GOING IT AL-OWEN
5 tell-tale signs Amanda Owen’s marriage to Clive was on the rocks – from social media clue to Lorraine Kelly confession
OUR Yorkshire Farm fans have been left reeling by Amanda Owen’s announcement she’s split from her husband Clive - but the signs have been there a while.
In fact, The Sun revealed the news their marriage was on the rocks back in October last year - but the couple denied they'd separated.
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Amanda and Clive had been married for 21 years and share nine children together - Raven, 20, Reuben, 17, Miles, 15, Edith, 12, Violet, ten, Sidney, nine, Annas, seven, Clemmie, five, and Nancy, four.
But sadly, they have gone their separate ways.
In a statement on Instagram, Amanda said: "Clive and I are sad to confirm that we have made the difficult decision to separate."
Here we reveal the five tell-tale signs their marriage was heading for the hills.
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Pressures of fame
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Amanda and Clive shot to fame in 2011 after appearing on ITV series The Dales with Ade Edmondson.
They were also featured on Julia Bradbury’s Coast to Coast, and New Lives In The Wild with Ben Fogle.
Amanda has also released a series of Yorkshire Shepherdess books, with the first out in 2014.
And in 2018 the couple got their own show, Our Yorkshire Farm, which has since become one of Channel 5’s biggest hits.
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The couple, known as the “Kardashians of the Countryside”, have gained millions of fans glued to the goings-on at their Ravenseat Farm home, and largely shun modern technology, encouraging their kids to play in the great outdoors.
Amanda previously talked about how fame has changed family life with hundreds of people turning up in the Dales to see their farm.
She said: “Before, I only had my sheep to answer to. Of course it’s invasive.
"People know where we live and they can arrive there — but that’s the unique selling point, that the farm is real.
“It’s a vicious cycle because if you’re writing about what’s going on, you can’t stop what’s going on. That’s the material.”
Nights away from home
In October 2021, The Sun revealed Amanda had been spending nights away from the family home in Swaledale - despite the fact her new book hailed the virtues of domestic life.
And sources said Clive was “desperate” to repair their relationship.
A close family friend told us: “It’s incredibly sad. Amanda and Clive are two hugely popular figures here in the Dales, and no one saw this coming.
“Clive loves Amanda to bits and adores her, and fears the marriage may be failing even though he desperately doesn’t want it to. He fears they will divorce.
“He reckons the image of them playing happy families is a load of rubbish. He thinks this will be the last series they film together, and now it’s about looking after the kids and putting them first.
“He wants them to stay together for Christmas and then, unfortunately for him, the decision is very much in Amanda’s hands. He will do as he’s told.”
A source added: “Their possible split has become the talk of the village and, with the couple having nine kids, not surprisingly talk has quickly spread through school channels.
“Obviously everyone around them hopes they can work things out, and 21 years of largely happy marriage won’t end up playing out in the divorce courts.”
Social media clues
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Amanda regularly shares pictures of her family on the farm with her 517,000 Instagram followers.
However, she never shares pictures of Clive.
When asked why that was by a fan last year, her reply suggested Clive - unlike Amanda - isn't a fan of putting their lives out there into the public domain.
She said: “He hates social media and the online news stuff and doesn’t want to be on it. That’s his choice.”
‘Difficult moments'
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When Amanda appeared on Lorraine in December, host Lorraine Kelly asked her about the rumours her marriage with Clive was on the rocks.
And she was honest about the fact it wasn’t always easy, admitting they've had rough times.
She said: "You have your difficult moments. But you have to take the rough with the smooth.
“We’ve just talked about how you weather a storm [as Amanda and Lorraine earlier discussed battling Storm Arwen]. So we are pretty resilient in the hills.
“That’s all you’ve got to do. You’ve got to remember, the bottom line is, if you are proud of what you’re doing, you kind of sort of have to shoulder it.”
'Rocky patch'
Around the same time, Amanda and Owen admitted they were going through a “rocky patch” in their relationship.
Releasing a joint statement, they said: “With the TV show and the books we’ve always aimed to show the reality of life on the farm, and just like any marriage we have our stresses and strains, coupled with all the complexities of what we do on the farm and bringing up nine kids.
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“We’re a normal family and we’ve never said our marriage is perfect.
“Unfortunately, the constant intrusion into our lives from the media has amplified a rocky patch that we’re going through.”
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