15 September, 2022
Will Esk girl find a husband?
THE current season of Farmer Wants a Wife is sure to gain more viewers than usual in the Somerset region as Esk resident Jess Cova (pictured) is among the contestants.
It remains to be seen if Jess is Farmer Will’s chosen one, but at least one publication has Jess as a short-priced favourite.
According to an article on who.com.au, Jess is the $1.40 favourite to win Will’s heart while fellow contestant Sahara is second-priced favourite at $4.
Will and Jess shared more than one kiss during their date on Monday night’s episode, and Alicia was sent home later on after Keely exited during the previous night’s episode.
Following the filming of the reality TV show from January to March, Jess resumed working as a dental nurse in Ipswich while continuing her final year of her nursing degree at the University of Southern Queensland (USQ).
Jess has had to remain secretive about her outcome on Farmer Wants a Wife, but she has said that “the whole experience was really cool and really fun”.
“I’m so happy I went on the show,” she said. “It was a great experience.”
Jess described it as “surreal” to watch herself on TV while her voice sounded different from what she expected.
“It’s crazy to see yourself on the screen,” she said.
Jess’s surroundings were Will’s farm in the Victorian town of Berriwillock.
Having lived most of her life in Esk and also attended Toogoolawah State School before going to high school in Ipswich, Jess had ample farm experience before her stint on reality TV.
Her father owned a 100-acre farm at Toogoolawah featuring motorbikes, horses, cows and chickens.
After Jess’s parents split up, her mum entered another relationship and has been on an 800-acre property at Esk, with Jess sometimes helping out with cattle work.
Jess herself said she was “not in the best place” about 18 months ago when she went through a relationship break-up.
“I really worked on myself,” she said.
“I was ready to throw myself into something uncomfortable to find myself a little more.
“I was ready to give myself to someone.”
Jess originally baulked at the idea of being on reality TV, when her younger sister tagged her on a facebook post for Farmer Wants a Wife.
“At first I thought that’s stupid,” Jess said.
“I mean, who falls in love on reality TV?
“Then my sister tagged me on instagram.
“I looked at Will’s profile, and I thought he was pretty good looking.
“I thought we would vibe and have a good time.
“On paper it sounded like we should be a match.
“My older sister said ‘just do it, what have you got to lose?’”
Jess received a phone call to say she had been shortlisted, and before she knew it she was going on the show.
“You do a phone interview, then zoom, then face-to-face, and go to Brisbane for the audition,” she said.
“The line-up for Will’s farm was almost out the door.
“I thought ‘oh my god, what am I doing?’”
Jess said she and Will got along very well during their first chat, but that there “wasn’t anything wow” about it while other contestants said how amazing Will was during their chats.
As for the other four contestants Will invited to his Berriwillock farm, Jess said they were friends and rivals, and that they “were all there for each other and to support each other”.
“You’re away from friends and family, and we had no reception for the first five days,” Jess said.
“(It’s a case of) people who have only known each other a couple of days are now all living together.”
Despite the rivalry, Jess said the contestants respected each other and did not intrude or interrupt when one of them wanted to talk to Will.
Although describing herself as loud, boisterous, crazy and super positive, Jess also said she preferred to “take a back seat” as she did not like the limelight.
“It was fun but also draining,” she said.
“Usually you’d start filming at about 11am, and sometimes finish at 3am.”
Jess said she learnt a lot about herself and that she didn’t naturally like to talk about her feelings or show her emotions.
“I learnt it’s okay to let my wall down, and talk about my feelings,” she said.
Without being able to say much about how things unfolded during the series, Jess said, “It’ll be an interesting show for people to watch.”
Farmer Wants a Wife is screened on Channel 7 and 7plus.
