Just like all Farmer Wants A Wife viewers, we were over the moon when Farmer Zac and Maya walked away together.
So, you can imagine how thrilled we were to find out not only are they still going strong, but they’re dropping hints about engagement rings and moving in together!
In an exclusive chat with New Idea, Zac, 24, and Maya, 22, have revealed exactly what has happened between them in the eight months since they started dating.
They are currently navigating the challenges of long-distance, with medical receptionist Maya living in Melbourne, while Zac remains on his apple orchard in the Adelaide Hills, though they FaceTime each other every single day.
“Long-distance is definitely not easy,” Maya tells us, speaking from Zac’s home during a weekend visit.
“Though we have patted ourselves on the back a little bit. So far, it’s been pretty smooth-sailing because we do make time to go and see each other.”
“We see each other really as much as we can because we’ve both got very busy lives, but we FaceTime every day pretty much, and talk almost every day. So, we’re putting in effort into all of the other little parts of our relationship, which makes long-distance easier.”
While modern technology has helped them stay in touch easily, they’re keeping the romance alive, with Maya sweetly admitting, “We have written each other a few letters [too].”
However, they’re hoping the long-distance will be short-lived, as they’re already talking about moving in together in the next year!
“It’s something that we’ve talked about a little bit,” Zac reveals.
“I think we’re just now starting to get a bit more serious about talking about it, but it’s always been on the table. We just didn’t want to rush into anything, especially after going through this experience. And we wanted to see how we were doing long-distance, and then make a decision from there.”
Of course, with a title like Farmer Wants A Wife, the big question is whether marriage is on the horizon.
“It’s definitely been talked about here and there, so it’s one of those things. I know Maya wants a two-carat natural diamond; let’s just say that,” Zac teases.
Maya jokes that she’s already sent him “multiple inspirations” as far as engagement rings go, but they are certainly in no rush to walk down the aisle.
“For Zac and I, we’re going so strong, like there’s no pressure from me or him on making that next significant move in our relationship,” she explains.
“I think it’ll happen when it needs to happen and when it will happen, and we’re just looking forward to it either way.”
While they might not be saying “I do” yet, Farmer Zac did get his wedding date after he asked Maya to go to his twin sister’s nuptials at the FWAW finale.
“It was very, very cute. He’s got a lovely family and extended family as well,” Maya gushes about Izzy’s wedding day.
And Zac certainly feels the same way about Maya’s family, having met them all for the first time over Christmas.
“I did Christmas with her whole family, and that was like 50 of her relatives or something like that, and I was meeting them all for the first time, [and we were] all on the beers and the wines, and it was such a fun time,” he says.
But the most special milestone that they’ve shared since filming? For Maya, it was spending her birthday together.
“We went to the Hot Springs, and then we had a night in the city together, and that was very cute,” she shares.
“We caught up with one of his mates, and we all went out for drinks, and [we had a] very wholesome time with each other.”
Needless to say, their relationship already has the stamp of approval from both Maya and Zac’s family and friends, which is no surprise given how well the initial meetings went on the show.
Zac insists his family have been “fully on board” ever since they picked Maya for the family date, helping him to make his final choice on the show.
“They were quite impactful on my decision as well because they loved Maya from the get-go,” he gushes.
And Maya’s family were equally as thrilled about the match.
“The moment that my sister, my best friend, and my dad met Zac, they all approved quite well, and they were prepared for anything, but they could see how well we got along in person,” she explains.
“So they were very supportive of us as a couple once we had ended the experience. They were very over the moon, as well as I was.”
With their families sensing their strong connection, Zac and Maya walked away from the show without any worries about their relationship.
“We were our true selves on the show, but like, we were able to be completely our weird selves around each other when the cameras weren’t around,” Maya says, adding that she was happy to see a less “anxious” version of Zac when the cameras stopped rolling.
As well as making new memories, they have, of course, been reliving their journey on the show, with Maya and Zac joking that it’s been “very cringe” watching their first date back.
Zac shyly admits it’s been a “hard watch” seeing himself kiss his other matches on the show, now knowing he ultimately ends up with Maya.
“All is forgiven,” Maya reassures him. “For me, I know that it happened so long ago, and it was part of the series, and I knew that it was all happening on camera.”
“It was definitely rough watching it, but like, knowing where we are now, I’m just like, ‘Ah, doesn’t really matter. It was that long ago’.”
Reliving the final decision has also been emotional, with Maya modestly saying she had “no idea” if Zac would choose her or Mieke, while Zac reflects that he was an “absolute nervous wreck” on the day.
“I just remember absolutely stressing,” he shares.
“My heart rate was just at 150 all day. I was just sweating. Obviously, I knew the decision I was making then, but I was still nervous as heck. But once I made it through, it was a massive weight off the shoulders, and it was totally worth it.”
With their on-screen journey finally over, they are looking forward to making their relationship public again, after being forced to disappear while the show aired so as not to spoil the ending for fans.
“Leading up to the show, it all felt very, very normal and we were sort of able to do our own thing,” Zac says.
“But once the show’s come out, you definitely cop quite a bit of attention, which I personally wasn’t quite ready for. So we definitely had to go sort of back into our little hole for a bit.”
While Maya adds, “We try to stay as much as we can indoors and not really in public settings, but we are only human at the end of the day, so the times that we were out in public, there were a few wandering eyes, a few people saw us, but it doesn’t really matter in the scheme of things.”
Now they’re able to go out in public again, they want to go on holiday together and are planning to jet off to New Zealand when they can, and potentially travel Europe next year.
“We’ve got exciting plans ahead,” Maya teases.
And we’ll be staying tuned every step of the way!
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