Why Farmer Wants a Wife’s Matt Warren Said ‘No’ to Show ’30 Times’ Before Agreeing (Exclusive)

Having a variety of women brought to your front door — literally — sounds like a dream scenario, but Farmer Wants a Wife star Matt Warren wasn’t sure reality TV was the right fit for him.

“I said ‘no’ 30 times,” Matt, 30, exclusively told Us Weekly while promoting season 3 of the Fox dating series. “It was back and forth for a month. I would [have] highs and lows.” (On the show, four farmers are matched with women from all over the United States who are done with city romances and ready for a country love story.)

He recalled, “One day I’d be like, ‘All right, let’s do this. This would be cool.’ And then the other days I’m like, ‘What am I thinking?’ Then it was just back and forth and at the end of the day it’s like, ‘Why not? We only live one time.’”

Looking back, the avocado farmer from California said it was a “pretty cool experience” that is different from other reality dating shows like The Bachelor.

“My thing with this show is it’s a lot more conservative than some of these other ones. My parents watch it. So that was why I was good with doing it,” Matt added. “It’s not out to make anyone look bad or anything like that. And it really is genuine connections.”

Matt told Us that his family were the ones who initially suggested he go on the show — but he never submitted himself.

“My parents actually are fans of this show, and a few months before I first even started talking to anybody, they’re like, ‘You got to watch a little bit of this episode. This show’s really cool,’” he remembered. “And I sat down for a few minutes and I’m like, ‘I would never do that.’”

Matt revealed, “I literally said that a couple months later I got an Instagram message. Next thing I know I’m talking to producers and now here I am. It was awfully coincidental.”

Fellow season 3 farmer John Sansone had a similar interaction with his family before being approached by casting.

“It was the same process for me. I got an Instagram DM [and] I sent it to my mom and sisters who are massive fans of the show,” John, 26, exclusively told Us in a joint interview. “I’ve been in the family room before while they’ve been watching it, like, ‘John, you would be perfect for the show.’ So they obviously went crazy and said, ‘You have to do it,’ and whatever they say goes, so here I am.”

John, who is a corn and wheat farmer from Missouri, noted that he too was hesitant to sign on, but ultimately his family’s support changed his mind.

“I thought it was a pretty fun opportunity,” he said. “Imagine you actually find somebody, and you can go back and watch their whole love story just come to fruition right there on TV.”

Despite wanting to find long-term partners on the show, both Matt and John told Us that they were “one and done” with reality TV dating.

“I’m happy I did it, of course. But it is one of those things where, like, ‘OK, that was awesome. But I think I’m good on that,’” Matt confessed.

When asked whether fans would see either of them on a fictional spinoff called “Farmers in Paradise” like Bachelor Nation’s Bachelor in Paradise, they both laughed.

“Well, Farmers in Paradise sounds pretty nice. That sounds pretty good,” John teased.

Neither farmer would reveal whether they ended up in a relationship at season’s end, but they each said they are “very” happy with how it turned out.

Season 3 of the dating series follows Matt and John as well as Colton Hendricks from Arkansas and Jay Woods from Alabama as they search for love on the farm.

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

With reporting by Christina Garibaldi