I’m sorry but, farmer boys are officially the hottest boys in the UK

When the TikTok famous farmer Will Young was announced as a contestant on Winter Love Island 2023, it confirmed something his 1million followers already knew — farmers are fit. Yup, good with their hands, good with animals: we’re witnessing an agriculture kink. The girls are thirsty for men with smallholdings.

“Farmers are hot because it’s like a non toxic masculine occupation. They kind of fall into the ‘good boy’ category. They’re just sort of wholesome” says Claudia from Surrey. “In lockdown, a dating app accidentally matched me up with a farmer who lived really far away from me and it was honestly the most enjoyable interaction I’ve had on one of those hell apps. He even said he’d let me drive his tractor.”

And Claudia isn’t the only person who was looking out for a farmer online long before Love Island reinforced the trend: “I’ve never dated a farmer and I’m literally gutted because I lost one to the Hinge vortex,” admits Charlotte from Battersea, who didn’t swipe quite quick enough to land herself a date with the internet’s other favourite farmer and gardener: Julius Roberts.

“There’s something nice about the anti-Instagram man,” she says of the rustic allure. “He knows his seasons, knows how to spot different trees and birds, and can show you the different animal prints on walking tracks. And you don’t have to make a sartorial effort,” she continues. “Literally just put on boots and a scrappy coat you don’t mind getting mud on— although, eventually you would feel like Mother Hubbard.” 

For 26-year-old Mared, who grew up in the rural Welsh countryside, dating a farmer was a form of freedom: “He was the first guy I went out with who had a car— That made him so cool,” she says. “I think farmers learn to drive earlier than anyone else because they grow up with Land Rovers and quad bikes and their own land. I thought he was sexy because of the freedom and all the time he spent outside looking effortless and muscular. And he’d always send me photos of  animals and views of the mountains when he went to heard his sheep.”

Meanwhile for Bea, who lives in Islington, dating a farmer offered a wholesome cottagecore escape from city living: “I fucking love a farmer,” she says with enthusiasm. “The countryside, animals, having an active lifestyle. I genuinely think it appeals so much more to people living in cities to suddenly hear about someone living on a remote farm in Wales. Like, omg! Get. Me. Out. Of. Here.”

“Our dynamic changed when we spent time on the farm,” she says of her most recent summer romance. “In London, we’d get coffee in Islington for breakfast. But at the farm, he’d slide out of bed at 7AM and get fresh eggs from the chickens. It was all a lot slower. I felt really connected to him. Those were the best days of our fling— It was the time I got to know him the most.”

Of course, there are some downsides of dating a farmer, too: “Speaking as a country girl, farmers are FIT,” says Lillian, who was “infatuated” with one guy for a decade. “He was just so rugged and built,” she says. “But, not going to lie, he did make me get up at 5AM to take me home before he started work.”

Speaking from personal experience, there’s also the small, fairly significant, detail that some days they come home smelling like poo. Additionally, the traditional vibe that makes farmers so appealing can transfer into their politics: there’s a reason “Why are farmers Tories?” is one of the top questions about them on Google.

“He was racist, sexist and homophobic,” says Amy from Surrey who had a bad experience matching with a farmer on Hinge. “But I still get my interest peaked on a dating app if I see one and their politics is listed as liberal. That generally means they have more modern views.”

On a smaller scale, we’ve been interested in once-overlooked ruddy-cheeked farmers’ love lives for a while. Back in September 2019, BBC2 released a dating show called Love in the Countryside, designed as a sort of rural equivalent to First Dates. In Portugal, the series Who Wants To Date A Farmer? has been successfully running for four series.

On TikTok, other creators, like @jordan.horsfall, are now jumping on the rural trend to gain followers and adoration through farming thirst traps: “Fit” dozens of Jordan’s comments read as he chugs through the field. “okay but he’s hot,” say others. “Get me in the tractor.”

Although lust for men of the land didn’t initially translate to Love Island – Will was left firmly in the friendzone until Australian Jessie entered the villa – Will’s personality has made him a fan favourite of this year’s series and, judging by the slow mo compilations of him currently dominating the TikTok For You Page, viewers’ appreciation for him is far from platonic.

To boil the phenomenon down to the bare bones of where the burgeoning attraction for farmers comes from, Kirsty from Edinburgh puts it simply: “They’re strong, practical and good with their hands. Duh.” 

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