Sarasota High grad goes to the farm to find a husband
Growing up in Sarasota, Brooke Wyman spent a lot of time around horses so she says it is not so far-fetched for a self-proclaimed city girl to be interested in finding a romantic match with a cowboy on the Fox dating series “Farmer Wants a Wife.”
Wyman, who graduated from Sarasota High School and now lives in St. Petersburg, is one of 20 remaining contestants hoping for matches with one of four hard-working farmers on the second season of the revived series, with country singer Jennifer Nettles serving as host and guide. One of the farmers, Nathan Smothers, is a fourth-generation Florida citrus and cattle farmer.
One of Wyman’s high school friends mentioned the show. “She said I should apply and thought I’d be a great fit because she knew I was looking for love because I was single,” the executive assistant said. Wyman is careful about tenses in her answers during a telephone interview to avoid giving away any information about how her relationship develops with team roper Ty Ferrell.
Ferrell, father of a 12-year-old girl whom he describes as his “first lady,” is one of four men looking for love with selected groups of women who might seem like mismatches at first. On the recent premiere episode, the men each pick five women to spend extended time with them on their farms and ranches. Wyman, who told Ferrell on their first “date” that she liked the smell of horse poop, was one of his five choices.
During filming last September and October, Wyman said she felt the support of the production team and the other women competing against her.
“They are filming a reality TV show, but they do want someone to end up together. They do want marriage,” she said. “You have all this support to date the farmer and fall in love and get married. You have a team behind you.”
Cameras are everywhere
Having cameras follow every move didn’t bother her.
“I was excited to be put out of my comfort zone. You’re letting your guard down and you’re both in the same boat,” she said. “I felt a lot of positivity.”
The experience also taught her how to let go.
“I was not in control. The producers and wranglers that were on set were in control. It was a great thing that I was able to let go to be able to give the show my journey,” she said. “We all have our day-to-day activities, walking my dog, going to gym, going to work. And then to walk away from all that ... I didn’t know if I would struggle with it, but I had the best time ever.”
She didn’t mind having no car or a phone or even knowing what was going to happen from one day to the next.
“The first day of filming was extremely tough. Your emotions are just rattled, with 32 girls, you’re about to meet the farmer,” she said. “I was super excited but so nervous. Anxiety creeps in. There is so much production and it is overwhelming, but it is also such a cool feeling to be part of it.”
Keeping a big secret
She was single for about three years when she left home and work to film last September and October. Only her parents (who still live in Sarasota), a couple of her closest friends and her employer were allowed to know where she was going.
It has been tough since returning home to keep quiet about what happened, but fortunately, her friends haven’t asked a lot of questions.
There was no real sense of competition with the other women on the series because they were all so different.
“I want someone to like me for me. There’s no reason for me to compare myself. If he likes her and not me, that’s fine. I’m not going to change the way I am. I believe the person I fall in love with and marry will love me for all that I am.”
But is she willing to give up her “city” life for a relationship on a farm?
“If you do find love, maybe you would make that decision to be with the person you love,” Wyman said.
“Farmer Wants a Wife” airs at 9 p.m. Thursday on Fox and is available for streaming on Hulu. The series first aired in 2008 on The CW, and was revived by Fox in 2023.
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