Amanda Owen, the celebrated Yorkshire Shepherdess known for her life on a remote Dales farm, has revealed she gave birth to her eighth child on her own farmhouse floor, deciding not to call an ambulance because she simply 'could not be arsed'. The 51-year-old, who rose to fame on Channel 5's Our Yorkshire Farm, described the unconventional delivery of her daughter Clemmy as a pragmatic choice born of exhaustion and distance.
A Remote Birth on the Farmhouse Floor
Speaking on the White Wine Question Time podcast, Owen pinpointed the exact spot in her home where Clemmy was born. Surrounded only by a few cushions, a rug, and the family terrier, she managed the delivery herself. "I put my hand down, when I felt there was a head coming, I knew it was all systems go," she recounted, calling the dog her "best birth partner ever." The decision stemmed from the arduous 69-mile journey to the hospital from her Ravenseat Farm home, a trip she had made in vain during earlier labours.
"I was frequenting all the lay-bys of the North East," Owen admitted, noting that with each successive labour, the hospital seemed to get "further and further away." Her choice to stay put was not an ideological rejection of medical help but one of sheer practicality and weariness. "It is literally the fact that I could not be arsed," she stated bluntly. "I could not be bothered to set off the whole thing of ring the labour ward, ring for an ambulance, paramedics turn up. I just wanted to go back to bed."
Life After the Split: Struggles and Resilience
The revelation about Clemmy's birth comes amid a period of significant personal challenge for Owen. Last month, she disclosed to the Daily Mail that she suffered from an eating disorder following her separation from husband Clive Owen, 70, in June 2022. The couple, who were married for 22 years and became household names through their TV show, have maintained a close relationship for the sake of their nine children.
They continue to co-parent and run the farm together, though they live separately. Amanda now resides in a nearby cottage, while the children—aged nine to 22—move between the two homes as they wish. Only their eldest, Raven, 24, has left home. Despite presenting a united front, Owen described enduring a "cataclysmic" breakdown after a brief, intensely scrutinised relationship with 72-year-old web designer Rob Davies.
"I just shut down," Owen said. "Physical and mental health are intertwined and anxiety, depression, paranoia, agoraphobia and an eating disorder were all smooshed into one." She recalled hiding in the sheep pens in the dark, a stark consequence of living a life in the public eye. "It’s like having a post mortem before you’re dead," she reflected.
Moving Forward on the Farm
Today, Amanda Owen continues to work the land and care for her large family, embodying the resilient spirit that has defined her public persona. Her candid admissions about childbirth and mental health struggles paint a more complex picture of the celebrated shepherdess's life—one where remote resilience meets very human vulnerability. Her story remains a compelling testament to life in one of Britain's most isolated and beautiful landscapes.
