Farmer Wants a Wife’s third season has come to a close — and at least one couple is still going strong.
Warning: Spoilers below for the season 3 finale of Farmer Wants a Wife.
During the season 3 finale of the hit Fox series, which aired Thursday, May 22, all four farmers were asked to make a choice between their final two women. While drama sprouted from certain decisions, it was smooth sailing for John Sansone, who ultimately chose Claire Dirette over Lily Ayres.
“Claire and Lily and I, leading up to [the final decision], had been knowing what this [show] was and knowing what we were all in for,” John, 25, exclusively told Us Weekly ahead of the finale. “I was trying to keep the camaraderie as strong as possible throughout it. I would’ve been shocked if Lily or Claire in a different situation had just blown up on me.”
John and Claire walked into the sunset unscathed, but the couple confessed that their initial meeting was far from spectacular. Their attraction, it turns out, came as a surprise to both of them as the season progressed.
“I didn’t have a first impression of Claire personally at all,” John confessed. “Afterwards we have these things called OTFs, which [are] on-the-fly interviews about each and every date. And after the speed dates in Alabama, I remember saying to the camera something like, ‘Yeah, Claire was a great girl. She seemed very sweet and nice and soft-spoken, but the date was just kind of dull.’”
Claire, for her part, recalled being “extremely nervous and anxious” about being on the show, which affected how she presented herself.
“I don’t remember our first conversation by any means. So I had no first impression of John at all,” she told Us, noting that she was on “autopilot” at the start of the season.
While John said he “immediately” noticed how well Claire got along with the other women — something that made him want to “keep her around” — it wasn’t until the pair got more comfortable together that things took a romantic turn.
He told Us, “Toward the end [of the season everybody started to loosen up more and get more casual and just started basically being themselves and not worrying about all the cameras and all that nonsense, so that’s when I think I really started to like Claire and really started to get along with her into a level that would stem to a relationship.”
Claire echoed John’s sentiment, admitting there were times she thought she might need to “leave” — “I can’t be here, this is too hard,” she recalled thinking — before bonding with John and the other women changed her mind.
“It did kind of quickly change as soon as I got close with the girls. And then John made it easy on me too,” she continued, pointing to the show’s Nashville mixer, which all four of the farmers and their contestants attended, as a big turning point.
“I had to pull him for a conversation and I was super anxious, like, I couldn’t really get a word out, and he just made it really lighthearted and joked around,” she recalled. “I think that really helped me just loosen and open up and be more myself.”
After John picked Claire for a solo date toward the end of the season, the twosome realized they had different values. Being opposites, however, only brought them closer together as John appreciated learning from someone with an alternate point of view.
John Sansone, Claire Dirette FOX
“I think that’s a very beneficial thing to have in any relationship,” John said. “Personally, I’m not a big fan of echo chambers. I can’t stand them. I gotta get away from them. So, I think it’s pretty interesting and fun to go through this with somebody who has a different outlook on certain things in life.”
Some differences, of course, were slightly bigger obstacles than others. John’s desire to marry someone who stays home with the kids didn’t fully line up with Claire’s life plans, but it wasn’t something she worried too much about.
“I guess I wasn’t super surprised that he felt that way,” she told Us. “And I mean, I don’t think it was anything I was immediately, adamantly against. I’m happy to learn from him and I think he learns from me. And that’s one really strong point we have is our ability to communicate. So any difference or problem that we’ve had, we’ve been able to talk through. And I think that I would be surprised if there was something that we couldn’t figure out and talk through in the future.”
Claire’s mom, on the other hand, was more taken aback by John’s traditional outlook, asking him during the finale what he felt women “are for.” Thankfully, the duo were able to have a respectful exchange — but that didn’t mean John wasn’t anxious going into it.
“I was insanely nervous. Her mom is a decorated college professor who does public speaking events and a very strong woman and very set in her ways,” he explained. “It was pretty interesting and nerve-racking to talk to her. But I think it was very cool that we were able to just talk through stuff and just learn each other’s outlooks and perspectives and have a friendly conversation and just talk about our differences. I think that was really neat and something that a lot of people should take a note from that old notebook.”
So, where do John and Claire stand now? Us is pleased to report the two are still happily together and currently spending some time in Chicago — “I’m extremely uncomfortable and I wanna leave, I want my mom to pick me up,” John joked of the location change — and are focused on taking it “day by day.”
That means while they are loving spending time together, a permanent move for Claire to the farm isn’t in the cards quite yet.
“[We’re] not putting any pressure on ourselves. I think that’s why we have such a strong relationship,” John revealed. “We’re not trying to force anything or put all these dates or timelines or plans on us, because that’s just gonna build a lot of unnecessary pressure for us right now. We’re still in the very early stages of the relationship.
We’re both very young. We’re just gonna keep riding this out and see how it goes.”
As for those “differing” values, John said they’ve had “those conversations” and they always “go over very well,” but it’s nothing they’re stressing out over right now.
“That’s just one of those things that’s, like, way too big of unnecessary pressure walking in,” he said, while Claire added, “I think every time we’ve had a difficult conversation or something more serious, we’ve been better afterwards.”
With the show behind them, John and Claire are looking toward the future and taking what they’ve learned with them.
“I’m so glad I did that because it was kind of, like, free therapy all the time when you’re sitting and talking to the camera and the producer is asking you questions. Even doing that you learn a lot about yourself,” Claire said. “So I was really grateful for the entire experience.”
John also has no regrets and said putting himself in “uncomfortable situations” is the “absolute best way to grow.”
“The coolest thing that I learned is just how easy it is to actually just talk to people with different views and values,” he told Us. “Not only Claire, but people in production, other people on different farms and all that stuff. As long as you just go into it with a good attitude and recognizing that that’s just another human being on the other side of the conversation, then you know you’re gonna go far in life.”
Farmer Wants a Wife is available to stream on Hulu.
