Amand Owen was a 21-year-old trainee shepherdess when she first knocked on the door of 42-year-old farmer Clive Owen.
The Our Yokshire Farm stars' love story began in 1995 when Amanda was looking for a ram - and stumbled upon Ravenseat Farm in Upper Swaledale.
Clive, who was divorced from his first wife and has two children from their marriage, was running the farm by himself when Amanda suddenly turned up one night.
Describing the first time they met on their popular Channel 5 series, Amanda explained that she came to a burrow a "tup", which is a male sheep to those not used to farming lingo.
While it certainly wasn't love at first site for Amanda, divorced bachelor Clive was immediately attracted to the young woman standing in his doorway despite their 21-year age gap.
"I do remember this six-foot something woman knocked on the door. I was very taken with her. You couldn't not be," he said.
Amanda has previously joked that he shouldn't have answered the door, but had he not then their romance would not have blossomed.
They started off as friends but bonded over their shared passion for the farming life and eventually it grew into more.
"It was a slow burn thing we kind of got to know each other. Made friends first then went out a little bit together," said Amanda.
"With us both coming from non-farming backgrounds we were kind of peas in a pod really but we didn't know that at the time."
Just five years after meeting, the loved-up couple got married in 2000 and have since gone on to have nine children together - Annas, Violet, Edith, Raven, Clemmy, Nancy, Reuben, Miles, and Sidney.
Sadly, it was announced on Instagram today that the pair have decided to split up after 22 years of marriage.
"This hasn't been easy, but we both believe it's the right choice for the future of our family," wrote Amanda in a statement that was signed off by both of them
"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."
Amanda and Clive thanked everyone for their support and asked for privacy during this "difficult time".
There had been rumours that the couple were having a rocky time in their marriage for most of this year with stories that suggested that the couple were on the rocks.
They have come a long way together over the years - with their paths converging after very different starts to life.
Having grown up in Huddersfield, Amanda tried to break into the world of modelling as a teenager but found it wasn't everything she dreamt of.
"When you think you're going to be a model in like Vogue, Cosmopolitan, but actually then you end up doing knitting catalogues and things like. It was cardigans, floral, Prince Diana 1980. No thank you," she explained.
Then Amanda was inspired to get into the farming life by a book full of beautiful images of landscapes and animals.
Realising she wanted a job where she could feel the elements and be at one with nature she gave up her career as a model.
While Clive, who was born in Doncaster, dreamed of becoming a shepherd early on in life and said he "caught the bug" at the age of just eight-years-old.
Clive was previously married and had two children with his first wife, but their relationship did not last and he was single when he first met Amanda in 1995.
He said there was never any doubt he would become a sheep farmer and their shared love of this way of life drew them together.
Just five years after meeting they got married in 2000 and are now parents to nine children, who all help run their 2,000 acre which is home to 1,000 sheep, 40 cows, six dogs and four ponies.
Running the farm is certainly a family affair as the kids all muck in to ease the workload, helping to run the heir 2,000 acre site which is home to 1,000 sheep, 40 cows, six dogs and four ponies.
While their life may seem chaotic, the parents have always said they are very focused on what they need to be aware of and realise a lot of things depend on them, not just the kids.
Explaining why the kids are all involved with helping out, Amanda said: "We all have to work together as a family. I really don't feel that's a bad lesson. This is what needs to happen and we all need to do it.
"I don't feel like that's sort of 'breeding your own workforce' because it's not that. It's a fact of being involved and have that responsibility and being part of something. I think that's a good thing.
Clive added: "I've always thought when we've been working the kids like to be part of something. It's lovely when they are around to help and they help willingly. I miss them when they're at school. When they're at home it makes a difference, definitely."
Amanda gave birth to six of her children at the roadside because she couldn't get to a hospital in time, so in the end decided staying at home was the best option.
"I was so fed up of spoiling people’s picnics and all the rest of it," she told This Morning hosts Alison Hammond and Dermot O'Leary last month.
"So, I thought right well, this time I’m just going to go it alone."
But Clive missed the birth of their eighth child, daughter Clemmie, because he had already seen Amanda welcome six of their kids into the world and "wasn't particularly bothered".
"I put the kettle on, stoked up the fire and basically had her in front of the fire with just a terrier as a birthing partner, which is perfect," she admitted.
Amanda bravely carried on alone and gave birth in front of the fire with only one of her pet dogs for support while Clive was asleep upstairs.
"Clive wasn't desperate to be at the birth, he was asleep upstairs. I went and woke him up with the baby," she told Radio Times.
"Of all the births I've had, this one has to have been the best - it was the most relaxing, the most quiet, the most peaceful."
