Heavy/Getty "American Idol" season 20 winner Noah Thompson
Season 20 “American Idol” winner Noah Thompson held one of his first impromptu Instagram Live sessions with fans on July 10, 2023, and wound up connecting with another reality show star, newly-single Khelsi Stone of FOX’s new hit dating series, “Farmer Wants a Wife.” Clearly excited to connect, Thompson agreed to meet up soon with Stone in Nashville, where he moved in early 2023.
While back home in Kentucky to see friends and family, including his two-year-old son Walker Lee whom he shares with Angel Dixon, Thompson casually started a late night Instagram Live chat while hanging out with his good friend Arthur Johnson, whom “Idol” fans may remember as the fun-loving colleague who signed Thompson up for the competition in 2021.
“I’m just figuring out how to use this whole Instagram Live thing,” Thompson laughed.
Admitting he had no idea how it worked, the 21-year-old rising country star, who just released his first EP “Middle of God Knows Where,” played several songs and experimented with letting some fans join him from their homes to chat onscreen with him. One of them happened to be Stone, who revealed right away that she was the “winner” of “Farmer Wants a Wife.”
The two started chatting as about 200 viewers watched, and decided to meet up soon in Nashville, potentially with another reality star Stone knows. Thompson has not posted his Instagram Live for others to watch, but Heavy has viewed the full session. Here’s what you need to know:
‘Farmer Meets a Wife’ Star Hops On Instagram Live With Noah Thompson
As Thompson scrolled through the fans requesting to be invited to chat with him live, he noticed Stone’s name was “verified,” meaning that Instagram has officially verified her as an authentic public figure. Curious about who she was, Thompson invited her to join him onscreen, though the room she was in was completely dark, so her face couldn’t be seen.
“Is this real life?” she laughed, “This is crazy.”
After saying that she thought she could teach Thompson how to use Instagram Live, she added, “I just got off the show ‘Farmer Wants a Wife.’ Did y’all watch it?”
Looking confused, Thompson said, “‘Farmer Wants a Wife?’ You just got off that show?”
Stone replied, “Yeah, I won the show,” and he exclaimed “What! Oh, dude!”
When Johnson asked Stone whether she was still with the farmer she was paired with on the series, Stone laughed, “No, we broke up.”
According to Taste of Country, “Farmer Wants a Wife” featured four bachelor farmers who each lived with eight women on their farm, eliminating contestants periodically in an attempt to find true love with one of them. Three of the four farmers found love, including 32-year-old Allen Foster, who “chose” Stone, a teacher from Georgia. However, the reality couple confirmed after the first season wrapped on May 17 that they had since broken up. The show was such a big hit that Fox has already renewed it for a second season.
As Thompson expressed his sympathy over their breakup, Stone pointed out that Jake Hoot, winner of season 17 on “The Voice,” had just joined the Instagram Live, too, and she noted that he had been a big fan of “Farmer Wants a Wife.”
“Jake Hoot?” Thompson asked, looking stunned. “Oh God, yeah. Dude, Jake from ‘The Voice?’ I remember watching Jake when he won, dude.”
“Yeah, and then you were my favorite on ‘American Idol,” Stone said, and Thompson replied, “Aw, I appreciate it. I wasn’t. I hated myself.”
“Yeah, but you got better,” she responded.
Noah Thompson Hopes to Meet Up With Jake Hoot & Khelsi Stone
As Thompson and Stone chatted, Hoot wrote in the comment section, “What’s up y’all! Big fan of yall both!”
Thompson said, “Jake’s awesome, dude. That’s nice of him. I love y’all, too, man. Tell Jake I’d like to write sometime or something!”
“Yeah, let’s all get together,” Stone suggested, adding that though she lives in Georgia, she’s often in Nashville for events.
“Yeah, that’d be great,” Thompson said. “That’d be cool with me, I’d love that. I’d love to meet y’all.”
The two then talked about their schedules and how to get in contact with one another, and also discussed how “wild” it had been to be on national TV.
“Wild for sure,” Thompson said. “But it gave me a big jump, man, like you know what I mean? I get to do this (music career) and I never thought in a million years I’d get to do this in the first place.”
Thompson said he’d get in touch with Stone soon, but noted that he’d also have to look at his concert and travel schedule. He knew he was playing in Ohio the next night, on July 11, but had to rely on a fan to tell him exactly where — the Adams County Fair in West Union.
Earlier in the day, Stone wrote a message to fans in her Instagram Stories that read, “I’m getting a lot of messages on how I’m doing & that y’all are missing our lives. I’m taking some time to heal my heart & I hope to be in a better state soon. Everything will be alright.”
As she and Thompson said their goodbyes, Stone said, “You made my night” and Johnson shouted that it was nice to meet her virtually.
“Nice to meet you, Arthur — good job signing him up,” Stone said. Johnson made them both laugh by replying, “You’re welcome!”
The social media interaction and impending meet-up with Stone may get tongues wagging about Thompson’s relationship status, which has been a topic of much discussion among fans since rumors of a breakup with Dixon began in the summer of 2022. Though he has never confirmed their breakup, he stopped following Dixon on social media a year ago and has since moved to Nashville while she remains in Kentucky. Thompson is also regularly asked if he’s seeing “Idol” runner-up HunterGirl, including by someone who asked him during the Instagram Live.
Thompson exclaimed as he perused the comments, “Oh, God. No, I am not dating HunterGirl!”
If they’re not together romantically, Thompson and Dixon now have no problem uniting for their son’s sake. In May, Dixon posted on Facebook of a birthday celebration for their son that Thompson attended. And on July 5, she posted videos of Walker dancing as Thompson performed for a crowd of 20,000 in Huntington, West Virginia, and wrote, “Dads #1 fan
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