Reuben Owen reveals exciting milestone in romance with new girlfriend

They’re only 21 but Reuben Owen and his girlfriend Jessica Ellwood are on the path to becoming one of telly’s new power couples after thrilling fans with their sweet relationship. Channel 5 show, Reuben Owen: Life In The Dales, has charted Reuben’s fledgling relationship with new girlfriend Jessica, a Yorkshire shepherdess who has more than a little in common with his famous mum Amanda Owen.

“Mum and Jess get on well, they talk about sheep together,” reveals Reuben, who fans saw grow up on his family's TV show Our Yorkshire Farm. “They all approve and they all get along really well.” Fans of the show have taken Jessica to heart after watching her help Reuben fix potholes and quarry stone, in return for his help catching wayward ewes and bottle feeding lambs.

But their 10-month romance almost never got off the ground with Reuben losing his wallet the day before their first date after having agonised about asking Jessica out. “It took me a while to ask her out, I wasn’t that brave but I just asked her one night,” Reuben shares. “We went out for some tea one night and I’d lost my wallet and she had to pay for my dinner!”

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Luckily the missing wallet didn’t take the shine off the evening, and before long Reuben and Jessica fell in love. “She bought my tea but I’ve made up for it since then. She’s brilliant,” Reuben says. “She’s an absolute star.”

Viewers have so far watched the pair immerse themselves in each other’s world and take on all the challenges thrown at them. “We just work together really well and it doesn’t matter what we’re on, whether it’s driving the digger, or with the sheep, we just get on with it,” Reuben says. “This weekend we’ve been away on a job moving a lot of soil and she just comes and just gets along with it. She’s never beaten. No matter what, she gets on it. If there are any problems, she can find a way around it.”

Joining a reality show is a big decision and although they’d only been together a few months when filming began, Reuben knew asking her to be on the show with him was the right choice. “She was working on a lot of jobs with us and I thought it would be nice for her to be on and I just want people to see how lovely she is,” Reuben says. “She’s just such a great character and such a lovely person.”

It’s not just Jessica’s personality that made her perfect for the show, she’s also a farming expert after growing up on Brough Castle Farm, helping out her mum and dad for as long as she can remember. “She’s got an incredible knowledge of farming and machinery,” Reuben says. “I don’t think there’ll be anyone that can beat her on farming knowledge.”

On top of that, Jessica is also a beauty. “She’s absolutely stunning,” says Reuben. “She looks great when she’s all smartened up when we go out and she looks lovely when she is working with me. She is just really pretty.”

One day Reuben dreams of owning a farm where there’ll be space for his machinery, alongside Jessica’s flock. “We’re just waiting for something to come up,” Reuben says. “I’ve got to try and get a nice place, get a bit of a farm somewhere one day. It would be ideal to have a farm where I can park my diggers and she can have her sheep and cows.”

Marriage and children isn’t on the cards just yet, but Reuben is keen to get there “eventually”. But he’s not sure he wants nine children like his parents Amanda and Clive. Reuben laughs, “I don’t think I fancy nine of them, I don’t fancy nine at all. We’ll have to wait and see.”

The show has made Reuben a household name, but it doesn’t mean he fancies swapping his hard hat for celebrity glitz. And if a casting director from Strictly came calling he’d give them short shrift. “No chance!” Reuben says. “I don’t plan on going on there. That’s not for me, I’ll stick to what I know, diggers and farming, I’m not bothered about Strictly Come Dancing.”

Reuben Owen: Life In The Dales airs on Tuesdays at 8pm on channel 5. Like this story? For more of the latest showbiz news and gossip, follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Threads.