Amanda Owen has shared a rare insight into her personal life after separating from ex-husband Clive more than two and a half years ago.
The straight-talking mother-of-nine revealed that the couple, who became stars thanks to Channel 5 reality show Our Yorkshire Farm in 2018, may ‘bicker’ and ‘argue’ but are ‘all right with each other’ and are ‘just getting on with it.’
Amanda, 50, better known as The Yorkshire Shepherdess, told The Sunday Times that Clive, 69, is ‘not very separated’, with her ex still even doing his husbandly duty of bringing her a cup of tea.
She also intimated that the pair, who were married for 22 years and both remain at Ravenseat Farm in the Yorkshire Dales, were bound by ‘a joint mission’ of successfully running the farm and bringing up their children, aged between nine and 23.
Amanda said: ‘We’re just getting on with it. We bicker. We argue. There’s no romance. But we’re all right with each other. And that’s a blessing.’
Reflecting on their shared priorities, she added: ‘We’re here and we’ve got a joint mission. It’s about securing the future of the farm, the children.’
Yet, fans who were hoping Amanda and Clive, who met when Amanda was just 21, might reconcile, will almost certainly be disappointed.
She commented: ‘If you’ve gone through a separation, there’s a reason you separated. And it’s usually because you’re not getting on. Who wants that?’
Amanda and Clive Owen (pictured) married in 2000 and had nine children before separating in June 2022
Amanda and Clive pictured with their children on Ravenseat Farm (l-r): Miles, Clive, Edith, Annas, Nancy, Raven, Sidney, Reuben, Violet, Clemmy and Amanda
Amanda and her ex-husband met in 1996 when Clive was working at Ravenseat and she visited as a young shepherdess to collect a ram to mate with her ewes.
The pair married four years later and went on to have nine children, one of whom, Reuben, 21, now has his own Channel 5 show called Reuben: Life in the Dales.
Earlier this month, Amanda shared a health update about Clive on Lorraine after he underwent major surgery.
The Our Yorkshire Farm star previewed an exclusive peek at the latest episode of her reality show Our Farm Next Door, in which Clive underwent a hip replacement.
She revealed that she’d had a ‘nightmare’ looking after the pair’s nine children and that Clive has been a ‘terrible patient’ while he recovers.
In behind-the-scenes footage, Amanda said: ‘There’s a lot going on here. It’s been a nightmare here.
‘I’ve got children going to school, I’ve got children studying and children working and then he comes to me and says he’s bored.
Amanda Owen gave a rare health update on her ex husband Clive on Lorraine on Tuesday morning after he underwent major surgery
The Our Yorkshire Farm star, 50, shared in an exclusive peek of their upcoming series Our Farm Next Door that Clive has undergone a hip replacement and is on the mend
‘He has had a hip replacement and he’s a terrible patient. Everybody’s just getting on and stuff’s getting done but just not how he would like it.
‘But most of the time we don’t care.’
Despite their separation, Amanda and Clive have maintained a cordial relationship and are currently working together on renovating a dilapidated farmhouse for their new programme, which has faced setbacks due to adverse weather and various complications.
Amanda explained: ‘This actually belongs to us whereas Ravenseat is a tenanted farm. This has an amazing history and no one has actually lived here for over 100 years’
Clive added: ‘There’s no road to it at all.’
She reflected: ‘It was never going to be simple. I’m not that much of a twit, right?
‘Ask me anything about sheep and I’ll tell you what I think about them. Ask me anything hill farming, no problem.
‘Ask me anything about home renovations, not a clue. This is all about the future. It’s a big undertaking.’
‘I can see a real change, there’s been a lot gone on. I’ve seen quite a lot of things being smashed to pieces and sort of things going back. But now everything is going forward.’
She added: ‘Putting back together feels more hopeful than sort of taking to pieces.’
The family’s original plan for the house was just to change the right hand side into a living quarters.
She revealed she has had a ‘nightmare’ looking after the pairs nine children and that Clive has been a ‘terrible patient’ while he recovers
She said: ‘There’s a lot going on here. It’s been a nightmare here. I’ve got children everywhere and then he comes to me and says he’s bored. He has had a hip replacement and he’s a terrible patient’
Clive was seen walking with crutches as he helped Amanda with the sheep
Despite their separation, Amanda and Clive have maintained a cordial relationship and are currently working together on renovating a dilapidated farmhouse for their new programme
Elsewhere Amanda admitted she was ‘glad to have survived’ a ‘bad winter’ earlier this year as she opened up about the struggles of farming
She said: ‘Lambing time is always a hard time of year. It’s been hard on the flock and it’s been hard on the pockets’
Elsewhere, Amanda admitted that she was ‘glad to have survived’ a ‘bad winter’ earlier this year as she opened up about the struggles of farming.
She said: ‘Lambing time is always a hard time of year. It’s been hard on the flock and it’s been hard on the pockets.
‘We’ve just been having to literally shovel food into the animals because it’s taken until now for the grass to grow and I suppose, if anything, it makes you aware of how difficult it must have been in times gone by.
‘You know, a couple of hundred years ago, I don’t know how they coped. I do not know how they coped with a bad winter.’
Feeling a bit more optimistic, she added: ‘Yeah we’ve survived it. We finally turned a corner. And we are so ready for some sunshine and a bit of dry.’