The long-anticipated comeback of the television show Farmer Wants a Wife is back on our screens later this year. But with this announcement comes the news that twice as many women as men are signing up to rural dating website www.muddymatches.co.uk which has prompted questions around how keen the farmers really are to find spouses.
The sisters behind the match-making initiative, Emma and Lucy Reeves observe that their membership base is now made up of just over 65% women.
‘We’re forever reading stories in the press about the lack of single women in rural areas and the wacky lengths to which some men have gone to attract ladies to their region’, says Lucy, ’but what we seem to be experiencing is completely the opposite, so we are often left feeling slightly bemused by these reports.’
A similar trend was spotted by the pair during events organised through the website, such as clay shoots and sailing trips. The female places would sell out, while the men were much slower on the uptake, needing ‘badgering’ to fill the places. The Mud Lovers Ball held at the end of February is experiencing similar difficulties.
‘We have always had a roughly even male-female ratio at our events,’ says Lucy. ‘But the girls often miss out if they don’t get in there early and the guys definitely make us work for it!’
In short, there is simply no excuse for rural men to be lonely this Valentine’s Day and, if the farmer really does want a wife, he now knows where to find one.
The Mud Lovers’ Ball is being held in Northamptonshire on 28th February and has already attracted more than 250 people from across the UK. Male tickets are still available for £65 at www.muddymatches.co.uk.
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