Farmer Wants a Wife host Jennifer Nettles has opened up about her role on the Fox dating show, following the series premiere earlier this month.
The singer, songwriter, actress and record producer, who is the lead vocalist of the duo Sugarland, alongside Kristian Bush, was announced as the host of the series ahead of its debut in March 2023.
The U.S. version of Farmer Wants a Wife is the latest iteration of the popular format, which has resulted in 180 marriages and over 400 children in the 35 countries where there are versions of the show.
The series follows four farmers—Ryan Black, Allen Foster, Hunter Grayson and Landon Heaton—as they meet and host a group of single women at their country homes, hoping to find real love in the process.
Nettles, who is no stranger to television presenting, having hosted the CMA (Country Music Association) Country Christmas special for seven years in a row from 2010 to 2016, told Newsweek that Farmer Wants a Wife "has a lot of heart and realism."
"When I saw the success of the show in terms of marriages and children, I was like, well, something is working here," she said in an interview.
The host, who married Justin Miller in 2011, revealed that she plays the part of a "Fairy Godmother" on the series, as the farmers show their respective groups of women what life is really like on a working farm.
Throughout the season the women, who have relocated to the country from cities, will be seen learning to tend the land, feed cattle, and bale hay, all while trying to discover if there are romantic connections with the famers.
"I joke and sort of call myself a Fairy Godmother on the show. You know, I sort of swoop along each week and am able to offer advice, most especially for the guys," she said.
"I connect some with the ladies, but [I'm] there for the farmers...they are, in many ways, fish out of water, so to speak. Even though it's about bringing possible love interests into their world, at the same time, [they're] putting themselves out there. Looking for love is really vulnerable, right? And then doing it in the hyper reality with cameras all around..." Nettles added.
The star, who was a guest judge on last week's episode of The Masked Singer, also gushed over the four farmers; Grayson, Black, Heaton and Foster.
"[They] have been very sweet and very gracious," she said. "So I've become so invested, I want them to win, you know, love. I want them to find love."
Giving an insight into how she helps the foursome throughout the episodes, Nettles said: "I mean, I mostly let what I observed in them be my guide in the sense that I let them lead it."
She added that she would step in if she saw that one of the men was really interested in somebody, or if a specific woman was interested in them.
"I was watching and observing, then I wanted to really almost mirror back to them like, 'Look, this is what I'm seeing in you. Is this a good read? And if so, maybe that's a good place for connection,'" Nettles explained.
Farmer Wants a Wife continues Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET on FOX.
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