EXCLUSIVE: Our Yorkshire Farm’s Amanda Owen says she’s still single since split from husband Clive… and insists she’s an ‘independent woman, looking after the kids… and my sheep’
Our Yorkshire Farm‘s Amanda Owen insists she’s single since her split from husband Clive – and says: ‘I’m just getting on with my life as an independent woman, looking after the kids… and my sheep.’
In her typical no-nonsense style, straight-talking Amanda quashed rumours that she has a new man in her life, saying she is too busy for love as the former couple co-parent their brood of nine children.
In an exclusive interview with MailOnline, she insists she is happily single and no-one else was involved in the end of their 22-year marriage.
The reality TV star, 48, whose day-to-day life was documented in popular reality show Our Yorkshire Farm, said: ‘I’m getting on with my life as an independent woman, looking after the kids and my sheep.
Our Yorkshire Farm’s Amanda Owen insists she’s single since her split from husband Clive
The TV shepherd, a mother of nine whose day-to-day life is documented in popular reality show Our Yorkshire Farm, confirmed her separation from Clive in June 2022
‘There was nobody involved in the break up with Clive and I don’t understand why this is being suggested.
‘I’m not Meghan, I’m not a wallflower and I’m not over-sensitive, but a lot of things said about me are being taken out of context. I’m living a fantastic life doing what I really love.’
Referring to family life since the break-up with Clive, she said: ‘We are co-parenting and the whole family is very happy.
‘I was just with Clive this morning at the farmhouse where he lives and he then went off to sell a bull. There’s absolutely no problem between us. It’s been a very amicable split and we continue to work together. Everybody in the family is happy with the way things have turned out.’
The couple run Ravenseat Farm in rural Swaledale with Amanda now living in a separate farmhouse on the land with some of their children.
But with a new solo series, Amanda Owen’s Extraordinary Farming Lives, just launched on More4 this week, which sees her visiting other farmers around Britain, it’s amazing how she manages to fit it all in.
Amanda quashed rumours that she has a new man in her life, saying she is too busy for love as the former couple co-parent their brood of nine children
Amanda is mum to Raven, 21, Reuben, 19, Miles, 16, Edith, 14, Violet, 12, Sidney, 11, Annas, nine, Clemmy, seven, and six-year-old Nancy
She added: ‘I was down in London earlier this week and have still got my false eyelashes on after appearing on the Lorraine Show. I’ve said it many times now but Clive and I are both enjoying our lives, raising our kids together.
‘I’m happiest being on the farm with my sheep and kids. There’s not even a phone signal here, it’s very remote and that’s the way I love it.’
Amanda revealed that most of her time is taken up by looking after the children and managing the farm and that she has a particular interest in sustainable farming.
She was speaking moments before leaving the remote farmhouse to go and feed her beloved sheep.
After returning from the nearby market town of Kirkby Stephen, where he went to sell a bull, Clive, 68 told MailOnline: ‘It’s all good, the whole family is very happy. Life is wonderful and there is no problem between us. It couldn’t be better.
Clive recently appeared in ‘Beyond the Yorkshire Farm’ with his son Reuben, a spin-off series in which they start a digging business together.
Clive added: ‘It was great fun but we don’t know if there will be a second series. That’s the best thing about life, you just don’t know what’s going to happen next.’
After running for five years, Channel 5 announced the end of Our Yorkshire Farm last December but the Owen family are now working on a number of future projects with the broadcaster.
Amanda insists no-one else was involved in the end of their 22-year marriage
Amanda met her husband in 1995 when he was already divorced with two children, after she arrived at his farm as a 21-year-old trainee shepherdess.
It didn’t take long for the couple to get hitched, with their nine children quickly following.
Amanda made her first TV appearance alongside Clive, 68, in 2011 on ITV’s The Dales, before they landed their own Channel 5 show Our Yorkshire Farm in 2018.
The public were quick to fall for the couple and their unusual love story, dubbing them the ‘Kardashians of the Countryside’ with their hit show Our Yorkshire Farm.
The shepherdess began making solo appearances on a variety of TV shows, becoming a regular guest on programmes such as Lorraine and This Morning to offer comment on parenting and life on the farm.
Ms Owen last year published a book titled Celebrating The Seasons With The Yorkshire Shepherdess, which features stories and pictures from their lives in the countryside, alongside seasonal recipes.
In the first episode of her new series, Amanda visited Shetland to meet two sisters who mucked in with their mother to help run a sprawling farm the size of 1,000 football pitches following the sudden death of their father.
Amanda is kept busy with the thousand sheep, forty cows, six dogs and four horses who reside with her at Ravenseat, not to mention her children, seven of whom still live at home
The best-selling author issued a joint statement with Clive on social media. It said: ‘Although we are no longer a couple, we continue to work on the farm and co-parent together with our number one priority the happiness and well-being of our children.’
Amy, a full-time farmer and her sister Kirsty, who splits her time between the farm and teaching, helped their mother Helen when their dad died.
The three women decided to study agriculture to honour their family’s legacy and keep the farm running.
Amanda stayed in the family’s 18th Century farmhouse, describing the farm as ‘magical’ and was seen helping them herding sheep and cows, riding horses on the beach, and getting to know the family better.
Amanda said: ‘Being here and hearing their personal story was not easy. They had to live after their dad dying. They could have said ‘I’m done with this I’m walking away’ but the bottom line with farming is that it never stops and their coping mechanism was to throw themselves into the farm.’
But the show didn’t go entirely smoothly as Amanda was left covered in cow poo at one stage.
She was chatting with the sisters in a field when she slipped over in the cow pats, leaving her jacket spattered. She said ruefully: ‘It’s the bond that all farmers have!’
Last week Amanda told ITV News she was unconcerned about the headlines and gossip generated by her increasingly high profile.
‘I don’t look at it, I don’t read it, I ignore it,’ she said.
‘I feel like I go between the sublime and the ridiculous, it’s a foot in two very different worlds.
‘I’ve left the farm this morning after feeding the sheep, taking out the hay, doing our jobs. It all feels very surreal, I’m very content.’ Last June, the farming reality show star and best-selling author issued a joint statement with Clive on social media which said the couple have made ‘the difficult decision to separate’.
The statement continued: ‘This hasn’t been easy, but we both believe it’s the right choice for the future of our family.
Over: They shared a joint statement on social media confirming they had split in June
‘Although we are no longer a couple, we continue to work on the farm and co-parent together with our number one priority the happiness and well-being of our children.’
The couple added that they would like to thank everyone for their support and asked for privacy as they ‘work through this difficult time’.
Days ago, it emerged Amanda has more than doubled her earnings in a year and it will come as a welcome boost amid her split from husband Clive.
New figures filed on 31 December for 2021 show the Our Yorkshire Farm star’s business is now worth £343,924 – up £177,995 from 2020.
Accounts show Amanda’s company Yorkshire Shepherdess Ltd is now worth £423,639 in assets.
Creditors are owed £83,753, leaving her with £343,924 in the bank.