Eamonn Holmes warned his then-wife Ruth Langsford “our days are numbered” as they battled with making a difficult decision which had an impact on their family life
TV star Ruth Langsford recalled some advice from then-husband Eamonn Holmes who warned her “our days are numbered” as they wrestled over a tough choice.
The Loose Women icon, 65, married her fellow presenter in 2010 before they announced their shock decision to separate in 2024. The couple, who have been together since 1996, share son Jack, who is now 24.
When they were still together they were presented with a difficult decision when they were given the opportunity to step in as This Morning presenters over the summer holiday period in 2020.
Recalling how important it was for her to be present in her son Jack’s life, Ruth writes in her new book Feeling Fabulous: “When Jack was still at primary school, ITV asked Eamonn and met present over the summer holiday. My instinct was to turn it down. I wanted to spend the holiday with Jack.”
While she knew it would be a “dream gig,” Ruth was anxious about missing out on time with her son, who was a teenager at the time. She admitted that she sometimes worried that little Jack “would think the nanny was his mum.”
But Eamonn had some brutal advice for Ruth, warning her that if they turned the job down they probably wouldn’t be asked again.
He told her: “As your husband and Jack’s dad, I absolutely agree with you, but if I was your agent I would say you are completely crazy to turn this down. And the reality is, if we say no to this, our days on the programme are numbered.”
As it turned out they did accept the offer, and went on to enjoy a hugely popular run through that summer, returning the following year to the delight of the This Morning audience.
Ruth admits it wasn’t an easy decision: “It took me a few days of stomping around and saying I didn’t want to before I realised I didn’t really have a choice.
“It sounds dramatic to say that my job hung in the balance, but I know how telly works, and I needed to consider my career. I had never really thought about the long term, but I could see that I needed to.”
Ruth explains that while the show was only on-air for a couple of hours a day, she and Eamonn would be in the office for a full working day: “Although This Morning was only on air from 10am to 12.30pm, we would have to be in by 7am for production meetings, make-up and to rehearse the occasional item.”
She added: “After the show there was a post-production debrief followed by a meeting about the following day’s programme, and then we were away by 2pm, at the latest.”
Ruth made an emotional return to This Morning earlier this week for first time since her divorce from Eamonn. But this time she was on the sofa as a guest, chatting to Cat Deeley and Ben Shephard about her new book.
She told Ben: “Here I am in the studio where Eamonn and I worked together for many, many, years. And very happy.”
Reflecting on her acrimonious split from her husband, Ruth added: “Not everything lasts forever, you know, the hardest thing is having it played out in the public domain, and that just goes with the territory.
“That just goes with the job. I accept that,” she added. “I don’t discuss our divorce, our relationship breakup, what I do discuss is picking yourself up, dusting yourself off and starting all over again, as the song says.”
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