He may not have found lasting love on the hit series Farmer Wants A Wife – but last year’s youngest contestant, Farmer Jarrad Wrigley has found a promising new career as a country music star!
The 22-year-old sheep farmer from Stanthorpe in Queensland has been crowned the winner of the Toyota Star Maker award at this year’s Tamworth Country Music Festival.
“It’s wild!” Jarrad told the New England Times shortly after being announced as the winner.
“I seriously believe that holding the title of Toyota Star Maker is just the most prestigious achievement that you can gain in country music, but potentially the whole Australian music industry, and to be crowned champion for that is just unbelievable.”
With the Star Maker crown secured, Jarrad could become Australia’s next country music sensation – as country royalty including Lee Kernaghan, Keith Urban, Beccy Cole, and Sam McClymont all got their big breaks by winning it.
“What a show! Congrats to all the finalists and Jarrad on being named the winner of the 2026 Toyota Star Maker,” country music star Lee Kernaghan commented on social media.
FOCUSING ON HIS MUSIC
On Farmer Wants A Wife, Jarrad set his sights on finding real love, and eventually chose bartender Chloe, and left the show just three weeks in to start a life with her.
But unfortunately, by the time the farmers came together for a reunion episode, Jarrad confirmed that the relationship with Chloe was over.
“By the time a reunion was filmed, Farmer Jarrad made it clear to producers he wasn’t in it for love any more,” a source close to the show’s production told Woman’s Day ahead of the reunion episode in June.
“He wanted to focus on his music career and had little interest in making a relationship work.”
Similarly, former Farmer Wants A Wife contestant Sophie Trethowan that the timing for Jarrad and Chloe just wasn’t right.
“I really felt for Jarrad, he was getting quite emotional on the couch there. It was a bit disappointing to hear that the relationship hasn’t continued outside of the show,” Sophie told us while recapping the finale.
“It sounds like they gave it a crack, explored whether it was going to work or not.”
“And it can be really hard to coordinate, you know, with time and, you know, different futures or paths that aren’t quite lining up, which it sounds like was the case for them.”
“It sounds like that’s a relationship they could explore in the future, but it’s not something that was right for them at this time.”
GIVING BACK TO RURAL AUSTRALIA
With the Star Maker award secured, Jarrad revealed he’s got some new music to release.
“I started recording my EP in November of 2024. Now we finished that in April 2025,” he said.
“I have released two songs out of it, but I have been holding it in the hopes that I will take out Star Maker so that I can really have some good music to come out straight away.”
He also revealed he’ll be hitting the road and touring around the small regional towns where he cut his teeth as an emerging singer-songwriter.
“I think the biggest thing I’d like to achieve is really just giving back to rural and regional Australia,” Jarrad shared.
“I mean obviously small towns is what built my career and that’s all I played with the boys in my band and even myself as a solo artist and I was part of a duo for a while and all we did was small towns.”
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