Matt Baker shares rare insight into 'love at first sight' romance with wife Nicola ahead of major milestone

Matt Baker has opened up about how he met his wife Nicola, revealing it was "love at first sight". 

The presenter and his wife, who celebrate 20 years of marriage in July, appeared on ITV's Lorraine on Friday, where they spoke about family life in the countryside, as well as Matt's new Channel 4 programme, Our Dream Farm with Matt Baker.

As the couple sat down with Christine Lampard for their first live interview together, Matt opened up about meeting his wife at a nightclub in Cleethorpes, Lincolnshire. 

"I was a gymnast when I was a lot younger and I ended up in a 1970s reenactment group that used to tour night clubs," explained Matt. "I ended up in this disco inferno and I was backflipping on stage, I used to dress up in wigs. One of the clubs that we went to was around the northeast in Cleethorpes and Nicola used to go to the nights. 

"That is how we met. She never knew it was me," he said, before sweetly adding: "I spotted her there, it was love at first sight for me."

© Stuart C. Wilson

Matt and Nicola tied the knot in July 2004. They are proud parents to two teenage children, Luke and Molly, who have well and truly settled into life in the countryside after moving from Hertfordshire to Durham in 2020.

The family relocated up north to help Matt's dad run the farm after his mum Janice was seriously injured after being knocked over by a flock of sheep, a transition that was well documented in their Channel 4 show, Matt Baker: Our Farm in the Dales.

© Tim P. Whitby

Speaking about their children's upbringing on the farm, Matt, who now lives in the Chilterns with his family, said: "We're fortunate that our children have that kind of upbringing and they understand the kind of responsibility that comes with that, and how helpful and practical it can be. For me, growing up on a farm like that, it made me without question who I am."

During his interview on Lorraine, Matt also spoke about his new Channel 4 series Our Dream Farm, which follows Matt's search for the new tenants of The National Trust's vacant Wallington Estate farm.

© Photo: Channel 4

"It's shedding a light on tenant farming because not a lot of people realise that you can rent a farm and try and make it as a farmer," explained Matt. "We've got seven shortlisted applicants, we're doing it with the National Trust, and we're supersizing the selection process for them to try and acquire this ten-year tenancy."

Our Dream Farm with Matt Baker airs on Saturday 6 April at 8pm on Channel 4.