Countryfile

Countryfile presenter Matt Baker and his wife Nicola have opened up about how they manage time apart due to his filming commitments

Matt Baker shared a rare insight into his marriage.

In a previous interview on ITV’s Lorraine, broadcast last year, Matt Baker and his wife offered candid insight into how they keep their relationship thriving despite lengthy stretches apart owing to Matt’s filming schedule.

As the conversation turned to Matt’s TV series and Nicola’s book, host Lorraine Kelly quizzed the couple on how they first met.

With a cheeky grin, she asked: “Now, you two met when you were babies, right? Teenagers. Nicola, were you into farming? Were you a farm girl?”

“No, I wasn’t a farm girl,” Nicola replied warmly. “I loved being outdoors. I loved just the outdoor life. But farming was something that came to me when we met.”

Lorraine then turned her attention to how the couple copes with prolonged time apart, particularly when Matt heads off to film Countryfile and other projects. She probed: “Obviously, you know, you go off and do your own thing writing the books, and you go off and do your own thing around Britain,” reports the Express.

She continued thoughtfully: “So there are times when you’re apart, but you don’t think sometimes that works. It just does. You know, you’ve always got something to talk about.”

“We are such do-ers, really,” Matt chipped in, adding: “We are so supportive of what each other wants to do.”

He concluded: “But yeah, we’ve just sort of found our way through because we sort of focus on what we’re passionate about.” Nicola offered her take on their situation: “And then we make the most of the time when we have together, you sort of prioritise that and make the most of that.”

When Matt isn’t busy filming, he often keeps his Instagram followers updated with his day-to-day life. In one of his most recent posts, the Countryfile presenter shared the heartbreaking news that his dog had died.

In an emotional social media post, Matt confirmed the loss of his cherished companion, writing: “R.I.P Bob”.

He wrote alongside the post: “It’s with a very heavy heart that I’m letting you know our wonderful Bob is no longer with us.

“He’s been gone a while, but I haven’t been able to talk about it as I’ve been finding it so incredibly sad. Bob was a brilliant dog. He was there for me with his gentle soul as the ultimate companion through some of the greatest chapters of my life, from raising our kids to all the changes we made on our family farm.”

He continued, “It’s broken my heart, but I feel hugely grateful to have had him in our lives, and I thank him from the bottom of my heart for everything he’s taught me and brought to our family.

“I’m sure all you dog lovers will agree the reason we love our dogs so much is because the only time they break our hearts is when they leave us. RIP Bob X.”

Lorraine airs weekdays at 9.30am on ITV and Countryfile airs on Sunday on BBC One.