Eamonn Holmes and Ruth Langsford devastated fans when they announced their seperation.
However, there were signs of trouble long before their bombshell statement. A source close to the couple revealed their 27-year relationship crumbled after work commitments took their lives ‘in different directions’.
Ruth, 64, reportedly was unable to move past her husband’s outspoken rants against their former employer, ITV, when the duo were axed from This Morning. Eamonn, also 64, has now found his TV home at GB News.
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READ MORE: Eamonn Holmes exposes major disagreement that sparked split from Ruth Langsford
He recently broke his silence on the marital breakdown live on his breakfast show. The Belfast born presenter thanked his fans for their support and said “what a weekend it was” in a cryptic remark.
(Image: Dave J Hogan/Getty Images)
The couple’s longstanding domination of daytime TV was thrown into disarray when they were brutally dropped from their This Morning gig in 2021. Ruth chose to stay loyal to their former employer, remaining part of the Loose Women family, while Eamonn made a string of savage digs at his old bosses after moving over to GB News.
The public fury allegedly left Ruth feeling “embarrassed” as the pair approached the career shift in very different ways. Eamonn claimed ITV top brass were “never kind” to him and seethed: “They tossed me out of the door and didn’t care where I was going.” He also hit out This Morning itself, accusing ITV of lacking diversity behind the scenes with ‘middle-aged white managers’ running the ship.
Friends of the couple told the Mail that professional differences “should not be underestimated” as a key reason behind the split. A pal of Ruth’s is said to have told the publication: “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.”
This isn’t the first time Eamonn’s work life has caused tensions in a relationship, as similar problems brewed between him and his first wife before their divorce. While Eamonn insisted the seperation was “amicable”, the Irish TV star had some difficult realisations during his first marriage to Gabrielle, who he has three children with.
(Image: PA)
In his 2008 book, This Is My Life: The Autobiography, he claimed his job was a major factor contributing to their split. While he had no issue in not being around for work during the week, it soon became clear that Gabrielle did. He said: “That was the first time I realised there wasn’t that emotional support there for me, though I probably had suspected it.”
Eamonn added: “By that stage we tended to be apart during the week because of my job, and I had no trouble with that – though Gabrielle obviously did. I always believed absence would make the heart grow fonder and, in fact, the commuting heightened my desperation for her, made the time less bearable and longer. But it gave my wife a life of her own, with her children, and come weekends I was intruding on it, y’know.”
(Image: Press Association)
There will be testing times ahead for Ruth and Eamonn as the pair navigate their divorce. Eamonn is said to be ‘furious’ over the split and had been ‘struggling’ to come to terms with the seperation behind the scenes. The presenter had allegedly hoped to keep their marital woes away from the public eye while they worked on their relationship, but Ruth was ‘detirmined to walk away’.
The joint statement is said to have been organised by Ruth, with Eamonn ‘refusing’ to get involved. “Ruth can do what she wants but keep me out of it,” the presenter is said to have told his friends.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
