When the time comes for Matt Young and Olivia Benic to share their love story with newborn son Henry one day, “I can just tell him to go and watch it on TV,” Matt jokes to Woman’s Day.
The couple will celebrate three years together this month after meeting on the reality series Farmer Wants A Wife.
“It was my birthday when we met, so we combine the time that we met with my birthday and make it a fun celebration,” shares new mum Olivia, 26
And this year they’ll have a cute plus-one – much to the surprise of Farmer fans!
“After being on Farmer, we realised we wanted to keep some things private. We just wanted to keep this pregnancy for us,” Olivia tells Woman’s Day. “We told our close circle when we were about 15 weeks and no-one said anything. No-one dobbed us in [laughs].”
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HELLO, HENRY!
The new parents finally shared their happy news with the world after their son Henry – 25-year-old Matt’s middle name – arrived on August 15.
“We didn’t know how quickly we’d fall pregnant,” says Olivia. “But we’re really happy with how it all turned out.”
The birth was a quick one, too! “We were expecting me to be in labour for ages, because he’s the first child, but it only ended up being about eight hours. I had to have some recovery after, so Matt was able to spend some quality time with Henry.”
“It’s been really nice just nesting down for those first few weeks,” proud dad Matt says of settling into their new life as the couple pose at his family’s farm in Bookham, NSW.
The pair bought their own home in nearby Yass in March and moved in, in May.
“We’re just trying to figure out what works for Henry and we’re navigating parenthood, but we’ve got each other,” beams Olivia.
“We have a laugh because we always run into these fun little challenges – like telly, and even moving in together – but just like everything else, we’ve taken this head-on.”
Fortunately, the new mum says a lot of parenthood has “come naturally”, and sweet Henry has “been a really good baby, so we’re really lucky”.
“We’re the first of our friends to have kids, so that’s been a bit of a challenge,” Olivia adds. “But our parents and siblings have all been around.”
They’ve also had plenty of support from their fellow Farmer couples. “I’ve been speaking with Clare [Hockings] (who appeared on the 2023 season too and welcomed a son with Farmer Brad [Jones] last December) and she’s had some great parenting advice, so that’s been really nice,” says Olivia.
WHAT’S NEXT
Now, Matt says a wedding is “absolutely” on the cards.
“We had bub first, so once we figure that out, we’ll do the next thing,” Olivia says with a smile.
They also plan to expand their family.
“When he first came along,
I said, ‘Oh my God, I’m never having another kid,’ because it’s such a life change, but once you get settled, it’s easier to imagine having more kids. I don’t know how many we’ll have, but we’ll want to make sure Henry has some siblings around,” says Olivia.
Matt confesses the reality TV process was “quite hard to go through” but, he says, “I’m so grateful to have found Livvy and to have our happy little family now.” “We’ve been introducing him to the horses,” says Olivia.
“He’s a cute little guy,” Matt says of his son.
“The farmers all reached out and sent their well-wishes,” says Matt. ‘I’m so grateful to have our happy little family’
