NATALIE GRUZLEWSKI WILL BE D

THE TV HOST ON LOVE, FAMILY AND CHEEKY FARMERS

EMILY

This Victorian girl impresses Sam from the get-go. After meeting her once, he admits he could buy her a ring and propose!

KARISSA

Neil loves blonde ladies. And while this child care worker from NSW ticks that box, she also has chemistry with the farmer.

Much has changed since Natalie Gruzlewski last hosted Farmer Wants a Wife way back in 2012. Other dating shows such as The Bachelor and Married at First Sight weren’t on the Australian landscape.

And Nat didn’t have her daughter, Olivia, born in 2013. While she did host Nine Network’s short-lived dating show When Love Comes to Town in 2014 and was a weather presenter for

Nine Gold Coast News, Nat has been missing from our screens for far too long. So, what has the gorgeous TV host been up to? “I’ve just been focusing on family and my daughter, who is now 7,” Natalie, 43, tells New Idea. The Gold Coast mum has been married to property developer Jack Ray since 2012. “I’m loving being a mum,” Nat says.

Now, she’s back fronting Channel Seven’s

Farmer Wants a Wife

reboot and, like slipping on that comfy gumboot,

Nat is relishing the familiar feeling of hosting the show.

“I have such fond memories of Farmer Wants a Wife,” she gushes. “I’m such a huge fan. I’ve loved being back and getting to know our farmers.

It’s been fantastic.”

There’s no doubting Farmer’s incredible strike rate – the Australian version of the show has produced nine marriages and an astounding 20 babies. Why does Farmer leave other shows in its dust?

“The show works because it is genuine, the connections are real and there is a more authentic feel about it,” Nat insists. “The farmers and the ladies choose each other, so there is an initial attraction before they meet.

“They’re there for the right reason, and that’s to find that special someone.”

Some of the farmers have tried dating and it just hasn’t worked. It’s hard to find a

“THEY’RE THERE FOR THE RIGHT REASON, AND THAT’S TO FIND THAT SPECIAL SOMEONE”

Tinder date when the girl next door can be 100km away.

You can feel the electricity in the air the moment Alex, Sam, Neil, Nick and Harry mosey into the room to face the ladies.

Nat says there’s a mixture of “nerves and excitement” and a little “shell shock” on the part of the farmers when they all