Lily Bauer From Farmer Wants A Wife Has A Surprising Bachelor Connection

If the idea of ranch romance makes you hum the FarmersOnly.com jingle, you might think FOX’s Farmer Wants a Wife is a playful riff on the dating site. Contestant Lily Bauer has never heard of it, though. “I see people tweet about the show,” she tells Bustle, “and they’re like, ‘What happened to Farmers Only? They couldn’t find someone on there?’ And I’m like, What is Farmers Only? I had no idea that was even a thing.”

However, the Farmer Wants a Wife franchise actually predates the dating site by several years — but until now, it’s largely been an overseas phenomenon (minus a short-lived CW version in 2008). In the 22 years since its premiere in the United Kingdom, Farmer Wants a Wife has led to 180 marriages and 410 children, per FOX. Compared to the success rate of local dating shows, those are attractive odds.

The show follows women from the “big city” as they vie for the hearts of four eligible farmers. Lily, for example, was a psychology student in Miami when she was cast on the show. The end goal is to live in the heartland together — so the courtship period can’t just be romantic dates but practical challenges, too, like wrangling farm animals and dealing with manure.

Viewers will have to wait to see how Lily and her fellow contestants fare during Farmer Wants a Wife’s March 8 premiere. In the meantime, Lily opens up about casting, her surprising Bachelor connection, and why she’s drawn to life on the farm.

Farmer Wants a Wife is a successful show around the world, but not yet in America. What inspired you to go on a dating show that isn’t quite as mainstream as, say, The Bachelor?

The Bachelor is very predictable. You know what you’re getting yourself into. And for me, compatibility-wise, and what my long term goals were, Farmer Wants a Wife is just finding a cowboy and living in the heartland in the country — that’s my dream. That’s where I see myself. But I have a friend who was on Zach [Shallcross]’s season, which is wild.

Who’s that?

Greer [Blitzer]. We have mutual friends. We had no idea that we were on shows [at the same time]. I called her, and was like, “How are you?” And she’s like, “Yeah, by the way, I was on a show.” I still couldn’t tell her about my show! And then turns out she got the first impression rose. She was definitely a heavy hitter in the beginning of the season.

Do you keep up with The Bachelor?

Not really. I used to when I was younger, but not so much. I’ve digressed with reality TV. I’ll watch sci-fi movies or comedies, stick to my studies. I ride horses, so that’s my day-to-day. [But] I’m watching because of her.

You mention riding horses. Is that something that inspired you to join the show?

Definitely. My first pony, I rescued from auction. And looking back now as an adult, riding was really a solace to myself, to my soul. A deeper connection to something that has a greater meaning. I was so fortunate to have that at such a young age. For the rest of my life, if I find myself drifting or feeling really lost, that’s always where I go back to mentally. Or physically, if I can, based off the city I’m in. So riding has been such a major part of my life, and hopefully my children’s if I have a family. I can give them this very wholesome country lifestyle — with some traveling, obviously, [to] shape them to be great individuals. But that was always going to be my end goal. That set the tone for my life.

What was the casting process like?

A DM was sent to me, and I responded. The first text was, “How do you feel about Southern gentlemen?” And my response exactly was, “Bring on the sexy cowboys!” I thought it was a fake account reaching out to recruit me for something I didn’t even know existed. [But] we started talking, and it was legit. They told me how successful it had been in the past, without knowing the name — the cast was not allowed to know the name. I specified, I didn’t want it to be like The Bachelor. Reality TV, it’s a very vulnerable thing. You put yourself up for the world’s judgment. And I wanted to make sure I set myself up for success as best as I could.

You didn’t know the show’s name?

Only after we were done. The whole point was that they wanted it all to be organic and natural — vs. if we had all discussed it beforehand, it wouldn’t be authentic on camera.

How did people in your life react to you going on the show?

You have to you have to be really quiet about it. I told my mom, “Hey, Mom, I’m gonna go do a reality show. I leave tomorrow. Can you drive me to the airport?” You have no idea what to expect. I mean, you go through this casting process, you trust the people that you’re Zooming with, and then it comes down to the day and you’re like: Do I do this? Because again, it’s not The Bachelor. The unpredictability can be really nerve-racking. I knew it was on FOX, and I knew it was going to be a wholesome show — nothing super filled with drama. Or nothing cringey, hopefully.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.