw water on the fire pit. When you
throw water on a fire, it just creates smoke. I don't know, yeah, I know, in the fire, but so we just had billows of smoke going up in the in front of the cameras, so we couldn't film. And it was like three am and ridiculously cold and wet, and we had smoke bellowing through and everyone just wanted to be finished and go to bed. So me and the farmers actually came over with their bare hands and
started pulling the like the metal five. I've always stopped passing the metal, so they would try to just pull it out from under, like turn it upside downside so the fire would go out, which I thought was very very country boy thing to do. I was like, do not touch that five pit with their hands. It was very much and brave, but also a bit stupid.
So we know the crew aren't from the country because they're the ones throwing the water on the fire like that. They don't know, that's that's not what you do.
The farmers were like, don't look, these bloody city crew work it out. But I mean that's all part. Look, it's all fun. It's all it's well, no, it's not usually fun at trying it, but it was all in hindsight it was funny. So that, yeah, that's a bit of fun.
Well, I just want to say thank you for being so generous. I love do you know. I get so excited to talk to you because it's just so easy and you have always such a good storyteller and you have a lot to say and I think it's real value. So I really look forward to chatting to you. I really do well.
As suppose you to talk to you, and I thank you for having me on your podcast, so we great to chat to you.
Well enjoy chatting to the media with this season. I'm going to live vicariously through you as we watch it with the rest of Australia.
Thank you.
It's a good season.
I think you'll enjoy it. So so stay cute.
That's a good teast. Sam, look after yourself.
You too, thank you,