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Farmer David and Emily McMahon are a fan-favourite couple from Season 13 of Farmer Wants A Wife Australia. In the 2023 series, the then 29-year-old apple farmer fell head over boots in love with Emily, a special education teacher’s aide from Brisbane (as correctly predicted by our entertainment writer).
Following a fairytale finale proposal on the show, 26-year-old Emily packed up her bags and moved out to David’s apple orchard in Stanthorpe, Queensland. It was a whirlwind 8-month engagement for these two lovebirds, with the pair tying the knot in 2025. In April 2026, they added a new apple to the family tree — baby girl Willa!
With babe in arms, David and Emily join host Tiffany Dunk on The Australian Women’s Weekly Love Stories podcast to dish on life as new parents.
Adding to the family tree
David and Emily spoke early on in their relationship about wanting to start a family of their own. Following their wedding, they planned an overseas trip to Europe as one last hurrah before having children.
On their return home, the pair found out pretty quickly they had a bun (or should we say apple pie?) in the oven.
“We were very lucky,” David shares on Love Stories. “It must have been like a week after the holiday.”
“I remember I was ecstatic,” says Emily on finding out she was pregnant, having always pictured herself as a mum one day.
While Emily’s pregnancy was healthy on paper, she confesses she found it “really tough”.
After relocating to rural Australia, Emily landed jobs in Stanthorpe as a teacher’s aide and a dance teacher. However, given the farm’s remote location, her commute into work is a 40-minute car drive and carsickness was a real issue throughout her pregnancy.
“Your mind is being so grateful you’re on this special journey, but also your body is changing and your hormones and just everything,” says Emily. Having a supportive partner to lean on during that time made all the difference to her.
“I’ve never felt more loved,” she says of David. “That was probably the best part of being pregnant.”
Picking a name
David and Emily found out early on in the pregnancy that they were having a girl, and the name ‘Willow’ was decided on without a moment’s discussion.
Emily confesses in The Australian Women’s Weekly Love Stories that she actually found the name on an online vintage baby name list 12 months before falling pregnant, and simply pinned it for later.
Given his wife’s job as a teacher’s aide, David said finding a name she liked was a “minefield.” Emily was keen to find a name that she wouldn’t have taught before in her class, and ‘Willow’ was a perfect option that they both loved and was a little more unique.
Keeping with family tradition, baby Willow Mae McMahon’s middle name comes from Emily’s grandmother — a shorter version of ‘Margaret.’
Baby bubble
While bringing Willa into the world was no easy feat, involving an emergency C-section, David and Emily both look back on Willa’s birth as a very special moment in time for the two of them.
“For you and your partner, like you’re never so tuned in,” Emily tells podcast host Tiffany. “Even though it can be really traumatic, it’s just—”
” —Pretty magical,” says David, finishing her sentence.
As for adapting to motherhood, David is absolutely glowing about his wife sitting beside him.
“Watching your wife become a mother is just the most incredible thing,” says the farmer. “She finds this energy out of nowhere.”
With sweet little Willa on her lap, the pair can’t believe how much she’s grown in just a month. Emily describes seeing her begin to open her eyes and start to smile as ‘beautiful’ to watch.
Well and truly in their baby bubble, Emily says they’re just enjoying “starting to learn her as a little person.”
Listen to The Australian Women’s Weekly Love Stories podcast wherever you get your podcasts. Find out more information here. Love Stories is brought to you by Vixin Beauty.
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