If ever there was evidence that life can take a 180-degree turn from darkness into the light, it is in Jo Fincham’s face as she cradles her newborn daughter Darcy. Jo, 33, is a picture of contentment. It’s a far cry from where she was several years ago, when she suffered from depression and a debilitating eating disorder. That was before Rob Hodges, her devoted husband of 18 months – the man Australian TV viewers watched fall in love with the pretty Melbourne newspaper photographer in the second season of the Nine Network’s hit series, The Farmer Wants A Wife.

“I’ve had a tough time in the past and I could never imagine myself being a mum,” Jo says, gazing down at Darcy, contentedly feeding in her arms. “I mean, I couldn’t even look after myself, let alone a child. “Now it feels like the most natural, relaxed thing in the world. I loved being pregnant and I love being a mother more than I can say. I am just so happy and blessed.” Jo credits meeting Rob and falling in love with his life in the country with lifting her out of her self-destructive patterns in the city. “I believe I’ve overcome all that,” she says as she traces Darcy’s tiny nose with her finger.

“The farm has been the best thing for me, physically and mentally. I believe moving out of my old environment in Melbourne was the best thing for me. Back there I was going out a lot and drinking too much. I think there are a lot of people in this world who shouldn’t drink alcohol and I am probably one of them. I rarely touch it now. I just don’t need it, I’m too happy.“Melbourne is where I grew up and lived most of my life but this feels like where I belong,” she adds. “It’s definitely where my heart is.” Listening proudly, Rob, 46, is over the moon with how easily Jo settled into life on his beef and sheep farm in Mount Gambier, SA.

“It is such a great environment to live in, and we have such a great, supportive network of friends that I think Jo has moved forward from where she was,” he says. “It’s [depression] something that’s always there in the background and we have to manage it. I think taking Jo out of the environment where that unhappiness occurred has really helped.”Ask Rob if he is delighted with little Darcy and his face lights up. “She’s absolutely gooorgeous,” he says, touching his little girl gently. “My wife’s gorgeous, they’re all gorgeous. We’ve got a magnificent life we’re living and everything has fallen into place. I couldn’t be happier.”

Read more about Farmer Rob and his wife Jo in this week's Woman's Day, on sale November 7, 2011.