Gallant, charming, and hardworking are just a few qualities that make Josh Sellers, aka Cowboy Josh, so popular among Pioneer Woman fans.
Josh has been with the Drummond ranch for over 30 years and is a regular on the Pioneer Woman franchise, including the Food Network show and the self-named blog.
Lately, though, Josh’s been a little missing in action, and fans are starting to wonder what happened to the hank.
Well, we have all the juicy deets on exactly what happened to Cowboy Josh on Pioneer Woman. Read on to find out!
Who Is the Pioneer Woman?
Before we talk about Josh, let’s do a recap of “The Pioneer Woman.” This is actually the pet name for the well-known blogger, author, and television personality Anne Marie “Ree” Drummond.
Ree began her blog in 2006, which went on to win several accolades, including Weblog of the Year. By focusing on popular niches such as ranch life, marriage, kids, homeschooling, and housekeeping, the Pioneer Woman herself has gained millions of loyal followers over the years.
Many opportunities bloomed from her successful blogging career, the most notable being hosting her own self-titled program on the Food Network.
Drummond is also the author of several children’s and cookbooks and has even written an autobiography titled From Black Heels to Tractor Wheels. There were plans by Columbia Pictures to make a film based on the book, but that seems to be on hold for now.
Anne Marie was born in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, and grew up with her siblings, a sister and two brothers. She attended Bartlesville High School, from where she graduated in 1987. Ree then went to college at the University of Southern California, where she studied journalism before changing majors to gerontology, i.e. the study of aging.
After graduating in 1991, Ree planned to attend law school in Chicago, but this all changed when she met Ladd Drummond, her now husband.
Why Did Cowboy Josh Leave Pioneer Woman?
One of the things that fans love about the Pioneer Woman TV program is how it showcases the day-to-day happenings at Drummond Ranch.
However, if you’ve been keen enough, you may have noticed that since the start of the coronavirus epidemic, the show’s format has changed considerably.
We’ve been seeing less and less of life on the ranch and more of Ree’s cooking. But, if we were to be honest, the previous format was more bomb than the cooking shows we are increasingly seeing now, episode after episode.
Conspicuously missing from these recent cooking shows is Cowboy Josh, an unfolding that is rather unsettling to his legion of fans.
So, where did he go to? Did he leave the ranch?
Actually, as of the time of writing this, Cowboy Josh is still part of the Drummond Ranch family. He’s never left; he still works as Ladd Drummond’s trusty ranch hand in managing the vast family farm.
There is no news of Cowboy Josh ever leaving—you can trust that if he ever does, Ree will be the first to let us know.
What Is Cowboy Josh Doing Now?
Josh Seller has been a farmhand with the Drummond family for more than three decades. He may not feature on The Pioneer Woman as often, but he is still an integral part of the farm, and he isn’t about to retire as the Marlboro Man’s (Ladd Drummond) personal farmhand.
It isn’t easy knowing what Josh is up to these days because he and his wife are extremely private, unlike Ree Drummond, who’s obviously a public figure.
That Ree’s show on the Food Network now focuses less on cowboys and life on the farm and more on her recipes gives the impression that Cowboy Josh, once a regular, was no longer on the farm.
You’re not the only one if you’ve missed seeing the cowboys, including Josh, and general life on the Drummond ranch.
Other fans have also noticed that Ree’s show has changed focus and format, which might not be all that impressive.
The Real Reason the Pioneer Woman Changed Format
Ree explained on an Instagram post why the format for The Pioneer Woman show had changed.
According to the popular blogger, before the COVID-19 pandemic, she had an official crew to film the program.
But since her crew came from Britain, travel restrictions have made it impossible to travel often and freely. As Drummond explains, she had to improvise to keep the show running.
Now, her daughters Paige and Alex, her husband, and her nephew are behind the camera, helping with filming, editing, and posting.
“When we started filming during the lockdown, it was just the kids and me at the Lodge, with everyone helping with one thing or the other for each episode,” she explained.
“As the months went on, we just became comfortable with having everyone on the set. Of course, we mask up and keep our distance,” Drummond added.
This new way of filming has meant that they can only focus on Ree’s cooking to keep things simple. We have to admit that this less-edited show feels more authentic.
Ree looks more relaxed and is even shown making some mistakes like any other human in the kitchen would.
That said, some fans are still hung up on the old format and want to know whether it will return.
“Are you ever planning on going back to the regular format for the show? I miss those,” one follower inquired in an Instagram live post.
Many other fans said they weren’t too “crazy’’ about the recipes; rather, they missed the episodes that showed the cowboys, farm life, and even Ree’s husband, Ladd Drummond.
In an article on the Pioneer Woman website, it was revealed that the U.K. crew is back filming the show. This means we might glimpse some cowboy moments and life on the farm.
“The new format will have the same quality as the original show, but there will also be some spontaneity that comes from filming with the kids, who will still be around The Lodge,” Drummond explained.
Will Cowboy Josh Return to The Pioneer Woman?
As mentioned, Josh never really left; we are only seeing less and less of him on The Pioneer Woman, and that’s because the show’s format has changed.
Also, Josh has lots of other things going on. He is Amanda’s husband and a busy dad. According to the Pioneer Woman website, Josh has been training his now-seven-year-old son, Taos Sellers, on how to work at Drummond Ranch.
With all his duties on the ranch and his obligations as a family man, we’ll likely not see Josh Seller as often as we want.
On the upside, though, Cowboy Josh is still very good friends with the Drummond family, so it’s not like we’ll never see him again. You might catch a glimpse of him here and there on The Pioneer Woman show.