Beth speaks exclusively to TV WEEK about her ‘gut-wrenching’ decision to walk out on farmer Jason, her regrets and her new romance.
There were sad scenes in Monday night’s episode of Farmer Wants A Wife when Beth made the tough decision to leave the show. Despite having formed a real connection with farmer Jason, the vet from Western Australia felt she had to go home to be with her six-year-old daughter.
Beth tells TV WEEK she felt bad for Jason.
“Honestly, it was gut-wrenching,” she admits. “I felt awful. I didn’t want to hurt him, especially after everything he’d already been through with the other girls leaving. It really had nothing to do with him at all, it was just timing and circumstances.”
After hitting it off at the speed dates, Beth, 28, was chosen by Jason, 37, to go back to his dairy farm in Coolabunia, Queensland, a day before the other ladies. The two shared a romantic evening and a kiss.
“He could have been the one,” she says. “We got on like a house on fire. We were really similar, very down-to-earth, very low-fuss. I was really fond of him. He’s just a really genuine, good bloke.”
Beth says she always knew it would be hard being away from her daughter Marnie.
“But nothing really prepares you for it when you’re actually in it,” she adds. “It’s just been me and my daughter for so long. And then I got that message from my mum saying Marnie was really trying, but she just wasn’t coping very well… and it just broke me a bit.
“I just knew I had to go home. My kid needed me, and at the end of the day she comes first, always.”
When she saw her daughter, Beth says she felt “like I could finally breathe again”. But she also felt emotional, and found herself processing everything that had happened.
“There were definitely a lot of ‘what if’ moments where I replayed it all in my head,” she says. “For a while after the show, I regretted leaving, but that just wouldn’t have been fair to Marnie to stay.”
Leaving the show didn’t mean the end of contact with Jason, though.
“I’m still in touch with Jase,” Beth reveals. “We’ve kind of bonded over being single parents, so there’s always been that understanding between us. He’s someone I really respect, and we’re still in each other’s corner, just from opposite sides of Australia.”
And there’s good news for Beth on the romance front.
“It’s early days, but I think I’ve found a good egg. I love him – jury’s out if he loves me back. Hopefully he will see this and let me know.”