JADE Truman loves the Redlands but her heart is 1600 kilometres away in another part of the State - with Nikko, a 26-year-old cattle farmer who wants a wife.
Australia watched as they met on screen of Channel Nine's popular TV series The Farmer wants a Wife and 'oohed and aahed' each week of the show as Nikko got to know Jade and two other girls before choosing Jade as the one for him.
Nikko's family property is at Richmond, north-west Queensland, off the Flinders Highway that runs between Townsville and Mt Isa.
Jade, 26, of Victoria Point, is Redland born and raised - but has a love of the country. The question now on the lips of all devotees of The Farmer Wants a Wife is - Is she in love with him?
Will they get married?
Jade chooses her words carefully, but confirms they are a couple now.
They are still seeing each other three months after filming ended.
"Right from the start, Nikko and I had a good spark and a nice connection. You can't ignore those feelings for each other.
"We're definitely trying to give it ago.
And will they get married? "One step at a time," she laughs. "I've got to move there first.
The next jump would mean me packing up and moving out to the station and from there; if we made that commitment then I'm sure it could work.
"The distance between us is tricky - it makes it hard. We try and see each other as much as we can. And down the track, we'll hopefully get to that next step.
So what's Nikko, really like? "He's lovely. He's a cheeky fellow…he has a really big heart. And very kind and thoughtful but at the same time loves to have fun. "He's a hard worker; they have to be out there. "He loves to have fun, which is what I enjoy as well. "We caught each other's eye right from the start, she said.
Since the filming of the show finished in June, Jade has been to the station three times. She had two week-long stints where she said she got to work with Nikko on the station and see what it is all about. "I seemed to pick everything up pretty quickly. (Whatever Nikko had to do I was able to tag along and work with him or the people that work for him.)
Nikko had me mustering, cattle drafting and helping with the general running of the station, either with him or the other workers.
" In the last episode of the show viewers saw Jade at Cleveland's Body4U for her yoga class, but also filmed the couple at The Lighthouse restaurant for lunch and at Jade's touch football grand final at the Redland touch fields.
Nikko has also discovered the Redlands on one of his trips to see Jade. "I've already taken him over to Straddie and we went fishing and whale watching."
"I've been to the Richmond ball with him, which was nice. I got to meet everyone else in the community.
Do you think you could be a farmer's wife: "Yes, I could. I've got a massive love for the land and I fit in pretty easily into that environment. I love it out there "I guess I got my passions for the country from my relatives - my uncle and aunty in New South Wales.
"They have a farm that runs sheep and cattle and I've been going there since I was born. I would always spend my school holidays or any time I could get away. I would head down there and help them out on the property.
"I love the lifestyle they run. How the women look after the men. Everyone's friendly when you walk through town and everyone says hello to everyone. It's just a nice feeling. "That's where I got it from. This is the first time Jade has applied to be on the show. "I've watched every season. I love the show."
Some people may think within a group of competitive girls, all with the purpose of finding a farmer might have involved a hint of bitchiness. "You probably won't believe it, but all of us girls actually got alone especially when there were 30 of us.
We were there to support each other and help each other. "We made it into a fun experience "I still talk to about 50 per cent of the girls.
All of the girls still keep in contact and I have seen a few since the show has ended. Jade said even when the three girls were out on the stations it never got heated or uncomfortable "Nikko wanted to have fun and never singled any of us out.
So it didn't get awkward - which made it a lot easier and a really good experience in the end. In the run up to the show, Jade only applied for Nikko.
"This year we had to speed date all the farmers. I knew nothing about the other boys. I didn't even bother reading their profiles, I just read Nikko's. Although I got along with them, I really wasn't interested in going to their farm or anything. I only wanted to go to Nikko's."
"And luckily he chose me. But I was only ever going to go to Nikko's farm. If one of the other chose me, I probably would have said no," Jade said.
As with all reality television, "The Farmer Wants a Wife" can be very confronting for the participants, where everything you say or do could be used or edited into the show. "I wasn't overly comfortable with the cameras. I've never done anything like this before, Jade said.
"It is a bit hard; a bit awkward having a camera in your face the whole the time.
Especially when you are trying to get to know someone - knowing that people are listening and watching. It's a bit weird, as you can imagine. "We are 'mic'd up' all the time; the cameras always seem to be rolling all the time capturing everything. You try and forget about them and just be yourself. Which I think I did do.
"I didn't change my personality or who I was because I was in that situation "I was pretty happy with the way I was portrayed on TV I didn't say or do anything too stupid."
