Ellen Dunger, from the 2024 season of Farmer, opens up the barn gates to dish all the dirt.

A previous participant has blown the lid open on what filming Farmer Wants A Wife is really like. And according to her, it’s anything but sunshine and daisies.

Ellen Dunger appeared on the show’s 14th season in 2024 where she vied for the love of Farmer Todd.
Ellen Dunger appeared in the 2024 series of Farmer Wants A Wife, where she was paired with Farmer Todd. (Credit: Channel 7 )
And while she unapologetically slammed the show back then – particularly her edit, which she claimed made her appear “mute” – the 30-year-old sports journalist and professional horse rider has opened the floodgates once again as the 15th season continues to air this week.

“It was so emotionally draining,” Ellen recounted of her experience on social media. “It was probably the hardest thing I have ever done.”

Ellen says during her season, the ladies were woken up at “stupid o’clock” to get into the makeup chair, where they were tasked with doing their own hair and makeup before the day of filming begun.

“You film all day and they [producers] rip emotions from you,” she divulges, adding the “speed dates”, where the women have just minutes to impress the farmers, were especially “intense”.

“By the end you’re just so emotionally drained you just want to cry because you’re so tired. So when the girls were crying [on the current season], I know exactly how they were feeling.”
Ellen reveals the series isn’t all sunshine and daisies as it appears on screen. (Credit: Channel 7)

PUSHED TO THE EDGE

Ellen adds that “a lot of ridiculous things happened” during filming, she highlights the instance of her being “locked in a budget rental van” for several hours as one of the most memorable.

“We were in this van with butter chicken, trying to eat with our dresses on, and when one of us had to go to the toilet, you couldn’t go alone, [so] they’d accompany you to the portaloos and stand outside your door while you were going to the toilet. You still had the microphones on too – it was so insane.”

On top of the experience being emotionally taxing, Ellen says the financial toll the show takes only heightens your stress.

“You’re paid $80 a day, which you don’t get on your days off, and they withhold 40 per cent of that until after the show is aired, so you get sweet FA in terms of money,” she slams.

All of the women’s outfits are at their own expense too, she adds.
Ellen reveals she was asked to purchase her own wardrobe for the show, consisting of four dresses and four farm looks. (Credit: Channel 7)
“They send you a full packing list – eight dresses and eight farm outfits. Farm outfits I could do, I obviously live on a farm, but dresses… I live out near Armidale [in the NSW Northern Tablelands] and it was a little hard to get eight dresses in two days. Thankfully my mum came to the rescue and met me at Sydney airport with a bag full of them.”

While Ellen reiterates that this was her own experience of filming, she hints that she knew of many others who also “didn’t have the best time”.

She warns anyone who wants to sign on to any reality show to always weigh up the pros and cons.