Emotional Moments Unfold as Farmer Jay Reflects on Samantha’s Departure in ‘Farmer Wants a Wife’

Warning: This post contains spoilers for Farmer Wants a Wife.

The leads of season 3 of Farmer Wants a Wife certainly have a challenging journey ahead of them.

In the April 17 episode, Farmers John Sansone, Jay Woods, Matt Warren, and Colton Hendricks were enjoying a barn dance in Nashville with their respective daters. As expected, the drama unfolded both on the dance floor and behind the scenes.

To kick off the episode, Samantha, who had pondered leaving the show in the previous installment, managed to pull Farmer John, 25, aside for a crucial conversation.

Samantha Makes a Big Decision About Her Future with Farmer John

During their discussion, Samantha described John as “one of the most amazing guys that I’ve ever met in my life.” However, she admitted that the situation felt “overwhelming,” contrary to her initial thoughts that the experience would be “extremely easy.”

Ultimately, Samantha decided to exit the competition, expressing, “There are little things that are keeping me from believing that I am what you need from a partner.”

She explained, “I think I’m what you want, but you’re someone who likes to be in the driver’s seat, just like me. I believe you need someone who will let you lead.” John responded appreciatively, saying, “That’s okay; I appreciate your honesty. I truly enjoyed having you around because it felt fun, like I had someone in the same headspace.”

“It’ll be interesting not having you here, but I may find that with someone else,” he added.

After the conversation, John shifted his focus to the remaining three daters, feeling that Samantha had somewhat held him back from getting to know them better. He remarked that his relationship with Samantha took “definitely some interesting turns” before her departure.

“It was quite an interesting ride,” he explained. “I saw her as a challenge because I felt like she was testing my words, while with the others, I was asking them questions mostly about themselves.”

Farmer Matt Looks Back on Rachel’s Shocking Exit — and Allegations

Meanwhile, Farmer Matt, 30, reflected on the fallout from the previous episode, which featured Rachel, 25, exiting the competition after accusing him of sneaking around with another contestant, Halleh, 29.

“Rumors circulated about Halleh and I,” Matt revealed to the cameras. “It’s been awful. That’s not how I wanted things to unfold.”

“Ultimately, I want this to be a positive experience for both me and the girls. It’s time to move past this and just enjoy ourselves,” he added.

Farmer Jay Investigates Drama Amongst His Daters

Meanwhile, 25-year-old Farmer Jay’s fun at the dance was interrupted when he noticed something was off with T’yana, 23. While speaking with Karina, also 23, he noticed T’yana was crying and went to investigate, leading to more emotional moments during their candid discussion.

“I’ve been feeling left out lately, and I haven’t felt that way in a long time,” she explained, clarifying that her emotions were linked to the competitive dynamic among the other women. Prior to their chat, T’yana had been accused by some of her fellow contestants of suggesting they were a “clique” and allegedly calling Julia, 22, a “hoe.”

“They’ll go into their room and shut the door,” T’yana continued. “Sometimes, I walk into a room and people leave. I try to make everyone feel included because I was always someone who felt left out in high school.”

Jay validated her feelings, saying, “I’m really glad you opened up to me about this because I could sense something was amiss. You’re always smiling,” he added. “You’re here for a reason, right? To get to know me. So whenever that bothers you, just remember what you’re here for.”

Though T’yana stated she didn’t feel excluded by Jay himself, she conveyed that she still felt like he might not want her there. Jay reassured her that he was glad she was present and wanted to get to know her better.

Solo Dates Are Announced — and Colton’s Date Proves to Be a Game-Changer

As the barn dance festivities wound down, host Kimberly Williams-Paisley informed the leading men, who had received advice from season 2 success story Mitchell Kolinsky, that they would be selecting one lady for a special solo date. John chose Kaylee, 25; Jay picked Karina, 23; Matt selected Alex, 29; and Colton picked Zoe, 22.

Colton’s date with Zoe, in particular, stood out. After engaging in an open conversation at the barn dance about her career aspirations, where Zoe expressed her passion for entering anesthesiology and concern that her ambitions might be a “dealbreaker,” Colton was impressed. He praised her intelligence, stating he would be her “biggest supporter.”

After showing her around his small town of Mena, Arkansas, they had a heartfelt discussion about their potential future together, deepening their connection.

Zoe remarked how she appreciated the “homey” feel of Mena, expressing her preference for a small-town atmosphere over the busyness of her current life in Sarasota, Florida. She added that she didn’t feel she would find the right person in Sarasota.

Colton further explored their dynamic, asking, “If I were to get serious about you, do you see an opportunity here? Would you consider moving to Mena?”

“I need a change, and I didn’t know where that would be, but I’m very open to it,” Zoe replied, to which Colton responded enthusiastically, “That’s great! There’s a demand for nurses and anesthesiologists here.”

Zoe found this fact intriguing and asked if he had looked it up, prompting Colton to confess, “I Googled it right before we got here!”

Afterward, Colton expressed his enjoyment of their “natural” conversation. He was so captivated that he didn’t think about trying to “sneak a kiss” at the end of the date, something he had done previously. “Honestly, I loved talking to her most of all. I just wanted to listen to her more and more. I can’t stop smiling when I think about her; she’s amazing,” he reflected.

Farmer Wants a Wife airs Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET on FOX.