Macdonald's farm now has a wife.
After being signed up by a mate for the New Zealand edition of Australian Women's Weekly Find a Wife competition, 29-year-old Minginui drystock farmer Scott Macdonald will announce to the world he has found a wife in city aerobics instructor Vanessa Johnson, from Wellington.
The couple
are to feature on TVNZ's Country Calendar show tonight as they forge a life together down on the farm.
Mr Macdonald said he loved living in the country and working on the family farm but there had been one thing missing - a wife with whom to share his life.
During the day he worked with his father and brother on the sheep and cattle farm, but would return to an empty house.
"I'd end up cooking dinner for myself and talking to myself," he said. "Something had to change."
Once signed up for the contest, Mr Macdonald scrubbed up for the photographs and described himself as loyal and full of integrity.
His father, Andrew, was with him at the gate when a parcel arrived with more than 200 letters from women looking for that special someone.
"I've never seen a guy so visibly shaken," his father said.
After sifting through the letters Mr Macdonald singled out Miss Johnson.
After a few months getting to know each other over the phone, the pair finally met on the farm in the valley of Te Whaiti, in the foothills of the Urewera National Park.
Miss Johnson said her nerves "started to kick in" as she entered unfamiliar territory.
However, the farmer turned on an action-packed rural weekend including horse riding, hunting and fishing.
"I knew I could fancy things up and make it look pretty, but I wanted to see what Vanessa was like in this environment, to see if she was comfortable living way out here," Mr Macdonald said.
A short time later, Miss Johnson packed up her life in Wellington.
"As much as we didn't want to rush things and discuss the future before it needed to be discussed, in reality there wasn't any other way. Scott wasn't about to move to Wellington," Miss Johnson said.
The couple's plans will be revealed on tonight's show at 7pm on TV One.
