Landon Heaton didn’t find lasting love on the reality dating show Farmer Wants a Wife. The Oklahoma rancher invited Dallas executive coordinator Ashley Larea to join him in the country in the season 1 finale of the Fox series. But both have since confirmed that their romance ended not long after filming wrapped.
Landon, 35, and Ashley L., 27, had an undeniable connection on Farmer Wants a Wife. It wasn’t a huge surprise when he chose her over Ashley Rader in the May 17 season-ending episode.
“I just really hope that you will say yes when I ask you to stay here and help me write our story,” Landon said to Ashley in the finale.
“I would love to,” she replied.
After the episode aired, fans of the show were left wondering whether Ashley and Landon were still together. A few vague social media updates didn’t exactly clarify things. Then, on June 1, both Landon and Ashley took to Instagram to confirm they had broken up.
Each made it clear there were no hard feelings on either side following the split.
“I know what I was looking for going into this, but wasn’t sure what I’d find,” Landon wrote in his post. “What I found was an amazing raw connection with a fantastic person.”
In her post, Ashley said she and Landon had “deep respect and love for one another … Landon will always be close to my heart.”
In his post, Landon shed some light on why things didn’t work out with Ashley. Shortly after filming for Farmer Wants a Wife wrapped, an unexpected family situation demanded his attention, he shared.
“[L]ife got busy,” he shared. “Ashley and I made the decision to go separate ways in January of 2023 in an effort to adjust back to ‘normal life.’”
“At the finale in December, we were … hopeful in our future ahead,” Ashley shared. “After the show stopped filming, the pressure of things beyond my control took a toll and ultimately we decided to go our separate ways in January. It was a shock and heartbreaking.”
Ashley and Landon reconnected months later at the show’s finale party in Florida. He realized they weren’t meant to be as a couple.
“We had an amazing time catching up, but reality had its own way of setting in,” he wrote. “No one should have to sacrifice years of hard work, goals, and dreams to create a life of ‘what ifs.’ I find joy in knowing that Ashley is an exceptional woman and I look forward to watching her succeed.”
Ashley says her experience is proof that even the most jaded people can find a connection in unexpected places.
“If anything, to me at least, we have proved that these shows can work, even for the most cynical and hopeless,” she wrote.
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