{"id":7743,"date":"2025-08-18T19:13:15","date_gmt":"2025-08-18T19:13:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/7743\/"},"modified":"2025-08-18T19:13:15","modified_gmt":"2025-08-18T19:13:15","slug":"inside-the-devastating-split-between-youtube-golden-couple-tanya-burr-and-jim-chapman-as-we-reveal-what-really-happened-to-their-missing-dog-molly-clayton","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/7743\/","title":{"rendered":"Inside the devastating split between YouTube golden couple Tanya Burr and Jim Chapman… as we reveal what REALLY happened to their missing dog: MOLLY CLAYTON"},"content":{"rendered":"

YouTube<\/a> royalty Tanya Burr<\/a> and Jim Chapman once seemed to have it all.<\/p>\n

A \u00a32million London home, a fairytale wedding at luxury Somerset members\u2019 club Babington House, nearly ten million followers between them \u2013 and a gorgeous dachshund puppy named Martha.<\/p>\n

So when their marriage imploded in 2019 after a 12-year relationship<\/a>, Tanya and Jim\u2019s devoted fans clamoured for answers. Why the sudden split? Who would get the house? What about their joint YouTube empire?<\/p>\n

And, above all: what would become of Martha?<\/p>\n

Not long after the divorce announcement, the sausage dog\u2019s whereabouts became a mystery. Once a staple on both Tanya and Jim\u2019s online feeds, Martha simply vanished. Weeks turned into months without either Tanya or Jim posting a picture of their beloved pet.<\/p>\n

Such was the interest in Martha\u2019s whereabouts that Tanya, now 36, even went so far as to block the word \u2018dog\u2019 in her comment section, prompting shrewd fans to ask instead: \u2018Where\u2019s the hound?\u2019, a refrain that soon went viral.<\/p>\n

One insider tells me: \u2018It was a fair question. Tanya and Jim shared everything \u2013 their relationship, their home, their holidays \u2013 and Martha was part of that. Then suddenly she wasn\u2019t. People just wanted to know she was okay.\u2019<\/p>\n

Indeed, the pair had documented their entire relationship online. Tanya first met Jim, 37, at a Norwich house party in 2007. She was then working at a makeup counter while Jim\u2019s sisters, Nicola and Samantha, were building a loyal online following through makeup tutorials on YouTube. Inspired by their budding career, Tanya launched her own channel in 2009, focusing on beauty tutorials and fashion tips. Jim followed a year later, carving out his niche in men\u2019s fashion and grooming.<\/p>\n

\"Not <\/p>\n

Not long after Jim Chapman and Tanya Burr’s divorce announcement, Martha the sausage dog\u2019s whereabouts became a mystery<\/p>\n

Together they became YouTube\u2019s golden couple \u2013 part of the influencer \u2018Brit Crew\u2019 \u2013 which included other online stars such as Zoe \u2018Zoella\u2019 Sugg and Alfie Deyes.<\/a><\/p>\n

After a New York engagement in 2012, they married at Babington House three years later. Soon after came Martha \u2013 \u2018Martha Moo\u2019 as she was lovingly known \u2013 who quickly became the third star of the Chapman-Burr household.<\/p>\n

By 2015, Tanya was raking in ten million views a month. A range of lip glosses and nail varnishes she released with the high-street health and beauty retailer Superdrug created the biggest waiting list the company had ever seen. \u2018I think it comes down to my positive, friendly personality\u2019, she told the Daily Mail at the time.<\/p>\n

Jim\u2019s star also rose: he signed with top modelling agency Models 1 and became a presenter on Simon Cowell\u2019s Syco YouTube channel.<\/p>\n

Endless footage was posted on Tanya and Jim\u2019s YouTube and Instagram pages of Martha frolicking in the garden of the couple\u2019s \u00a32million Fulham home.<\/p>\n

Tanya even released a recipe book featuring homemade dog biscuits. \u2018As I was testing recipes for this book I knew I couldn\u2019t leave out my Martha Moo,\u2019 she wrote. \u2018I love doing special things for her and I know she appreciates a gift, too. These make the cutest present for any canine friends you want to spoil.\u2019<\/p>\n

Which is why, when Tanya posted on her Instagram page in 2019, \u2018Just wanted to let you all know that a few weeks ago Jim and I made the painful decision to no longer be together,\u2019 many fans were more concerned about Martha\u2019s future than the breakdown of their relationship.<\/p>\n

\"Tanya <\/p>\n

Tanya with fellow YouTubers Zoella and Niomi Smart at her fairytale wedding at Babington House in Somerset<\/p>\n

\"Jim <\/p>\n

Jim and Tanya had nearly ten million followers between them before their split in 2019<\/p>\n

\"Nowadays <\/p>\n

Nowadays Tanya, pictured in June 2019, keeps her life more private but announced in 2022 that she was pregnant with her first child<\/p>\n

\u2018I know I am not the only one wondering, but I have been worried about what happened to her dog, Martha,\u2019 one concerned fan wrote after the split. \u2018It has been months we have not seen her, neither Tanya nor Jim talks about her at all.\u2019<\/p>\n

Speculation ran wild: Had Martha died? Had she been rehomed so Tanya could chase an acting career in LA? (She later managed only a handful of minor roles, including an extra in Holby City and a part in the 2021 film Twist.) Some fans have even claimed to have been blocked from her Instagram account when they messaged her to share their concerns about Martha.<\/p>\n

Even close friends seemed baffled. During a podcast appearance, YouTuber-turned-Strictly star Joe Sugg was asked if he knew anything about Martha. He replied: \u2018I remember that dog, I\u2019ve forgotten what it\u2019s called. Ah yes, Martha. I feel like I should know where she is.\u2019<\/p>\n

Asked if the dog was dead, he said: \u2018I assume it probably is.\u2019<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, in 2022, a user under the name of Sam Chapman \u2013 Jim\u2019s sister \u2013 only fuelled speculation after writing in an online gossip forum: \u2018She\u2019s alive and well and lives in Norfolk with another sausage. It\u2019s not my story to tell but I 100 per cent confirm that she\u2019s really happy, healthy and not brown bread [cockney rhyming slang for dead].\u2019<\/p>\n

And in an interview a month ago, Jim said: \u2018She\u2019s fine, but in a way it\u2019s not my story to tell. I know she was my dog, our dog, but I don\u2019t know if I can talk about it. \u2018I know she\u2019s fine. But it wasn\u2019t my decision. I don\u2019t want to say anything that might be misconstrued or point fingers.\u2019<\/p>\n

When I contacted Tanya\u2019s representatives last week for an explanation, they politely declined. But it appears that persistent questions from fans and journalists alike have finally produced answers.<\/p>\n

Last night, Nicola Chapman, 44, broke the silence on Instagram in a video titled \u2018Where\u2019s the hound? Question answered.\u2019<\/p>\n

She revealed that when Jim moved into her London flat after his split from Tanya \u2013 a flat with no garden \u2013 Martha\u2019s health problems became impossible to ignore. The dachshund had developed a bad back and could no longer climb up stairs.<\/p>\n

\"\" <\/p>\n

Last night, Nicola Chapman, 44, broke the silence on Instagram in a video titled \u2018Where\u2019s the hound? Question answered’<\/p>\n

\"Jim's <\/p>\n

Jim’s sister revealed that Martha had developed a bad back, which is common in dachshunds, and could no longer climb stairs and required 24-hour care \u2013 which wasn’t possible after the split<\/p>\n

\"Jim <\/p>\n

Jim became engaged to model Sarah Tarleton after 16 months of dating in July 2020, and they\u00a0 now have two daughters who often appear in their content<\/p>\n

\u2018Martha had to have rehab for her back to try to make that better. It also meant more time, and 24-hour care, and also Tanya and Jim had separated so it made it very difficult,\u2019 Nicola explained. \u2018They\u2019d planned to share custody, but it just wasn\u2019t practical.\u2019<\/p>\n

Instead, Martha was given to a friend of the family, Hannah, who already had a sausage dog and lived on a farm in Norfolk.<\/p>\n

Nicola laughed: \u2018When I told my agents about this ages ago, I said \u201cOh she lives on a farm\u201d. They went, \u201cYou can\u2019t say that she lives on a farm, that\u2019s normally what they say when a dog is no longer alive\u201d. So Martha is still alive, she\u2019s absolutely fine. They gave money for her to continue her rehab when [the new owner] took her on, so she is running around happily.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u2018I can understand why they probably wouldn\u2019t have wanted to talk about it for a while, because it\u2019s really sad,\u2019 she added.<\/p>\n

So, Martha\u2019s mystery is solved at last – though fans remain in the dark about what truly ended Tanya and Jim\u2019s marriage.<\/p>\n

Though the pair insisted the divorce was amicable, whispers of infidelity have long swirled.<\/p>\n

By July 2020, Jim was engaged to model Sarah Tarleton after 16 months of dating<\/a>. When an online troll accused Sarah of \u2018stealing\u2019 him away from Tanya, she denied it \u2013 suggesting that the split was related to Tanya\u2019s wrongdoing.<\/p>\n

These days Tanya, still followed by four million people on both YouTube and Instagram, keeps her life more private. She announced her first pregnancy in 2022 with her new partner Dan Herlihy, though neither he nor their child have ever appeared on her social media pages.<\/p>\n

Jim, on the other hand, includes his two children and wife Sarah \u2013 now a budding influencer herself \u2013 in his videos.<\/p>\n

An industry insider tells me: \u2018People were in love with Tanya and Jim as a couple, and with Martha. They were genuinely concerned when she disappeared. And this is what happens when you share your whole life online.<\/p>\n

\u2018You can\u2019t then one day decide to stop doing so. These people make a very large living from giving every detail away.\u2019<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"YouTube royalty Tanya Burr and Jim Chapman once seemed to have it all. A \u00a32million London home, a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":7744,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[75],"tags":[118,18,117,19,17,7819,438,121],"class_list":{"0":"post-7743","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-entertainment","8":"tag-dailymail","9":"tag-eire","10":"tag-entertainment","11":"tag-ie","12":"tag-ireland","13":"tag-tanya-burr","14":"tag-tvshowbiz","15":"tag-youtube"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7743","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7743"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7743\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7744"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7743"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7743"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7743"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}