NEED TO KNOW
Braden Pridemore chose Casey Riemer during the season 4 finale of Farmer Wants a Wife, and the couple says they are still happily together seven months later
Despite Braden living in Illinois and Casey residing in Tennessee, Braden tells PEOPLE that they haven’t gone more than two weeks without seeing each other since filming wrapped
The couple has introduced each other to their families, discussed their future and says their relationship has felt “easy” and “natural” since the show ended
Braden Pridemore and Casey Riemer may live states apart, but distance hasn’t slowed down their relationship.
Ahead of the season 4 finale of Farmer Wants a Wife, the couple tells PEOPLE they’ve spent the last seven months building their relationship off-camera — and haven’t gone more than two weeks without seeing each other.
“I’ll be completely honest — I’m so happy,” Braden says. “I’ve really never been this happy and comfortable around somebody.”
The Illinois farmer chose Casey, a project manager from Knoxville, Tenn., during the finale, but their relationship faced an immediate challenge after filming wrapped: long distance.
Fortunately, both say it has been easier than expected.
Braden Pridemore and Casey Riemer.
Credit: Casey Riemer/Instagram
“Honestly, since wrapping, we haven’t gone more than two weeks without seeing each other,” Braden reveals. “We’ve seen each other a lot, and it’s honestly felt so easy. It hasn’t felt like distance at all.”
“There are some times where I’m like, ‘Man, I wish you were here’ or ‘I wish I was there,’ ” he continues. “But it’s just been so easy and natural. That’s the honest truth. It’s been really great.”
The pair’s strong communication was on display throughout the season, particularly during conversations about Casey potentially relocating away from her close-knit family if their relationship continued.
Looking back, Braden says honesty helped them navigate those concerns.
“She never said she wouldn’t move there,” he explains. “She was just saying, ‘Hey, that’s something we’d need to navigate and talk about.’ “
“I just responded honestly myself,” he continues. “I was like, ‘Yeah, I totally get that. That’s a big ask. I understand that.’ “
Braden says one of the things that solidified their connection was the openness they established early on.
“One of our first conversations on the show, Casey said to me, ‘If you’re honest with me, I’ll be honest with you,’ ” he recalls. “I feel like through this whole season, every conversation with Casey, I left feeling so much better and even more sure that that’s the girl.”
For Casey, bringing up her concerns early was important because she wasn’t sure what expectations Braden had for life after filming.
“I did want to bring up my concerns because I didn’t know what his expectations were of me,” she says. “If he were to pick me in the end when the show wrapped up, I didn’t know if he was expecting me to move right away.”
She says Braden immediately put her at ease.
“He definitely made me feel a lot better,” Casey recalls. “He was like, ‘I would never make you move right away. Obviously, we’d need to date and make sure this is right before any of that happens.’ “
“And he said, ‘I want to bring peace, not pressure.’ “
“That made me feel so much better,” she adds.
Since the cameras stopped rolling, the couple has spent time getting to know each other’s families away from the spotlight.
Just weeks after filming ended, Braden traveled to Knoxville to meet Casey’s family, while Casey later spent time with his parents in Illinois.
“Since then we’ve kind of just been going back and forth, which has been so nice,” Casey says. “Really getting to know his family and getting to know mine more.”
The families recently reunited while vacationing near the beach, where they watched the season’s family episode together.
“Our parents just get along so well,” Casey says. “The family dynamics are very similar, which has made it very easy and very fun.”
As for what’s next, Braden confirms they’ve had conversations about the future, though the details remain between them.
“Right now our focus is just actually being able to go out in public together,” he says. “But yeah, there have definitely been conversations.”
“What I can tell you now is that things are great and looking great.”
Both entered Farmer Wants a Wife hoping to find a meaningful connection, though neither expected things to unfold quite the way they did.
“I did not expect to meet a guy as great as Braden, but I’m very thankful,” Casey says.
Braden feels the same.
“I became vulnerable on the show and was definitely searching for that,” he says. “But in the back of my head, I knew the likelihood of meeting someone you’re so passionate about is very slim.”
“So I still have to kick myself a lot being with Casey and being like, ‘We met on a reality dating show. This is just crazy.’ “
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
“I could not be happier about it.”
You can watch all four seasons of Farmer Wants a Wife on Hulu.
Read the original article on People
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.yahoo.com ’
