The Farmer Wants A Wife stars sell historic Mount Gambier home

Reality TV sweethearts Jo and Rob Hodges have put their Mount Gambier home on the market to fully commit to their new life in Queensland.

The couple, who tied the knot in 2010 after meeting on the second season of The Farmer Wants A Wife, bought the historic home – which used to be a hospital – five years ago, after Mr Hodges sold his family cattle farm, on the outskirts of the town.

With their three children, they moved to Noosa in 2024, partly to allow eldest daughter Darcy to pursue a career in swimming, but return to Mount Gambier regularly to oversee Ms Hodges’ health and wellness studio, Nourish Nook.

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Jo and Rob Hodges with their children Darcy, 14, Maggie, 11 and Roy 8. Picture: Instagram

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Their home in Mount Gambier at 89 Bay Rd has a rich history in the area.

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It was a doctor’s residence when it was first built.

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The closure of the studio late last year has now prompted the sale of their four-bedroom home at 89 Bay Rd, just seconds from Mount Gambier’s world-famous Blue Lake and well-known by locals as one of the region’s most popular residential properties.

“It’s definitely a house we’ve always looked at, it’s very secret on the street but most people know about it,” Ms Hodges said.

“Being from a farm, we were used to a lot of space and this was a big house with really big yards. It was really nice.”

Ms Hodges said her family had become “obsessed” with the history of the home, which began as a doctor’s residence.

“Some articles say it was built in the late 1800s and some articles say it was built in 1903 or something so it’s hard to tell what year it was actually built,” he said, with PropTrack data reporting it was built in 1890.

The home later became West Kirby Private Hospital, run by Sister Elsie Howard-Jones.

After the private hospital closed in 1945, Ms. Hodges said there were discussions to reopen it as a government maternity hospital but those plans fell through due to lack of funds and the facility returned to residential use.

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The Hodges bought a four-bedroom house five years ago.

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The home is on a 1652sqm block near Mount Gambier’s world famous Blue Lake.

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Jo and Rob met on the TV show Farmer Wants a Wife.

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He said many of the building’s features remain, including its leaded windows, marble shutters, front door and doorbell.

“We are very impressed with this house because of the fact that it has become an important part of the community as a hospital and houses for doctors and nurses,” said Ms. Hodges.

“Even though it’s an old house and has a lot of history, it’s not a scary house – it’s warm and has a lot of (natural) light.

“We’ve added a few mod cons but (aesthetically) we’ve kept it exactly as it was when we bought it – we didn’t even touch the gardens, we’ve only removed two trees since we’ve been here and that was because they were dead.”

Although the family have settled into their new lifestyle in the Sunshine State, Ms Hodges said they will be regular visitors to Mount Gambier, where they still have many friends.

“Rob still considers Mount Gambier his home and all the children were born there,” she said.

“It’s still a very special place for us and we return to it a lot.”

Offers on the home, listed by Ray White Mount Gambier without a price guide, close on April 8.

– by Lauren Ahwan