"Love among the haystacks"
Monique Butterworth
New Idea July 20 issue
Masterfully typed by bron

You can take the girl out of the Gold Coast but you just can’t take the Gold Coast out of the girl. She may sport Ellie May pigtails, but is Big Brother’s Jessica Hardy ready to give up the bright lights to be with her beloved farmboy Nathan ‘Marty’ Martin.
While the lovebirds fantasised in the house about being together when the show finished, no-one, most of all their fellow housemates, believed bejewelled, feather-loving Jess would ever fit in on Marty’s family farm just outside Toodyay, an hour and a half’s drive from Perth. But how wrong they were.
She might have had to trade in her pink rollerskates for a pair of Blundstones – just bought in town by Marty’s stepmum Sally – but Jess, 25, is loving life in the country.
“It’s everything I’d envisioned,” Jess gushes. “Marty really set the scene for me by telling me all about the picturesque valley and the pastures of lush green grass.
“I was really excited when I got here. To see how he described it is just so glorious. I’m so glad to be here, because Marty is just so happy to be home..”
Happy to be home maybe – but 20 year-old Marty couldn’t wait to have his girl back by his side.
“Driving home was a big rush,” he says. “Coming up the gravel road I couldn’t wait to see what was happening. To see the countryside, the hills, the grass, creek flowing, the cows, the shed – the simple things I missed the most. It all came right back, and I actually got fairly emotional. It was a real homecoming for me.
“I was thinking: ‘This is cool,’ but I was missing Jess too. I thought: ‘If Jess was here, my two worlds would meet,’ and I was wondering how that would feel.”
When Jess did arrive things suddenly fell into place.
“It felt awesome. To have her with me as we drove along the roads I’m used to and pointing out stuff to her was so much fun.,” Marty says.
Jess adds: “I’m so glad we’ve actually made it a reality. Because we thought it was just an ‘all talk’ thing that would have kept our relationship purely in the house.
“But the fact that Marty has brought me back to his comfort zone, to his environment, has extended our relationship. I’m glad I’ve had the opportunity to do this.”
Despite the far from regulation farmwear, unbelievably, city-slicker Jess doesn’t feel so out of place on Marty’s family’s 200 hectare sheep and cattle farm.
“I thought I’d be stressed, going ‘Oh my God!,’ just being out of my normal surroundings. But it’s not like that at all,’ she says.
Adds Marty: “Dad has been so supportive and Jess has met all my family so it’s not like she doesn’t know anyone. And she knows me so well. – it’s just me teaching her and showing her things now.”
“We’re still having fun like we did in the house, but now I’m learning new things too,” Jess adds.
And one of those thing is how to drive a tractor. But don’t expect to see Jess doing any farm work from the tractor just yet.
“Marty had shown me the gear changes, but he hadn’t shown me where the brakes were,” she laughed. “I thought it was obvious!” he joked. “There I was, pushing down on the accelerator in reverse. We were heading straight for a car and everybody was watching. Marty yelled ‘Jess, the brakes! The brakes!’ And I was like ‘Where are they?’
“We came about 2 feet away from hitting the car, and the faces on those watching….It was quite close!” At the last minute, Marty saved the day.” Skates are sooo much easier,” she grins.
Jess managed to have a little more success on the farm’s quad bikes. “I loved them! We just flew up the road together,” Jess says excitedly.
“I was on the road – but Jess went through the crops,” Marty laughs. “Once I got on the road, I had a ball,” Jess adds, “I loved the wind in my hair.”
While Jess may not have mastered the farm machinery, she was a natural feeding the orphaned lambs Marty’s step mum Sally and stepsister Sayshie had named after the BB housemates. Its no surprise the only black sheep is called Marty. And Jess thinks it great that her lamb namesake is a bit of a guts at feeding time and has grown bigger than the other lambs.
And it seems that Vernon the bull has taken a liking to Jess. “That’s the first time I’ve ever fed cattle. Considering I was wearing I was a little afraid of the bulls, but Vernon took a shine to me. I think he likes my dress sense,” she laughs.
And the cattle will have plenty of time to get use to Jess’ unusual attire because Marty has plans to set her to work. But her idea of work may not be along the same lines as Marty’s. “We’ve got a lot of cattle work coming up,” says Marty.
“I’ve got to give a hand, so maybe I could dress them up,” Jess suggests. “I could decorate the lambs. Feather boas – I can see it now. Even the bull – I could deck him out in sequins!!!”

Marty still has so much more he wants to show Jess. “I want to show her how to catch yabbies,’ he says. “I want to show her the bunnies, and about working with the sheep. I want to show her all the fun things before all the work, because living on the farm is ward work.”
“I’ve got to see what I’m in for! Maybe I should have got into the fun stuff first. Should I be scared?” she asks, turning to Marty with a laugh.
“That’s what keeps you going on the farm, having fun stuff to look forward to after you’ve done all the hard work,” Marty explains.
“From what I’ve seen, I would put in the hard work just for the sake of living in such a beautiful, relaxed environment,” raves Jess. “It’s just glorious to wake up to that every morning. It’s so picturesque here. The cows, the lambs – I love all that. To me it’s just getting in touch with nature. You can get so caught up in the hustle and bustle of city living in a concrete jungle, but out here it’s just so raw and fresh. I see how happy people are here and it’s just great”
While spending time together on the farm, Jess and Marty’s love for each other grows stronger each day.
“There were so many things we wanted to say to each other on the house that we just couldn’t,” Jess says. “A lot of things were left unsaid as far as a relationship goes. When I was nearing the end there were times when I just wanted to address what was going to happen from here on in. I was up for so many evictions, but Marty kind of palmed it off all the time, saying: ‘Don’t worry, you won’t be going.’ And then when I did go I was thrust out into the big wide world and I didn’t know where we stood,” says Jess. “So all week I was professing my love for Marty, but not knowing if he felt the same way. I didn’t know if my feelings were reciprocated because he was still in the house. Now that we’re out we’ve actually been able to talk privately.”
When it came to affairs of the heart in the Big Brother house, Marty was uncharacteristically quiet. “I thought Jess knew how I felt,” he explains. “I knew in the house that I loved her and I knew we’d make a go of things on the outside. I know I didn’t say it all the time, but for me a look or a cuddle speaks volumes. It’s bee great since, because we’ve done everything together so far,” he adds. “We’ve been together all the time - and people like seeing us together.”
The couple were worried that the controversy over Marty ditching his girlfriend Jonelle for his new-found love Jess after they met in the house would turn people against them. So they are ecstatic that people everywhere seem to have accepted their relationship.
“It’s great we’ve had such positive feedback, because you never know what people are thinking,” says Jess.
“Not that it completely matters what other people think, but it’s great that people appreciate our relationship so much. Because it did play on our minds every now and then. But we’ve been accepted, and there’s so much approval – especially within Marty’s family, and that’s the main thing.”
Both Marty and Jess concede that it’s early days yet, but they are both willing to do whatever it takes to stay together. Jess explains: “Marty and I have discussed that as long as we can base ourselves in the same area, I’m willing to incorporate any entertainment career I have with our relationship. But Marty comes first. My career has taken a backseat.”
“Even though I really want to get into the entertainment industry, it has to be around Marty. I’d hate to neglect what we have for the sake of a career. So if I can get something in that avenue, I’m willing to pursue it, but as long as we can work around me and Marty being together as well.”
Jess will have another 15 minutes of fame when Network Ten screens an at home on the farm special about the couple in early August.
“We both know it’s going to be tough to forge a life together and incorporate careers and stuff,” says Marty.
“But we really want to be together and share our goals together, and I’m sure we can. We’ll see how things go.”
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