‘Farmer Wants a Wife’ Host on Why Shows Like ‘The Bachelor’ Turn Her Off

Jennifer Nettles has revealed why she is not the biggest fan of dating shows, and what changed her mind about Farmer Wants a Wife.

The singer, songwriter, actress and record producer is the host of the Fox dating show, which premiered last month.

Nettles, 48, is on hand to help the cast of Farmer Wants a Wife as four farmers—Ryan Black, Allen Foster, Hunter Grayson and Landon Heaton—meet and host a group of single women at their country homes, hoping to find real love in the process.

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.

Speaking to Newsweek ahead of the show’s premiere early this year, Nettles revealed that she doesn’t actually watch dating shows.

She also opened up about what it is about popular dating shows that puts her off, and why Farmer Wants a Wife felt different to her.

Nettles didn’t name ABC’s The Bachelor specifically, but she did speak about shows that feature “a rose,” which is the signature symbol of the long-running series.

“I think of immediately the stereotype of, OK, there’s a dramatic ending, and every episode someone’s crying and there’s a rose and there’s scandal and everybody’s catty and mean and everybody wants to be an influencer, right?” Nettles told Newsweek.

She continued: “That’s what I think of and so I was turned off to that. But then when I saw really the success of [Farmer Wants a Wife] in terms of marriages and children, I was like, well, something is working here. You know, because the show has been around, obviously in 32 different countries and has had over 180 marriages and over 410 children. So they’re doing something right.”

Nettles added that Farmer Wants a Wife has “heart and realism,” saying: “The more I learned about it, and then obviously being on the show, in this case the people are there for the right [reasons].”

As well as her hosting duties on Farmer Wants a Wife, Nettles is the lead vocalist of the duo Sugarland, alongside Kristian Bush.

The star, who married Justin Miller in 2011, is also 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.

Farmer Wants a Wife continues Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET on FOX.