Eamonn Holmes and Ruth Langsford split after 27 years

TELEVISION’S golden couple Eamonn Holmes and Ruth Langsford have split after 27 years together and 14 years of marriage.

A statement issued by the couple yesterday revealed that the former This Morning presenters are to divorce after work commitments “took their marriage in different directions”.

The pair are – at least for now – still living together at their £3.2million home in Weybridge, Surrey, and are “determined to stay friends and keep things amicable”.

The statement added: “Ruth Langsford and Eamonn Holmes have confirmed their marriage is over and they are in the process of divorcing.”

Although the news is likely to come as a huge surprise to their fans, rumours that their relationship was in trouble have been circulating around the television industry for some months.

Sources also claim that Eamonn is devastated about the split and that the break-up has “very much been orchestrated by Ruth”.

The Mail on Sunday can reveal that yesterday’s statement – far from being a joint effort – was in fact arranged by Ruth, with Eamonn, 64, refusing to play a part in its release.

He reportedly told friends that he “didn’t want to get involved” and that “Ruth can do what she wants but keep me out of it”.

It is understood he was against making the news public after spending months trying to save his marriage.

Ruth though, was determined to walk away.

Both Eamonn and Ruth – who have a son, Jack, 22,– have denied that there were any problems with their relationship when asked in recent months, although friends of the couple say that the marriage has actually been over for at least a year.

As Eamonn Holmes and Ruth Langsford announce they are to divorce after 27 years together, friends claim split “was very much orchestrated by her”.

One source who knows the Irish star said Eamonn would become “very angry indeed” when probed.

“His language became really quite rude,” they said.

“He was struggling to accept it.”

Another source added: “Eamonn’s preferred way was not to tell anyone. Deep down he knew it couldn’t carry on but he was kind of sticking his head in the sand. He is very upset indeed.”

Fans are now asking what could possibly have prompted the end of what has long been considered to be one of the strongest partnerships in British show business.

Their relationship began in 1997– three years after Eamonn’s marriage to Gabrielle, with whom he has three children, Declan, Rebecca and Niall, ended.

Friends say the couple have been tested by health, financial and professional problems in recent years– and that “something had to give”.

In particular, Ruth has struggled to cope with Eamonn’s agonising bad back following slipped discs and a fall at home in 2022.

Speaking to Woman’s Weekly magazine last week, the 64-year-old Loose Women presenter admitted his injuries had been “testing” as they tried to “manage as a family”.

She added: “I don’t know how much Eamonn’s mobility willim prove. We live in hope.”

He does the physio, but there might have to be some acceptance that this might never be 100 per cent right. With any care situation – and there are millions of carers in this country – it isn’t always easy.

“The truth is,” a friend says, Ruth had become “more his carer than a wife” as the Belfast-born star became “more and more grumpy”.

“Eamonn has been thoroughly miserable,” they added.

“He has had a torrid time with his health, he’s in constant pain, and the truth is he can’t contain how miserable it makes him.

“He’s a great broadcaster and real professional, so he turns it on when the cameras start rolling,but immediately before and afterwards, he’s on painkillers and undergoing treatments just to get through each day.

“Ruth has borne the brunt of much of his anger and frustration in recent years – and eventually something had to give.

“She’s still a woman with a realzest for life and in the end it just started to get her down more than she could accept.

“She needs her own life. It’s a case of her wanting to get out and enjoy herself. Women at Ruth’s age realise that they only have ten, 20, 30 years max left and they want to have some fun.

“They go out, get fit, look amazing and go out and have the time of their lives. Meanwhile, men stay at home being grumpy.”

The friend added: “The couple have remained living under the same roof, but sleeping in separate rooms.”

“She runs around making his lunch for him despite their fraught relationship.”

“Meanwhile, he sits uncomfortably in a chair, limited in his mobility by chronic back pain, which has left him in need of at times daily physiotherapy sessions.”

It is understood that Eamonn has even joked to friends that he has been “touched” far more by his physio than Ruth in recent years.

A friend of the presenter’s, however, insisted yesterday that Ruth “gives him grief”.

He added: “Ruth is on his case, telling him he should be up walking but he isn’t putting it on.”

“He is in a lot of pain, all of the time. It isn’t that easy for him.”

Eamonn’s battle with the tax man hasn’t exactly helped his mood either, friends add.

In January the presenter revealed how he had been forced to sell his beloved house in east Belfast to pay off a huge bill after a £250,000 tax fight with HM Revenue and Customs.

He had spent more than five years at war with the agency after tax officials ruled he was a staff member with broadcasters rather than a freelancer.

He was then allegedly asked for ten years of retrospective tax and national insurance payments.

Friends also say that professional reasons should not be underestimated in the split.

The pair were once regarded as “the new Richard and Judy” – the original This Morning hosts – at ITV and stepped in to front the lunchtime show on Fridays, as well as covering for Phillip Schofield and Holly Willough by when they were on holiday.

But they were axed in 2021 after a series of on-air gaffes by Eamonn, when he cast doubt on media outlets that debunked the myth that 5G causes coronavirus.

Ruth, much loved by ITV, was kept on to host Loose Women. In response to his ousting, Eamonn accused the channel heads of hypocrisy, claiming those who run the show are “middle-aged white managers”.

He told Weekend magazine in 2022: “When are they going to start being diverse with their management? The diversity is only on screen. It’s hypocritical.”

A friend of Ruth’s said: “The whole thing was pretty embarrassing for her. The fall out with ITV bosses proved hugely awkward for Ruth, who remained an employee with her role on Loose Women and other shows.”

“It left her feeling very angry and, of course, prompted fears that his outbursts could damage her career.”

“Luckily, she is so adored that she is still a regular on Loose Women, meaning she gets plenty of work.”

“A friend of Eamonn’s last night even pointed to the show as a reason behind Ruth’s decision to end the marriage.’

“There is such a thing as the curse of Loose [Women],” they added.

“Just like the Strictly curse, there are several of its stars whose marriages have ended. You can’t help but think that there is something to this.”

Birds Of A Feather actress Linda Robson and journalist Jane Moore have both ended their marriages in the past two years, while Coleen Nolan – a mainstay of the lunchtime panel show – is known for having a “trouble some” love life.

It is understood that some ITV bosses had even hoped Ruth would reveal the split live on the show but she refused, knowing how much that would irritate Eamonn.

Although fans may have revealed their shock at the news of the split yesterday, there were clues if you looked hard enough.

Tellingly, last June, when Eamonn enjoyed one of the most vindicating moments of his 45-year-long career – winning best breakfast show at the prestigious TRIC (Television and Radio IndustriesClub) awards – Ruth was notably not there.

Instead, his new “television wife” Isabel Webster was alongside him at the annual event, held at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London’s Mayfair.

“That was a real moment for Eamonn,” said a friend.

“He won a prize for his role at GB News, it was a moment that allowed him to both smugly and enthusiastically put two fingers up to his former employers at ITV after his acrimonious exit from the channel.”

“But Ruth wasn’t there as he hauled himself to the stage on a walking stick in front of friends and industry colleagues.”

“At that moment all of the rumours that had been swirling began to make sense. She was with him the year before.”

Another clue was their failure to wish each other happy anniversary on their social media accounts, namely Instagram.

In the eight years since they have joined the platform, the pair would mark the occasion by sending each other a public message.

In fact, they haven’t posted pictures of one another on any of their accounts for over a year.

The couple enjoyed a star-studded wedding at the 19th-century hotel The Elvetham in June 2010 when they had already been together for 13 years.

As well as their son Jack, who was eight at the time, the newlyweds were joined by friends including Royle Family star SueJohnston, TV presenters Gloria Hunniford, Amanda Lamb and Jeremy Kyle, EastEnders actress Zoe Lucker and former champion boxer Barry McGuigan.

It proved such a lavish affair that Hello! magazine splashed photos of the wedding across two issues.

Eamonn was so overjoyed that he took to Twitter to gush: “Sorry if me and Ruth have been a bit quiet these past few days... but have been a bit preoccupied – we got married yesterday.”