Yes, the “Farmer Wants a Wife” reunion aired back in May. But, another reunion of sorts — a much more Joy-ous one — happened last week.
Joy Mayfield came to Wisconsin for the first time to visit co-star and Caledonian Grace Girard.
And, the Floridian knocked quite a bit off of her Dairy State bucket list while she was here.
Cheese curds? Check! Kringle? Check! Custard? Check! Lake days? Check!
But, the main event of their long weekend together was XRoads 41 (pronounced Crossroads 41) in Oshkosh.
“We just get each other. We love each other so much,” Mayfield told the Journal Sentinel. “I just love doing anything with Grace.”
On this past season of “Farmer Wants a Wife” — which filmed last fall and aired this year — there were four farmers, each with a crop of daters attempting to wrangle their hearts. Girard, a University of Wisconsin-Madison alum, and Mayfield, a mammography technologist, were both vying for Farmer Brandon Rogers and became fast friends along the way.
In a shocking twist, Mayfield decided to exit the competition ahead of hometown visits. Rogers ultimately chose Girard to be his partner. Though Rogers and Girard didn’t end up working out romantically, she would end up finding love in her own backyard.
Through it all, Girard and Mayfield have remained really good friends. And, they’ve been seeing each other every four months or so, despite living on opposite ends of the country.
“We’re of course bonded forever from being on the show together and that experience,” Girard said. “Getting back together with her is like we never had any time apart.”
Over the holidays, Girard went to her family’s home in Naples, Florida, and visited Mayfield, who lives in Jacksonville. In April, the two traveled to Texas for the Two Step Inn music festival.
“That’s when I realized that I love going to concerts and I love going to live music, and I love especially going with Grace,” Mayfield said.
Last week, Mayfield flew to Wisconsin to go to another music fest with her bestie.
“(Mayfield’s) so fun,” Girard said. “We always have a blast together … She is just a great girl friend. She loves to have a good time and she’s down to talk about anything and everything, from serious stuff like your relationship, or just silly things, like what you’re going to wear to the next day of the festival or how we’re going to take our next Instagram photo.”
From Kringle to concerts, here’s a look at Mayfield’s trip to America’s Dairyland and her friendship with Girard:
Inside ‘Farmer Wants a Wife’ stars Grace Girard’s and Joy Mayfield’s friendship
Just days into living on Rogers’ farm together with him and his other daters, Girard and Mayfield had already found a friend in each other.
“I think you quickly find out who your people are going to be in an experience like the show because it is so emotionally intense,” Girard said. “I think that we quickly realized how each other worked and how are personalities could fit together. And, we’ve just continued to carry that through.”
Mayfield said the two have “always been drawn to each other.” She described both herself and Girard as no drama, free-spirited, kind “girly girls” who love their families and friends.
“It’s kind of funny ’cause her name is Grace and my name is Joy, and we’re just always so happy all the time,” Mayfield said.
What ‘Farmer Wants a Wife’ stars Grace Girard and Joy Mayfield got into in Wisconsin
On Mayfield’s first night in Wisconsin, Girard’s beau, Trevor Jung, — the transit and mobility director for the City of Racine and a Wisconsin Democratic National Convention delegate — wasted no time introducing her to the Racine delicacy that is Kringle.
While Mayfield was expecting it to be a little pastry, she said, it was “almost like a pizza, it was so large.”
“I tore off a bite and then I was like, ‘Oh my god, this is too good,’ ” Mayfield said. “I had to keep going and going and going. It was just so good, I couldn’t stop eating it.”
While last Thursday, Girard worked her job as a communications associate and Mayfield studied for her upcoming mammography registry exam, they took a lunch break to have hearth-fired pizzas at Marguerite in downtown Racine.
“(Downtown Racine) was so cute,” Mayfield said. “I loved it … I wish I could’ve explored it a little bit more.”
On their way up to the music festival that evening, Mayfield had her first food truck experience. They stopped at Taco Felíz outside Woodman’s in Menomonee Falls.
“I kid you not, I’m not being dramatic or anything at all. It was the best Mexican food I have ever eaten in my whole life,” Mayfield said.
That night and the two after were spent at XRoads 41, where the duo saw Brooks & Dunn, Old Dominion, Turnpike Troubadours, The Red Clay Strays and Shaggy. That’s where Mayfield tried frozen custard, which she said was “really good.”
Their days up north were spent hanging out at Girards’ grandparent’s Waupaca lake house and pontoon boating on the Chain O’ Lakes.
While Mayfield had done boat days before on the St. Johns River, she said, Waupaca is “completely different.” It reminded her of the North Carolina coastal cities the movie “Safe Haven” was filmed in.
“It’s like old-school America and people are very friendly. It’s a really small town,” Mayfield said. “It’s quiet and it’s peaceful and it’s serene.”
Does anyone else remember that cheese curd snafu from “Farmer” filming that Girard shared on TikTok?
Girard’s mom had sent Wisconsin cheese curds to the farm. Rogers and Mayfield? Not impressed. Joy tried battering some up and loading ’em in a fryer.
“We seriously butchered those,” Mayfield said. “You don’t know even know how bad those were.”
Last week, when Girard and Mayfield popped over to TJ’s Harbor Restaurant for dinner with Girard’s friends, Mayfield got to try Wisconsin cheese curds. This time, the right way.
“They were squeaking for me,” Mayfield said. “I know that’s what you look out for in cheese curds. … I think they’re so delicious.”
@girardgracee My mom had #Wisconsin cheese curds specially delivered to the farm and my lil pals were not impressed #BTS of #FarmerWantsAWife ♬ original sound – Grace Girard
Girard plans on vacationing in Florida again this winter and will visit Mayfield when she does.
And, would Mayfield ever return to Wisconsin? “Yes! I’d love to!” she said. “I really would.”
A look back at Grace Girard and Joy Mayfield’s time on Fox’s ‘Farmer Wants a Wife’ Season 2
Last year, Girard applied and got cast on Season 2 of “Farmer Wants a Wife.” The show filmed last fall and aired this year.
Girard felt something with Rogers on the very first speed date they had on premiere night. She would end up being a source of calmness and grounding for him through the season’s ups and downs.
The two shared several special moments together: Their darn near perfect solo date, when they revealed they were falling for each other, and his visit to Wisconsin to meet her family and Girard being a hit with his.
But, leaving behind her family and moving more than 1,000 miles away always remained heavy on Girard’s heart.
Rogers’ interest in Mayfield was evident early on — which would end up being the final straw for a couple of his daters. Not our girl Grace, though.
Rogers and Joy had a rough first date followed by a redemption arc. That included a breakthrough, becoming a favorite among his loved ones and one heck of a second date. But, having previously only taken one person who she was “completely in love with” home to meet her family, Mayfield decided to bow out of the competition ahead of hometown visits.
During the reunion this spring, it was revealed that Girard and Rogers were no longer together. They split shortly after filming concluded, but had remained close friends.
Earlier this summer, Girard hard-launched a new relationship with Jung. They’re both extroverted, have a “deep commitment” to their families, enjoy being on the go, making friends and entertaining, the couple shared with the Journal Sentinel in June.
In our interview this week, Girard shared that she and Jung are “going really strong.”
So, what does Mayfield think of her gal pal’s man? “He is like a true blue Wisconsiner just like Grace is,” Mayfield said. “He is just like her, but a male form.”
What has ‘Farmer Wants a Wife’ star Joy Mayfield been up to since filming?
After filming, Mayfield returned to Jacksonville, where she works as a full-time mammography tech.
She’s been studying “a lot” for her registry exam, which she’ll be taking in October.
While she was dating for “a really long time” post-show, she said, she got burnt out and has taken a step back from that for now.
Eventually, she’s thinking of moving somewhere with more of a “country” lifestyle and all four seasons.