Wisconsin's Grace Girard hit it off with her potential in-laws on 'Farmer Wants a Wife.' But, did she score the final solo date?

Warning: Spoilers ahead from Episode 9 of Fox's "Farmer Wants a Wife" Season 2 that aired on Thursday, April 11.

What happened on "Farmer Wants a Wife" this week? More like what didn't?

All four farmers and their remaining daters met up in St. Louis for their final group mixer. Little did the ladies know, they'd be meeting their potential future in-laws there. Surprise!

Wisconsin sweetheart Grace Girard was quite the crowd pleaser and even made Farmer Brandon Rogers' dad emotional.

After getting input from their loved ones, the farmers picked who they wanted to take on their final solo dates.

But, before all of that, last week's episode left off at dinnertime, when the farmers could choose to send one of their daters home. Rogers had asked to speak with dater Joy privately.

Despite having a super-strong connection toward the beginning, their bad solo date a ways back threw them for a loop. The preview for this week's episode showed the two of them in tears. On Thursday night, we got to find out why.

Here's a recap:

Fearing she'd be sent home, dater Joy tearfully opened up to Farmer Brandon

At the end of last week, Rogers had just asked Joy to go outside with him for "a little chat."

"My date with Joy didn't go well, and I just want to check in and see where she's at in this process," Rogers said in a confessional.

Rogers opened the conversation by asking Joy to reflect back to their first week together and how it felt. She told him she felt a "very strong" connection with him Week 1, 2 and even 3.

But after their one-on-one, "it was completely different," she said.

On that date, Rogers poured his heart out to Joy about his parents' divorce. Afterwards, he asked what she thought about all of it and if it was concerning to her.

"I just feel like I'm so immune to everything," Joy said on the date. "Me and my sister both, we don't feel anything ... But, maybe one day, I'll have a heart."

Fast-forwarding back to the two of them outside, Rogers said: "I think I was really caught off-guard with the, like, whole no empathy/sympathy thing. Why is this beautiful, strong, smart woman so shut down?"

As Joy started crying, Rogers said, "You don't have to go there" and "We can go there some other time."

With her voice shaking and her eyes filling with tears, Joy insisted.

"I'm going to tell you. Just know it's hard for me," she said. "I feel like almost, like, I'm defected a little bit. And, if you want to continue this relationship, I feel like you should know."

She revealed that she was diagnosed with epilepsy at age 12 and used to have seizures in her sleep often.

"It was like the worst pain you could ever feel, like, in your life," she said. "I wouldn't wish that upon my worst enemy."

Growing up, she couldn't afford the health care she needed, so her condition continued to get worse. It wasn't until she was 25 that she got the care she had been needing for so long, she said.

"It's good now," she said. "But, I just feel like I've been put through it."

After what she's been through, whenever someone complains about a cold, cough or something along those lines, she said she's like "get over it" and "whatever."

"I hated to pull that out," Rogers said, getting emotional himself. "I'm the heart-on-the-sleeve guy, so I feel for you."

Joy thanked him as the two embraced, and he thanked her for opening up. In a confessional, she said she thinks Rogers would have sent her home if she hadn't opened up.

"He said he wanted us to be a little bit more vulnerable with him, and that's what I gave him tonight," Joy said.

"Joy opened up in a way I didn't really see coming," a choked-up Rogers said. "So, it all makes sense now."

Grace and her fellow daters met Farmer Brandon's family. Here's how that went.

All four farmers and their remaining daters traveled to St. Louis for their final "mixer." And, the daters had no idea what was in store.

As the daters caught up separately, the farmers were busy sneaking in their families.

"All of the families are here today to help the farmers make some big decisions," host and country music star Jennifer Nettles said.

Rogers had his dad, stepmom and Carlos, one of his best friends, there. Joy and Girard already briefly met Rogers' dad, Keith, on the farm early on in the process.

"They all are extremely excited to get to know these girls 'cause they really want me to find somebody," Rogers said in a cutaway.

Rogers told his dad, stepmom and friend that they could help influence him on who to pick for his last solo date. Then, he debriefed them on where he was at with each of his daters.

While he had a rough patch with Joy, he said, she opened up and they "made a big step." He described Emerson as a very sweet, nice and outgoing farm girl. But, Girard's bio took the cake, imo.

"Grace and I have a good connection and it's a good fit and a good match," he said about her.

When Nettles introduced herself to the families, she couldn't help but notice Rogers was a spitting image of his father. "Poor kid," Keith said, laughing.

Not knowing what awaited them, each set of daters walked into the room filled with the farmers and their families. When Rogers' ladies came in, Girard let out a "Hi! Oh my gosh, hi!"

As Girard hugged Rogers' dad, she told him he cleaned up well. Point for Grace.

After everyone made it in, Nettles explained that they'd be getting to know each other better over a farm-to-table feast. Each group got their own table, making it more intimate.

"Being so close to the end, every single choice you make right now will impact that final decision, the decision of who might be your future wife," Nettles told the farmers. "So, friends and family, you have some important questions to be asking."

With the Rogers having a potato and barley farm, Keith passed the potatoes and said: "Potatoes, everybody get the main diiish!"

"Hey, you know he hasn't fed us a potato yet," Girard revealed.

"Oh gosh," Rogers said.

"He's slackin'" Girard said. "Yeah!" Keith replied with a laugh.

"He's a fake farmer," Girard joked, striking a look at her farmer.

Rogers took his cowboy hat off as she laughed.

"You're hilarious," he said.

"Grace, I was impressed with her," Keith said in a cutaway. "I thought she handled herself real well. Seems like she could be the excitement of the party."

Rogers' stepmom asked the ladies for their backgrounds, what they do and their future goals. Joy shared that she's working toward becoming a mammography technologist.

"I definitely feel I've connected more with Joy now, and I hope that they see what I see about her and what I like about her," Rogers said in a cutaway.

Carlos asked the daters what Rogers' best attribute is.

"Other than he's good-looking," Emerson said. "I'm big on this. He's respectful. We've talked about this. If you don't have respect for the people around you or myself, you might as well leave now."

When Joy thinks about Rogers, the first word that comes to mind is "compassionate."

"I think you're compassionate in everything you do," she said. "I've never felt so much than when I'm with you."

When it was Girard's turn, she told Carlos that Rogers is "very emotionally intelligent."

"He's always checking up on us, making sure we're OK," she shared. "He, like, understands when we're moody, understands when we're happy — he really does! He's good at picking up on it."

Pointing to Keith, she said: "Good job."

"She's gonna make me cry," Keith said, laughing. "I said I wouldn't do that."

"It's OK," Girard said, warmly. "That's where he gets it."

"Those are the best compliments a person can ever get on your kids, " Keith said in a cutaway. "I feel Brandon has always tried to put everybody, including girlfriends, friends ahead of himself."

After getting a taste of Rogers' lifestyle, Carlos wanted to know what the daters thought the hardest adjustment would be.

"For me, it's just being away from all my people back home, you know," Girard said. "And, finding that social life that's important to me."

Laughing, she said she'd find her favorite dive bar in downtown Alamosa, Colorado, which is near Center — where Rogers' farm is located.

"Grace has this amazing, outgoing, fun personality," Rogers said in a confessional. "But, I definitely see a little concern on her actually being able to space away from her friends and everything she enjoys. So, it's concerning in the sense of possibly finding love and inviting her back to the farm for long-term."

Joy lightheartedly brought up that there are no nearby nail or hair salons. Emerson described herself as an "introvert" who could "care less" about nightlife and "materialistic" things.

"No offense, Joy," Emerson said. "Shopping malls, I don't care. Nails, I don't really care. That's just kind of my stance on it. No offense, Joy."

Well, that's one way to make a dinner party awkward.

Carlos asked if that's because she's from a small town, too.

"It's so easy to adapt," Emerson replied. "I'm comfortable in the middle of nowhere."

Joy nonchalantly stepped away, and Rogers followed. After establishing that she was OK, the two shot cutesy compliments back-and-forth .

"I wanted to say how much I appreciated the other night," he told her. "Coming out and talking on the back porch, and opening up about your life and everything that's going on helped me feel like we built a better connection."

In a cutaway, Carlos said he feels Brandon and Joy would be the least compatible. But, at the end of the day, it's all about Rogers' happiness, he said.

What did Rogers' family think about his daters?

Rogers, his dad, stepmom and friend met privately to go over the gals.

"How does everybody feel?" Rogers asked them.

"I love Grace's sense of humor," Rogers' stepmom jumped in. "She was really cool."

Carlos said he noticed Rogers leaning toward Joy.

"You guys were hugging and smiling," Carlos said. "I haven't really seen that with the other girls."

Keith told his son he was split between Joy and Emerson. Umm, OK.

Who Farmer Brandon picked for his final solo date

Nettles gathered the farmers and their daters altogether again.

One-by-one, the farmers were asked who would be accompanying them on their last solo dates.

"I've been on a solo date with all of these amazing women, and they're all very special in their own way," Rogers said. "With this last solo date, I really am looking to maybe find the next level of connection, possibly."

As he picked Joy, Girard and Emerson clapped for her.

"I do enjoy her company and want to see if we can have a date that goes better than the first," Rogers said.

How to watch 'Farmer Wants a Wife' Season 2

"Farmer Wants a Wife" Season 2 airs at 8 p.m. CT Thursdays on Fox.

If you miss an episode but still want to see it — or you want to watch it again, no shame — it's also available on Hulu the day after it airs.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Farmer Wants a Wife: Grace meets Brandon's family, solo dates picked