Aurora Hoff, a 27-year-old nurse from Oslo, won the finale of "Farmen" on Sunday night at Odden farm, edging out Helge Urdal Pihl, 37, in a tight finish. According to VG, the result was so close that Hoff did not realise she had won until well after the other contestants did.
The finale aired roughly a year after it was recorded in autumn 2025. Hoff told VG the closing challenge was a drawn-out test of knowledge in which competitors were eliminated one by one, and that she failed to grasp what had happened when host Victor Sotberg announced a winner. "I didn't understand that I had won," she said, describing the taping as a strange experience.
Why it matters
Hoff's win came about six months after her then-boyfriend, Sondre Sundby, 35, took the celebrity edition of the show, "Farmen kjendis." VG reports that the pair began dating shortly before Sundby entered the celebrity farm last spring and were still together when Hoff joined the main series half a year later. Hoff told VG it seemed improbable that both of them could win, and said facing Helge in the final gave her extra motivation, since the two had not been the most compatible contestants in the house.
Sundby, currently appearing on "Skal vi danse," was the one who collected Hoff, Zhwan Manbari, 29, and Even Åndal, 24, at Notodden after filming ended. In a text message to VG, he said it felt very unusual when she called after nine weeks without contact, and that he had already been enormously proud of her because he knew how far she had progressed. He added that seeing her with the cheque left him shocked, moved and full of pride, and that her victory was far more impressive than his own, given the three extra weeks and the harder fight.
A hard season behind the scenes
Hoff has been candid about the toll of the experience. She told VG she cried nearly every day during filming, explaining that where some contestants shout or throw things, she responds emotionally, which she finds a little embarrassing. She said she did not know what she was signing up for, particularly because the programme had new rules and a new format.
She also said she struggled to separate the game from her personal relationships inside the farm. The first person she called after winning was her mother, and she told her, through tears, that it had been the worst experience of her life. Hoff said the year between recording and broadcast has helped her process it, and that she can now laugh about it — while concluding that she is not suited to social-strategy television and will not take part in that kind of programme again.
Audience reaction has been another burden. Hoff told VG she avoids comment sections and the app Jodel because of the volume of hostile messages, saying she has been told she is a terrible person and among the worst contestants on the farm. She said she expected a backlash but not on that scale, and that while she does not see herself as one of the hardest players, anyone who acts against another contestant in the game attracts a group of detractors. She added that other participants have received far more abuse than she has, and that she finds it strange people will send so much hatred to strangers, given that the show is a game and playing it is the only way to stay in.
Hoff also pushed back at rumours that she and Even flirted on the farm, telling VG it is frustrating that any chemistry between a man and a woman is automatically read as romance.
Coverage of the season has extended beyond the winner. Dagbladet reported on illness after filming, TV 2 carried contestants saying they felt somewhat deceived, Nettavisen reported Manbari's comments on the harassment he faced, describing it as tiring and manipulative, and Halden Arbeiderblad noted that the experience did not match what Neema had imagined.
What to watch next: whether Hoff holds to her vow to stay away from social-strategy formats, and how the show's producers respond to contestants' complaints about the gap between what they expected and what the season delivered.
