Dick Strawbridge was given a strict deadline by wife Angel for having a baby as he tried to end their romance.
The TV stars have become a hit with viewers thanks to their Channel 4 series Escape to the Chateau. They let fans into their lives in France with two young children, while doing up their dilapidated French home. However, it wasn't always a happy married life for the couple, as Dick once tried to call off their relationship.
Angel, 46, lived in London when they first met while Dick, 64, was in Cornwall. They met at a party and immediately knew there was a connection between them. However, Dick believed the long-distance romance was too much for them and suggested they call it quits. He insisted Angel should find someone else to marry and have children with.
His pleas weren't heard as Angel had already made up her mind. She wanted Dick as her life partner and so they stayed together and tried for a baby. "My children were all grown-up and the sensible thing would have been for her to find somebody else, but she said she wanted me," Dick told The Times
"That was the acknowledgement we were going to have a family. And soon." He added: "Angela gave me a calendar with 'Impregnate me by this date' written on it and, being efficient as we are, we were seven months ahead of our target having Arthur and Dorothy." The couple moved to France in 2015 when they purchased the Chateau de la Motte Husson in Pays de la Loire.
Escape to the Chateau's Dick and Angel leave fans emotional in poignant postThey decided to take on the huge project and moved their young family from their two-bedroom home in Essex. Dick and Angel purchased their chateau for a bargain £280,000. Escape to the Chateau lasted nine seasons, with the final series airing on October 30, 2022, in the UK.
Since then, the pair have focused on other projects, including their own YouTube channel, a book and a UK tour. Channel 4 told the Mirror last year that they had decided to part ways with Dick and Angel "following a review" after years of working on the hugely successful show together.
The decision came amid claims they 'bullied' producers whilst filming, but Dick and Angel insisted there are 'two sides to every story'. A leaked audio clip saw Angel reportedly launch a 'foul-mouthed rant' at a producer. However, the duo will be back on Channel 4 with a new series tonight.
Dick and Angel made an appearance on Lorraine last year where they addressed the reports. He said: "It's interesting because we were on Lorraine before Christmas [2022], explaining the end of the nine series. As a family, we made a decision that last year was going to be the finale of Escape to the Chateau so we finished. With that, we told everybody at the beginning of the year. That's now nearly two years ago now, everyone's known it was finishing.
"So when the stories sort of came and people started talking about the end of what we were doing, it wasn't news, it was something that had happened a long time in the past. We made the decision just not to get involved in any of the conversations." Angel added: "Our [late] Queen said: 'Never complain, never explain!' You know, I think that was just the best way because for us, none of it made sense. We had made that family decision a long time ago that it was the right time that Escape to the Chateau had come to its natural end."