The third episode of Farmer Wants A Wife 2026 added a little more drama than we’re used to experiencing on the hit show.
I have been covering this show for the better part of a decade and am well-versed in its lore and parlance. This popular reality show, responsible for 11 marriages and close to 30 children, is later than usual this year, but let’s hope the 2026 season of FWAW was worth the wait!
In case you missed it, read on for a full recap of episode three! But beware, SPOILERS ahead!
Episode 3
Episode three of the 2026 Farmer Wants A Wife (FWAW) season kicked off with Farmer Zac bringing Grace coffee and croissants for breakfast the morning after their 24-hour date, and it looks like we’re (thankfully) not getting a repeat of the Thomas and Claire fiasco that unfolded last year.
Since kissing, Grace is now certain that she and Zac aren’t better off as friends and there is indeed a romantic spark between them. Phew.
And then we officially arrived at my personal favourite moment of every FWAW season: When the other ladies arrive at the farm and try not to act wildly jealous of whoever was picked for the 24-hour date.
We saw Jarrad’s contenders arrive first. And Carly, who was chosen by Jarrad for the 24-hour date, admitted to producers she was nervous about having to now compete for the almond farmer’s attention. Who wouldn’t be?
When Zac’s ladies arrived, they immediately started grilling Grace. “Did you guys kiss?” Miranda asked. And when Grace admitted there was a little smooch, they all squealed like girls in a sorority. Well, almost all; Jessica looked pretty upset at the news (spoiler: more on that later).
Over on Jason’s farm, the first ‘drop out’ occurred. Well, actually, it occurred off-camera. When the ladies arrived, they had to inform Jason that Jessie had decided not to come to the farm and was leaving the show altogether.
They couldn’t give a specific reason as to why she had made that decision, and a clearly upset Jason then asked producers whether it was something he had done. They told him she was staying in the nearest town, so Jason hopped in his car and drove off to meet her, hoping to learn more.
Jessie not coming back to the farm obviously hit a nerve for Jason. He told producers while driving that he’s been “unlucky in love” a few times before confessing: “I’ve always had a fear of women not being able to come to the farm or farm life’s not for them.” Poor guy.
Once he arrived at Jessie’s hotel, it was obvious she didn’t want to be on camera, but because Jason had a microphone on, we heard every word of their brief conversation.
“It’s not the right environment for me,” Jessie explained.
Jason looked very upset when he headed back to his farm, and I really felt for him. But I honestly don’t think the “environment” Jessie was referring to was the farm; how could it be? She has literally never been there. I think by environment she meant being filmed constantly and having to be one of five women dating the same man.
Speaking of, on Zac’s farm, Jessica burst into tears and told the other women that she wanted to “go home”. Why? Well, it upset her to hear that Grace had kissed Zac, and the fact that she had to compete with multiple ladies for his affection “triggered a lot of insecurities”. She really didn’t want to set herself up “for disappointment.” I get it, it would be hard.
Miranda (this Farmer Wants A Wife season’s ‘villain’) was less sympathetic. She told producers Jessica obviously can’t handle the pressure, whereas she’ll do whatever it takes to have some alone time with Zac. At this stage, I wondered whether Channel 7 has hired the same music composer that Channel 9 uses for Married At First Sight.
The dramatic music was a little too much for my liking, and I once again found myself thinking they really need to dial these silly moments back; otherwise, they may lose viewers!
Next, host Natalie Gruzlewski informed all of the women that they needed to come up with an idea for a date and submit it anonymously to their farmer. The farmers would then have to pick their favourite date idea and do it with whoever’s idea it was (every FWAW fan like myself will know this happens every season, and they’re called “blind dates”).
Sadly, after this nice interlude, we went straight back to drama. Zac chose Jessica’s blind date, which “annoyed” Miranda, as Jessica said she wanted to go home, but now gets to spend some quality one-on-one time with Zac. She started complaining to Zac’s other ladies as soon as he and Jessica left for their date, and they all enthusiastically joined in. It’s clear Miranda, Grace, Maya and Mieke are on the same page: they believe Zac deserves someone who genuinely wants to be there, and Jessica doesn’t fit that bill.
Drama kicked off at Jarrad’s farm, too. He unknowingly picked Carly’s blind date, and the other women were furious, especially Cara. “It’s frustrating that Carly is getting another date with Jarrad,” she told producers.
At least both Jarrad and Carly were self-aware. While on their blind date, which was simply cooking a meal together, Jarrad said he was pleasantly surprised he picked Carly, but thinks the other women are likely “not too happy” about it. Carly agreed and joked, “I think I might be in a bit of trouble, but I think you might be in more trouble than me.”
Meanwhile, Cara said to producers she would never wish a bad date on anyone. But then, less than five minutes later, she boldly intruded on Jarrad and Carly’s date to “get some prosecco glasses”.
In bad news for Carly, Jarrad admitted to producers he found it “attractive” and that he’s always liked “spicy girls”. Jarrad, do I have the girl group for you: Made up of Emma Bunton, Mel B, Mel C, Geri Halliwell and Victoria Beckham (née Adams), they’re responsible for several hit songs like ‘Wannabe’, ‘Viva Forever’, and ‘Stop’… I’m so sorry for that terrible joke, but it had to be done!
As for Alex, he chose Gabbie’s blind date, but he didn’t seem too enthusiastic about it. “I’d love to just be with Eddy, but I’m trying to keep an open mind,” the mushroom farmer told producers.
Ouch. Poor Gabbie. Poor Suzannah, Rachel, and Delia! They’ve got their work cut out for them if they want Alex to pursue them instead of Eddy.
And in my humble opinion, Gabbie didn’t make too great an impression. When she told Alex on their blind date, “I’d like to live in Spain for a few months,” Alex looked as though he’d just bitten into a sour orange. That boy clearly wants to stay on his farm and doesn’t want his potential wife living it up in Barcelona.
Meanwhile, Eddy admitted to the other girls that Alex gave her a necklace, and they kissed during their 24-hour date. And to say that Delia was not pleased would be a serious understatement. She immediately dismissed Alex and Eddy’s connection as frivolous and said she wants something serious, and if that’s not what Alex wants, then she doesn’t want Alex.
Farmer Jason chose Jessica’s blind date: a cocktail-making class at the ‘local’ pub. I’ve put local in inverted commas because it was not that close to the farm, and on the drive there, Jessica seemed shocked to learn that there are no Ubers or taxis out in the country and Jason’s farm really and truly is isolated.
To be honest, I didn’t see many sparks fly during Jason and Jessica’s date. She is obviously a “city girl”, and I don’t think she’ll like farm life after the novelty wears off. Mark my words, she’ll leave mid-season of her own accord.
Back on Dylan’s farm, Lily’s blind date was chosen.
“I feel a definite chemistry with Lily… I’m definitely attracted to her,” Dylan told producers minutes before smooching Lily. Dylan’s certainly not wasting any time, is he?
As for Zac, he went on Jessica’s slip and slide date, and things were going well… Right up until he seriously injured his wrist. The official FWAW medics told him to ice it, but after a phone call to his doctor, he was told to go to an emergency room. He sweetly asked Jessica to drive him to the hospital, considering he had to cut their date short because of the mishap.
But the other women – especially Miranda – were pissed that Zac asked Jessica, and only Jessica, to go to the hospital.
Back on Dylan’s farm, Renae (my favourite contender this year) admitted she was very nervous that Dylan was going to send her home at the impending elimination, as she’s “very quiet” and “shy” compared to the other girls, and she hasn’t had much one-on-one time with him since getting to the farm.
But then she confessed, “I just feel like I’m meant to be here.. Like destiny.” And I feel it too; from the first episode, I got this feeling that Dylan and Renae will end up together. It might sound unbelievable, but I have a knack for this. I knew early on that David would pick Emily in the 2023 Farmer Wants A Wife season, and I correctly predicted Matt would pick Olivia in the 2024 season.
Suddenly, it’s dinner time on all of the farms. AKA the last chance for the ladies to make an impression on their farmers before the post-dinner elimination.
Dylan thankfully asked Renae to go for a private chat. He wanted to see if the spark he felt when they first met was still there, and it clearly was. Renae confessed that she’s just shy but still wants to get to know him. He seemed pretty stoked with that answer, and they hugged (he must be saving the kisses for official dates).
They returned to the dinner table, and Dylan swiftly sent Tennille home as he hadn’t felt any spark between them. She took it really well, though, politely saying as she left, “You gotta do what you gotta do… Thanks, Dylan, all the best.”
Back on Zac’s farm, the ladies are waiting for the apple farmer and Jessica to return…
And they are NOT happy about how much alone time Jessica has gotten with Zac. In fact, it led to more waterworks. Grace told producers through tears, “I really do have feelings for Zac, and it’s really scary having other people here who want [him].” It’s only episode three; how have we had two women full-on cry already?!
In the end, Zac didn’t send anyone home (I always forget that’s an option). He reasoned that because he was at the hospital for so long, he didn’t have enough time to get to know everyone and to eliminate someone would be unfair.
Miranda is displeased that Zac didn’t send anyone home, though. She has an obvious vendetta against Jessica and thinks Zac should’ve sent her home. “She doesn’t have what it takes to be a farmer’s wife,” Miranda said. Ouch.
At another dinner table, Jarrad ultimately sent Georgia home. She was a good sport about it, saying all the things she’s supposed to say, like “I wish you the best” and “It’s a hard decision”
But it was obvious she was seething, and I’m honestly on her side. Jarrad went on two dates with Carly, and none of the other girls, Georgia included, got a chance to get to know him better prior to the elimination.
Back on Alex’s farm, trouble started brewing. Frontrunner for the mushroom farmer’s heart, Eddy said grace before dinner and suddenly, he wasn’t that in love with her anymore (he’s not religious).
I literally laughed out loud when he started visibly falling apart at the dinner table after finding out that his dream girl might not be his dream girl after all; he looked absolutely crestfallen and completely withdrew, not talking to anyone. Alex, you’ve known this woman for like two days, and all she did was say grace at the dinner table – calm down.
But Alex did not calm down. In fact, he looked like he was in a deep trance when Delia pulled him for a private chat and said she’d like to be eliminated. Of course, he hugged her goodbye and wished her the best, but it was clear he didn’t really care that Delia was leaving; his mind was preoccupied by Eddy and her apparent faith.
“I don’t think I could have a long-term relationship with someone who’s religious. That was a shock,” he later confessed to producers.
“The grace thing with Eddy; I definitely want to talk with Eddy about that tomorrow. Because if she’s wanting to raise her kids with God, I don’t know how that will go with me.”
And finally, over at Jason’s farm, the dairy farmer decided to pull Logan for a private chat before the elimination. I have no idea what they spoke about because all we got to see was Jessica yapping (rather loudly and obnoxiously) at the dinner table.
So far, the editors have made it clear that Miranda on Zac’s farm is the villain, but she hasn’t bothered me, whereas Jessica really annoyed me at this stage of the episode. When Jason and Logan returned from their chat, she kept interrupting Jason, telling him to “rip the bandaid off” and “get [the elimination] over with.”
Then, when Jason revealed he had decided not to eliminate anyone, Jessica had a full-on tantrum – she swore, ripped off her mic pack and stormed off from the dinner table in tears.
And when he went to check on her, she refused to speak to Jason. I felt so sorry for him. He told producers shortly after Jessica’s meltdown, “I was so full of hope, but now I’m wondering what I’m doing wrong.”
So far, I haven’t seen Jason do anything to merit this behaviour. I’m actually really confused as to why Jessica is suddenly acting like that, so hopefully we get some sort of explanation in episode four… Some more wholesome moments would be nice too!
And that was episode three of Farmer Wants A Wife 2026! Stay tuned for more recaps and new episodes that air on Monday, Tuesday and Sunday nights on Channel 7 and 7now.
