Liv Kay (left) and her best friend Amber grew up together on Waiheke Island. Photo / Supplied
Liv Kay (left) and her best friend Amber grew up together on Waiheke Island. Photo / Supplied
You've heard of Farmer Wants a Wife - now Kiwi woman Liv Kay wants to find a farmer to wife up her best friend.
When she met farmer Ollie Kay, she left the big smoke of Auckland for the rolling hills of King Country and hasn't looked back since. But while she loves the farm lifestyle in Waitomo, one thing is missing: her best friend Amber.
"I've missed my friends heaps. It was the only thing I struggled with about moving to the farm. I've always joked about them moving down," Kay tells the Herald.
Originally from Taranaki, she moved to Waiheke when she was 12, where she met Amber at pony club. Now 27, the two girls have been inseparable since, until Kay met and married Ollie in a unique love story of her own.
She met him just two days before the first Covid lockdown in 2020. He asked her to stay on his farm with him, as they didn't know when they would see each other again.
Amber was a bridesmaid at Kay's wedding earlier this year. Photo / Supplied
"I pretty much moved in on the second date," she jokes. "And I just never left."
They got married this year - Amber was a bridesmaid. Now Kay has taken it upon herself to find a farmer to marry Amber, also 27, and move her out of the city.
"It started as a joke," she shares, "but you never know what could happen. I rang her and I was laughing and I said, 'thoughts on me writing an ad for you?'
"I just think farmers are so great, there's so many amazing guys in rural communities. I'm always joking with my friends that they need to find a farmer and she would flourish on a farm. She cracked up and said, 'why not, go for it'."
So Kay shared a post on the Facebook page NZ Farming Community Notices along with photos of Amber.
"After countless hours of brainstorming ... I've come to the conclusion I need to find her an eligible farmer from the mighty Waikato so she too can kiss goodbye to the city and join me in my journey learning all about the farming lifestyle," she wrote.
Amber trained as a vet nurse and now works in the pet nutrition industry. Photo / Supplied
She wrote that Amber is an "absolute drop-dead looker" who can "set up fences, clean troughs and also cooks a mean curry" and comes with her own border collie. Trained as a vet nurse and now working in pet nutrition, she's a "kind and beautiful soul" who loves a good laugh.
It wasn't long before countless messages started rolling in from men all over the country and Kay started screening all the potential dates.
"Even someone from Gore was like, 'hey!' I was like, I'm not moving her even further away!"
Kay is pretty impressed with the responses so far, saying "everyone's been really respectful".
"One guy sent this beautiful long message, everyone's been really nice.
"It's such a good laugh for both of us and really heartwarming as well, seeing how many people have taken it seriously and put in the effort to get out of their comfort zone and send a nice message."
Throughout the process, Amber has been "such a good sport", Kay says. "I think most people would be embarrassed."
And it turns out Amber has already been on a few dates with someone. Kay reveals that it's going well and she's currently not taking any more applications.
Whether Amber finds love or not, Kay thinks she's destined for the rural lifestyle.
"She'd need a reason to live close to me and my husband," she jokes.
"She's got her own thing going on but I can definitely see her moving rurally. She's super independent and she's got a really good career. But she can work remotely, we've thought it out and it would work."
Kay says there's something of a "rural-urban divide" when it comes to dating - and hopes her post will help change people's perceptions of farmers.
"I had a very different perception of what farming was when I lived in Ponsonby. But there are some really amazing, compassionate farmers out there and if more people from the city spent more time on a farm, they would understand how amazing the lifestyle and the people can be."
