Our Yorkshire Farm star Amanda Owen had been living apart from her husband Clive for months before they announced their split, friends have revealed.
The farming reality show star and best-selling author issued a joint statement with Clive on social media yesterday which said the couple have made ‘the difficult decision to separate’.
The news left fans of the wholesome show dismayed but it was no surprise to friends of the Owens.
A source close to Clive and Amanda said: ‘It’s really sad for both of them that it’s come to this, especially with such a large family and some of them so young.
The couple have thanked everyone for their support and asked for privacy as they ‘work through this difficult time’
The stars of Our Yorkshire Farm have made the difficult decision to split – but will remain working together on the farm and as co-parents of their nine children, the youngest of whom is just four years old
The couple shared a joint statement on social media confirming they had split yesterday (June 9)
‘It’s been an open secret across the dale for a long time that they have been having problems and have been living apart.
‘Amanda has been living in their holiday let, a cottage just under a mile away from Ravenseat and Clive has been staying at the farm where he’s always been.’
But the couple’s relationship won’t be over just because of their split – because of their complex domestic and business circumstances, they revealed.
‘The problem they’re going to have is that this won’t be a divorce in the normal sense of the word where two people can go their separate ways,’ the source explained.
‘They have nine children, the youngest is only around four and five of them are under the age of 10, still at primary school.
‘But you have to add in to that the fact they are running a big hill farm with a flock of sheep scattered all over the dale.
‘It’s hard work and what they do on TV isn’t just for show, they’re both working day in, day out to make their business work.
‘That means Amanda is at Ravenseat every day, so the question people are asking is ‘how will they both move on with their lives from here?’
‘It’s hard to imagine how either of them could begin a new relationship with the ex husband or wife being part of their every day lives. It’s a very difficult situation.
‘Clive is a very well liked and respected man in this part of the world, he’s lived here all his life and Amanda has become part of Dales life as well.
The Yorkshire Shepherdess has a large following on social media and regularly posts updates from her family’s farming life
The couple’s children also feature heavily in the show, and have captured viewers hearts
‘Their friends and neighbours are sad for the whole family.’
The couple’s statement yesterday continued: ‘This hasn’t been easy, but we both believe it’s the right choice for the future of our family.
‘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’.
The couple, known as the ‘Kardashians of the Countryside’, had in the last few months been said to be ‘battling to save their marriage’ after more than two decades.
The fact the couple are having marital issues has been an open secret in Yorkshire – with locals telling MailOnline it is the ‘talk of the village’
Reuben Owen, one of the couples children, gets to work on Ravenseat Farm in an episode of Our Yorkshire Farm
Mr Owen, who before meeting Amanda was married to another woman for 13 years, was described as ‘desperate’ to repair their relationship amid ‘fears’ their marriage would end in divorce.
Mr and Mrs Owen became adored television stars through the Channel 5 show Our Yorkshire Farm from 2018 after first appearing on ITV series The Dales in 2011.
The programme follows them and their nine children around the 2,000-acre Ravenseat Farm as they battle the harsh elements to tackle rural duties.
But the tough lifestyle portrayed in the series appears to have taken its toll, with the couple’s fall out becoming ‘the talk of the village’.
It is thought Mrs Owen has moved into their holiday home The Firs, which is at the top of Upper Swaledale, in a valley and surrounded by five acres of meadows and pasture while Mr Owen has remained at the farmhouse, according to villagers.
The six-bedroom cottage is accessed by a private road behind three gates and dates back to at least the seventeenth century.
It has a number of original features, including stone flagged floors, beamed ceilings, whitewashed walls and a traditional black Yorkshire range.
The couple rent Ravenseat Farm and its land from billionaire Robert Miller, who is the co-founder of DFS (Duty Free Shops) and is the father of Crown Princess Marie-Chantal of Greece, Princess Alexandra von Fürstenberg, and Pia Getty – the ‘it’ girls of the 1990s.