Jennifer Nettles on Feeling Like a 'Fairy Godmother' on 'Farmer Wants a Wife'

The Grammy winner's time on the rural reality series was magical indeed.

Three-time Grammy winner Jennifer Nettles was initially unfamiliar with Farmer Wants a Wife, but when she was approached to take a pivotal role in the U.S. version, she was quickly hooked on this unscripted reality dating series.

So much so that the entertainment superstar is the host for the first U.S. version of the global hit debuting on FOX on March 8. As we learn from the farmers, “The road to romance is challenging, messy, and one heck of a ride.”

Considered to be the most successful dating show in the world, Farmer Wants a Wife has aired in 32 countries and resulted in 180 marriages and 410 children, which sounded like a great fit for the American heartland—especially keeping in mind a major dating and mating trend: the migration from city centers to suburban and rural locales, and the idea that with that, perhaps love will follow.

Farmer Wants a Wife, we learn from a FOX press release, "brings big heart to the heartland in an all-new unscripted dating show," hosted by Nettles. As in similar shows around the globe, the U.S. version "follows four hard-working farmers—Ryan Black, Allen Foster, Hunter Grayson, and Landon Heaton—in search of real, lasting love."

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This is how the series works: Each of the farmers plays host to a group of women who take a big leap of faith by saying farewell to their routines of the city to see if they feel happy and comfortable with the toil of country life. As they quickly learn, this adventure could be life-altering.

The men and women mutually select one another before the women are invited to experience life on their respective farms, we learn from FOX. "From there, the farmers show each group what it is really like on an actual working farm, from tending the land, feeding cattle and bailing hay, to the behind-the-scenes business operations."

For the women, FOX says, the question looms large: "How far are you willing to go to find love?" Together, the two groups endeavor to find what most of us romantics of all ages yearn for, their happily ever after.

“I joke that I call myself the Fairy Godmother of the series because I get a chance to do a lot of mentoring; especially with the farmers,” Jennifer Nettles exclusively tells Parade.com. “This show is about real people who want a shot at love, and what I appreciate about it the most is that authenticity.”

Related: Jennifer Nettles Set to Host New Reality Dating Series on a Farm

The Four Farmers of Farmer Wants a Wife

Hunter Grayson

Hunter Grayson, 31, of Watkinsville, Georgia, is a cattle and horse rancher on a 200-acre ranch. He enjoys team roping, free-dive spearfishing and singing in his band.

Ryan Black

Ryan Black, 32, is a horse trainer and breeder in Gastonia, North Carolina, on a 44-acre ranch. Black enjoys training and competing horses, as well as designing and building houses.

Landon Heaton

Landon Heaton, 35, is a cattle rancher and farmer in Stillwater, Oklahoma, on a 300-acre cattle ranch and a 40-acre farm. Heaton enjoys bow hunting, cooking, and training retrievers.

Allen Foster

Allen Foster, 32, is a cattle rancher in Williamsport, Tennessee. He lives on a 200-acre ranch and is an avid hunter and fisherman who enjoys riding horses and driving ATVs.

Read on for what Jennifer Nettles appreciates about Farmer Wants a Wife, her own take on love, romance, music, and motherhood.

Why did you want to host Farmer Wants a Wife?

Jennifer Nettles: I hadn’t heard of the series even though it has had wild success all over the world. This is the first time that it’s been brought here to the United States. And when I say wild success, I think it has resulted in more than 180 marriages and more than 400 children, which is crazy.

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What did you take from those staggering results?

What it said to me was that it spoke to the authenticity of the show. This show is very different. I’m not a super per se big fan of romance reality, but this show is not one of those where in the end everyone is being hyper-dramatic and everybody who’s on it actually just wants to be an influencer. This is not that show.

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What did you enjoy most about rural life during the eight weeks of filming?

I was in and out a lot. My role is much more, as I like to call it, the Fairy Godmother. So, I come in when we have the big group meetings, the big group outings, the big group social gatherings. Because obviously when they’re all on their individual farms and they’re just getting to know each other, that’s really up to them. For me, once they’ve had some time each week to be together and to try to get to know each other more, [my job] is then to facilitate as they move along to offer guidance.

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What would you look for in a hunky farmer or an attractive guy in a reality series?

What I appreciate most and what draws me to anyone is authenticity. A sense of adventure, a sense of romance, depth, and intelligence. All these contestants, not only when it comes to these men, but also the woman as well—it’s just such a good group of people.

Even in the show in terms of the vetting process—because in this show, both the women and the men get to be a part of the vetting process. Beforehand, the women get a chance to look at these farmers and their profiles. Then the men get to look at the group of women who have first shown their interest and say, “Well, out of the who’ve shown interest, I would be interested in getting to know these ladies more.”

So, this is not only a matter of romance but it is a matter of life and lifestyle, and as you will see in the show, these women get really ask themselves, “Hmm, do I really want this life?” And you might be surprised at some of their answers.

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As the so-called 'Fairy Godmother," do you believe that people can find each other in this way and hopefully live happily ever after?

In this day and age where everybody’s swiping left, swiping right, I think specifically the way this show is formatted provides an opportunity for these folks to get to know each other and ask the important questions that set the foundation for a television show, but also for the relationships that they are forming.

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Why do you think that this series is so popular around the world?

It all comes down to how genuine it is. These are real people who want to find love, and you see that authenticity. These are real guys who live in small towns in tiny communities. Many of them you’ll hear them say, “I’ve never had one woman on my farm, much less eight.” In their small communities, they know all of the women in town and they are related to half of them. It’s quite overwhelming for them to date, let alone all of the hard work it takes to run their farms and ranches.

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Can you share a funny or favorite anecdote from the series?

I didn’t go specifically to the farms of the farmers themselves. The farms and the places where we met were more in terms of fun outings, and social gatherings. There’s a barn dance and there is a rodeo. I don’t want to spoil and tell everything, but the times when everyone is gathered together in order to go out and have an evening of everyone together, are my favorite aspects of the show.

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Where do you physically keep your Grammy Awards?

I keep them on top of my piano.

Did any of the farmers, or their dates, know your music?

They did, yes. Several of them were very kind. They didn't know who was going to be hosting the show until the first day when I showed up, so their reactions to me were very sweet.

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Talk about your new music.

Well, right now, and while I’m out in LA this weekend, I’m going to be finishing up an album project: a super fun collaboration with Noel Schajris, a Latin artist. He has a duo and he and I were actually introduced by Jaime Camil when I was doing Mamma Mia! with him at the Hollywood Bowl. Jaime introduced us and we got a Spanish-English album together. The album is called Timeless.

We are finishing that project and I’m working on a musical that I’ve been working on for a while now, but as it gets closer to—I won’t say finished, but as it gets closer, I call it my white whale. I am quite obsessed with it and have been working on that pretty feverishly. So that’s the most recent in terms of music.

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What are a few of your favorite things about being a mom of a 10-year-old boy?

Oh, my goodness. My son Magnus is 10 and he’s super sweet. He’s such a cool kid, and being 10 he’s still squishy and snuggly and stuff. He’s starting to get to where I'm like, “All right, kid, you need to put on some deodorant.” So, he is starting to get bigger. But I just love him, I learn so much from him. He’s super insightful.

He has super deep, deep interests right now. His latest is in ventriloquism, which I love. He's just recently started discovering world religions and timelines and history. He's just such an interesting kid, but he is overall super kind, and super sweet. And he's just so squishy and yummy and I love snuggling, and I still love the smell of his head. Even still, even at 10. I probably always will.

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Did you have a favorite day of filming?

For me, my favorites are when I get to connect from the heart the most with these folks. And when I'm able to help, especially where the farmers are concerned, getting to know their personalities. I think the barn dance stands out to me as fun for them because those guys, a couple of them really wanted to dance. They were like, "'Play to your strengths,' and this is mine,” and I’m like, “Okay great, this sounds super fun!” So, I think those were standouts to me.

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If I gave you a weekend off for a guilty pleasure or extra family time, how would you spend it?

I would travel. I had a chance to go to Morocco for the first time over the New Year and had a blast. So I would travel somewhere fun with my family.

I’d also love to have some time with some of my girlfriends. As we get into family and kids we tend to not have as much time for our girlfriends, so I would love to have either a girl’s getaway or a yoga getaway.

Why should viewers watch Farmer Wants a Wife?

I think it will re-inspire them for love. I want everyone to watch it because I think it will redefine for us what is a romantic reality show.

Farmer Wants a Wife premieres on FOX on Wednesday, March 8, from 9-10 p.m. ET.

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