Samantha Armytage has seemingly taken a thinly-veiled swipe at her ex-employers Seven as she made a remark about her new hosting job on The Golden Bachelor.
The TV star, 48, was revealed to be the new host of the Aussie Bachelor spin-off series at Nine’s Upfronts event on Thursday after quitting Channel Seven in August.
Speaking to 9Entertainment about her new role, Samantha said the show was about finding ‘real love’ in an apparent swipe at her former show Farmer Wants A Wife.
‘You’re looking for some romance and you’re looking for real love,’ she said in an apparently pointed remark. ‘This is about finding real love.’
‘I am so excited about this show, it has been huge in America and I have a feeling it’s going to be huge in Australia too.’
The Golden Bachelor offers people in their 50s and 60s a chance to find their second chance at love and will premiere on Nine at some point in 2025.
Samantha’s remarks could be seen as a dig at her former Seven show Farmer Wants a Wife, after viewers criticised the show’s 2024 season for being ‘staged’.
Taking to social media when the 2024 series aired, fans of the dating show criticised the producers, claiming they were ‘trying to make the show like MAFS’.
Samantha Armytage has seemingly taken a thinly-veiled swipe at her ex-employers Seven as she made a comment about her new hosting job on The Golden Bachelor
Speaking to 9Entertainment about her new role, Samantha said the show was about finding ‘real love’ in an apparent swipe at her former show Farmer Wants A Wife
‘I think the new producer is trying to make the show like MAFS,’ one social media user wrote.
‘They can edit it any way they want and make both the men and women out to be something they aren’t. All the kissing, etc, this year and the sexual innuendos are more like MAFS than in previous seasons.’
‘It will be the end of the show if they keep pushing it to be another MAFS,’ another user agreed.
‘I agree with all these statements, especially after watching the first seasons when it was REALLY a great show and it was really about farmers finding love, not trying to imitate MAFS,’ another commented.
The 2024 series was arguably the most dramatic, and saw fan favourite Farmer Bert walking away solo after deciding he wasn’t ready for a relationship.
However, it was later claimed that he left the series because of all the ‘drama he had been pushed into creating on the show’.
‘He was done being a puppet for the producers on his farm who continued to push him and the ladies into creating drama,’ an insider told Yahoo Lifestyle.
Outgoing Farmer Wants A Wife host Samantha shocked fans in August when she stepped down from Seven after 21 years, with rumours rife about her next step.
Samantha’s remarks could be seen as a swipe at her former Seven show Farmer Wants a Wife, after viewers criticised the show’s 2024 season for being ‘staged’
And, her new TV gig on The Golden Bachelor was finally unveiled at Nine’s Upfronts, where the network’s schedule of 2025 programming was unveiled to invited guests.
‘I think you’re all going to love this. It’s love for the golden ages,’ Samantha said in the video interview with 9Entertainment.
‘When I got the call to join the show, I didn’t hesitate. [The Golden Bachelor] has been huge in America, and I have a feeling it’s gonna be huge in Australia, too.’
‘We are beyond thrilled to welcome Samantha Armytage to Nine as the new host for our quest for love, the Golden Bachelor, where everyone deserves a second chance at love,’ Nine’s Chief Marketing Officer Liana Dubois added.
Warner Bros Australia first sparked speculation about a local version of the show in November 2023 when they put out a fall for ‘fun, active, and outgoing male seniors aged 60 or over who are divorced/widowed’ to take part in a new dating series.
‘We want to hear from you or anyone who would like to nominate someone they know to take part in the show. We want to celebrate love at every age and show that when it comes to finding love and romance, age is just a number,’ they added.
The first US version of The Golden Bachelor starred father-of-two and widower Gerry Turner, 72, with a Golden Bachelorette version then launching with widow Joan Vassos, 61, looking to find love.
The US version of the show has been wildly successful, with its finale garnering 6.1million viewers, making it the most watched final episode of the American Bachelor series since 2021.
The TV star, 48, was revealed to be the new host of the Aussie Bachelor spin-off series at Nine’s Upfronts event on Thursday after quitting Channel Seven in August
The first US version of The Golden Bachelor starred father-of-two and widower Gerry Turner (pictured with Leslie Fhima on the show), 72, and it was hugely popular on ABC
Samantha’s involvement in the reality TV show comes after weeks of speculation that she was joining the Bachelor franchise and had signed a deal with Nine.
An insider described Samantha’s new hosting job as a ‘smart move’ and said she was ‘well-suited’ to the concept after ‘breathing new life’ into Seven’s dating show FWAW.
Her new Nine contract is rumoured to be worth a ‘significant amount,’ according to sources, but no exact numbers have been released.
The report scuttled rumours that previous Bachelor host Osher Gunsberg would make a return to the franchise.
Samantha’s huge career move is the ultimate swipe at her former workplace Seven as she has moved over to their rival network.
Stepping out at Upfronts, Samantha sported her very own revenge dress in a high-neck red midi gown which a keyhole cutout on the neckline.
Samantha gave herself a few extra inches in a pair of metallic silver heels and toted her essentials in a coordinated handbag.
The TV favourite accessorised her elegant ensemble with a pair of gold hoop earrings and opted for a high-glamour make-up palette.
Hinting at her involvement with a Nine show, Samantha was all smiles as she put on a very glamorous appearance in her gorgeous revenge dress
Samantha’s reported involvement in The Golden Bachelor has poured cold water over rumours that former Bachelor host Osher Gunsberg would be returning for the program
The Aussie household name announced her departure from Seven in August after 21 years with the network.
Samantha became the face of popular dating show Farmer Wants A Wife last year after first appearing as a guest host alongside former presenter Natalie Gruzlewski.
But she shocked fans of the franchise in August by announcing she was quitting Seven after 21 years.
Describing the departure as ‘sad and bittersweet,’ Sam told The Daily Telegraph that she felt her time had come to an end and that she was excited about her future.
‘I’m big on instinct. I listen to my instinct.
‘I know when the time comes. I am proud of the fact that I back myself enough to say: ‘I’ve done what I can do here’ and I move on,’ she said.
‘This is not the end. It’s just the end of this chapter.’
