Channel Seven has announced Samantha Armytage’s replacement on Farmer Wants A Wife after her shock departure.
The TV star, 48, has moved to Nine to host the network’s Aussie Bachelor spin-off series The Golden Bachelor after quitting Seven in August.
Natalie Gruzlewski will be making a return to the show after she was replaced by Samantha in 2022.
On Wednesday, Seven’s Chief Content Officer, Brook Hall gushed over the ‘authentic’ new season of the dating program following Sam’s departure.
‘We still keep them in that lane of really pure and try and keep it authentic,’ she said at the Seven’s 2025 Upfronts according to TV Tonight.
‘I’m still amazed at each of those first meets, where usually two out of the five farmers struggle to speak to the women when they come in.’
‘We’re actually filming this week, the final decisions and a couple of farmers are very, very happy where they are. So I think we’re going to have more of those success stories again.’
Outgoing Farmer Wants A Wife host Samantha shocked fans in August when she stepped down from Seven after 21 years, with rumours rife about her next step.
Her new TV gig on The Golden Bachelor was finally unveiled at Nine’s Upfronts, where the network’s schedule of 2025 programming was unveiled to invited guests.
‘I think you’re all going to love this. It’s love for the golden ages,’ Samantha said in the video interview with 9Entertainment.
‘When I got the call to join the show, I didn’t hesitate. [The Golden Bachelor] has been huge in America, and I have a feeling it’s gonna be huge in Australia, too.’
‘We are beyond thrilled to welcome Samantha Armytage to Nine as the new host for our quest for love, the Golden Bachelor, where everyone deserves a second chance at love,’ Nine’s Chief Marketing Officer Liana Dubois added.
Warner Bros Australia first sparked speculation about a local version of the show in November 2023 when they put out a fall for ‘fun, active, and outgoing male seniors aged 60 or over who are divorced/widowed’ to take part in a new dating series.
‘We want to hear from you or anyone who would like to nominate someone they know to take part in the show. We want to celebrate love at every age and show that when it comes to finding love and romance, age is just a number,’ they added.
The first US version of The Golden Bachelor starred father-of-two and widower Gerry Turner, 72, with a Golden Bachelorette version then launching with widow Joan Vassos, 61, looking to find love.
The US version of the show has been wildly successful, with its finale garnering 6.1million viewers, making it the most watched final episode of the American Bachelor series since 2021.
Samantha’s involvement in the reality TV show came after weeks of speculation that she was joining the Bachelor franchise and had signed a deal with Nine.
An insider described Samantha’s new hosting job as a ‘smart move’ and said she was ‘well-suited’ to the concept after ‘breathing new life’ into Seven’s dating show FWAW.
Her new Nine contract is rumoured to be worth a ‘significant amount,’ according to sources, but no exact numbers have been released.
The report scuttled rumours that previous Bachelor host Osher Gunsberg would make a return to the franchise.