A Three Rivers Christian alumna is taking the lead as an early standout on the latest season of a dating reality show currently airing on Fox.
Bailee Wallace, 24, who was born in Longview and hails from Castle Rock, is currently one of the lead contestants on the third season of the dating show "Farmer Wants a Wife."
The latest season premiered March 20 with new episodes every Thursday. And at least in the first few episodes of the matchmaking reality series, Wallace sparks a connection with 28-year-old Colton Hendricks, a divorced single father and third-generation cattle rancher living on a 600-acre farm in Mena, Arkansas.
Hendricks is one of four strapping young men in agriculture hoping to find love as they date groups of single women — all of whom are hoping to find a happily-ever-after rural romance of their own.
Wallace was mum about what's to come this season in a phone interview with The Daily News last week. She said people are constantly asking what's going to happen when locals catch her working at the Pour Me Espresso coffee stand in Kelso or attending services at Timberlake Church in Castle Rock.
"They'll say something and they try to get something out of me," Wallace said. "I'll be, like, 'You'll have to tune in!'" Wallace said.
If Wallace does spark a love connection on the show, the odds are quite in her favor for a lasting one.
Although the American version premiered in March 2023, versions of the show have aired in 34 countries, fostering 226 marriages around the world and 565 children and counting.
'Once-in-a-lifetime experience'
Wallace spoke openly about events on Season 3 through to the second episode — when Hendricks picked Wallace first to spend the day on his farm in Arkansas — as well as about her experience of dating on national television.
"It feels kind of crazy to see myself up on the screen ... and the kissing parts, I'm like, 'Oh gosh!'" Wallace said, laughing. "It's really cool, definitely a once-in-a-lifetime experience."
On the episode that aired March 27, Hendricks takes Wallace horseback riding, picnicking on the creek and they spend the day getting to know each other. Wallace still remembers the picturesque setting sun.
"It felt magical riding with Colton," Wallace said on the show.
"I was like, oh-my-gosh this is so perfect," Wallace said on the phone.
Wallace said she grew up on a farm with horses, ducks, dogs, geese and even a pig at one point.
She was born in Longview and "moved around" Oregon and Washington in her elementary and middle school years. She attended Three Rivers Christian High School in Longview, and The Daily News archives show Wallace was a standout in tennis and basketball.
Wallace said her family encouraged her to apply to the show because they are big fans of the series. She said she put in her application last summer and heard back around July. Filming started in late September and "everything really started happening in October."
At least into the third episode of the show, which aired April 3, eligible bachelor Hendricks shows a clear preference for Wallace. After their date, he sends another woman on his farm home by telling her his heart "skips a beat for one girl."
Wallace only spoke about the first two episodes, but she did acknowledge that the experience "was definitely different from dating in the real world." For starters, she wasn't used to having cameras and GoPros rolling all around her.
"You kind of just had to go with it, and if you have a connection, just continue it," Wallace said.
How to Watch
Farmer Wants a Wife airs at 9 p.m. Thursdays on FOX affiliate KPTV-TV channel 12 on Xfinity cable and channel 12.1 over the air.
New episodes also stream Fridays on Hulu.
For more information, see fox.com/farmer-wants-a-wife.
