EXCLUSIVE: Claire spills on her secret messages with Thomas during and after filming.

Farmer Wants A Wife’s Claire / Claire and Farmer Thomas.

Farmer Wants A Wife’s Claire has revealed that she and Thomas were texting during and after filming. Photos: Channel 7

There have been a handful of dramatic exits on this year’s season of Farmer Wants A Wife, but none have been quite as surprising as Claire’s. The 31-year-old left Farmer Thomas heartbroken when she pulled him aside at the social gathering in Goulburn to say that she had decided to quit the show.

Thomas was immediately smitten upon meeting Claire and chose to invite her to his farm 24 hours early. He said in his piece-to-camera interview that it was the best date he had ever been on, and admitted after her departure that he had put “all of [his] eggs in one basket”.

While some viewers have questioned just how strong their relationship was after only a few days of knowing each other, Claire has dropped a surprising detail about what fans didn’t see on TV.

The FIFO mine site admin tells Yahoo Lifestyle that she and Thomas had exchanged numbers and were messaging each other during filming without anyone else knowing.

“I don’t know if I’m even allowed to say this, but we had exchanged numbers, so we were texting. I don’t know if that’s allowed,” she shares.

“We obviously had the 24-hour date, so I think we exchanged numbers on the day after the date or the morning of. But me being me, I was like, I’m not going to text you first. So yes, there were a few text messages exchanged.”

Farmer Thomas / Claire.

Thomas was left blindsided when Claire decided to quit the show. Photos: Channel 7

Not only were Thomas and Claire texting when she was on the show, but she reveals that he also sent her messages after she left. She teases that the other girls eventually found out about their texts, and it became a major storyline on the show.

“I think I may have pissed some people off with some actions after I’d left. I think one [action] is exposed, I’m not sure about the other one,” she says.

Despite their close bond during filming, Claire admits she didn’t realise how much Thomas actually liked her until she watched the show on TV.

“I could see that he did like me, but I didn’t know that it was to that extent,” she remarks. “For example, when Ellen came back to the farm, all the girls were in the spa, and I think they thought he was going to join them because obviously Ellen had returned. But he was kind of just like, sitting on my bed, chatting to me.

“I think that kind of pissed a few people off, but I was like, sorry, it’s not my fault. It was quite easy for us to get along. You could kind of tell that he did sort of warm to me, but I’m so oblivious to those sorts of things. I’m like, ‘Oh, maybe it’s just a friend thing’.”

Claire explains that she took a step back when the other girls arrived on the farm so they could also get to know Thomas, but he kept pursuing her.

“I’m very much like a girl’s girl. And with relationships as well, I don’t really put myself out there. It’s the guy who has to make them move all the time. So I would kind of just retreat, but it was nice that he came and sat on my bed and we were able to talk about things,” she details.

“Even when Clarette was operating the sprayer, he was like, ‘Oh, I was really hoping you would have put your hand up’. But I was like, if I did, there would have been probably a few eye rolls, being like, ‘She had 24 hours with him, why is she putting her hands up to do that?’. I didn’t want to step on too many toes.”