The battle lines being drawn in Eamonn Holmes and Ruth Langsford’s divorce became evident at a key moment this week.
On Wednesday morning, Ruth was seen looking cheerful as she left her hair salon, near the estranged couple’s £3.2 million marital home in Surrey. Wearing a glamorous ‘do, she stopped to smile at the paparazzi on her way to her lucrative job on shopping channel QVC. They told me that she was “very happy.”
Meanwhile, a few miles away, Eamonn was described as having “lost his charm” at the GB News headquarters in Paddington, west London, where he presents the breakfast show.
His colleagues were said to have been “worried” about him as they saw him depressed over his studies. In fact, after his three-hour shift, he was seen driving away in a Range Rover looking dejected.
Unlike Ruth, 64, there were no smiles or recognition for the cameras. “She just wanted to get home,” says a colleague. It is unclear where her “home” is or whether she has moved out of the couple’s Weybridge mansion.
Ruth looked cheerful on Wednesday morning as she left her hairdresser near the estranged couple’s £3.2million marital home in Surrey.
After his three-hour appearance on the GB News morning show on Wednesday, Eamonn Holmes was driven away in a Range Rover looking dejected.
It’s been a week since Ruth’s publicist revealed, out of the blue, that the couple was planning to divorce after 27 years together and 14 years of marriage.
It was long believed to be one of the strongest partnerships in showbiz, but it left fans stunned. But I can reveal that rumors that the relationship was in trouble had been circulating in the TV industry for months.
And while Eamonn, also 64, is said to be devastated and against ending his marriage, he has another reason to feel upset. Those close to the star point out that if it hadn’t been for him, Ruth might not have forged a successful career, sharing the daytime sofa with him on ITV’s This Morning and later becoming a key figure on the lunch panel of channel. show Loose Women.
For Ruth, who met Eamonn when she was a little-known TV presenter in 1997, being the second Mrs Holmes has been fruitful, to say the least. When they got together, he was riding high as the highly paid and very high profile presenter of ITV’s breakfast show, GMTV.
Meanwhile, Ruth had just left ITV’s regional news bulletins in Plymouth and was working waiting for her big TV break. She arrived when she met the soft-spoken Northern Irishman after they were introduced by mutual friends. He had separated from his first wife, Gabrielle, with whom he has three children, two years earlier.
Certainly, her association with the undisputed king of daytime television appears to have propelled Ruth into more influential circles. She was signed by talent agency YMU, which also represents Ant, Dec and Claudia Winkleman.
In 1999, Ruth joined Loose Women, where she remains. But it was in late 2006 that ITV bosses came up with an idea: put Ruth and Eamonn on the This Morning sofa. Although the couple had not yet married (they did so in 2010), bosses realized they were looking at a potentially golden Mr. and Mrs. double act.
Eamonn had already left GMTV, the breakfast show he had presented alongside Anthea Turner and later Fiona Phillips, in 2005 and was presenting a morning show on Sky News.
Eamonn, 64, is taken by his physiotherapist in March while heading to a doctor’s appointment.
Eamonn suffers crippling pain after back and shoulder surgery and is forced to endure hours of grueling physiotherapy each week. He is now forced to walk with a cane or in a wheelchair.
They were given the Friday slot when Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby were free, and also performed during the school holidays. While Phil and Holly were at their peak for much of this time, ITV bosses secretly confided that they knew audiences preferred Ruth and Eamonn.
An employee of the network tells me: ‘They did some shows and had a great time. The viewers loved them. They were as normal as you can find in a famous couple. They argued, they lived their lives in front of the cameras. It was authentic.
‘But what cannot be ignored is that Eamonn created Ruth, pure and simple. He had been a sought-after and decorated broadcaster for many years. Of course, he gave her an advantage.
Their fortunes have certainly changed. It is undeniable that she has surpassed her husband, with whom she has a 22-year-old son. A source familiar with the couple said: ‘Ruth has emerged stronger from this relationship. She has played a blind role in her career.
It is becoming increasingly clear that Eamonn may not be able to continue working as long as his soon-to-be ex-wife. After a series of health problems in recent years, including a horrific fall at his home in 2022, Eamonn has been seen in a wheelchair.
So what does that mean for divorce? “Things could get ugly,” says a friend of Eamonn. ‘To think that they would go from appearing so happy on TV to potentially going to war for money is not what their viewers expected.
Last week it was revealed that TV’s golden couple Eamonn and Ruth were planning to divorce after 27 years together and 14 years of marriage.
Eamonn and Ruth married in 2010, after 13 years together, in a lavish ceremony at the grand 19th century Hampshire hotel, The Elvetham.
‘She did. Would he be making the enormous amount of money he does if they had never met? No. Surely he could argue that when it comes to dividing the money, this is taken into account.’
They developed a strong brand, even after they were unceremoniously booted from This Morning in 2021 and replaced by Alison Hammond and Dermot O’Leary. The ax came after a series of mistakes made by Eamonn on air, including one when, live on television, he challenged media outlets who debunked the myth that 5G wireless technology spread coronavirus.
It was said to have put Ruth, still very much ensconced on the Loose Women panel, in an incredibly awkward position with ITV and piled even more strain on their relationship.
However, Eamonn was in no mood to remain silent. He delivered a series of attacks on the station during interviews, accusing channel bosses of hypocrisy and describing those running the show as “middle-aged white managers”.
He told Mail’s Weekend magazine in 2022: ‘When are they going to start being diverse in their management? Diversity is only on the screen. It’s hypocritical.’
A friend of Ruth’s said: ‘The whole thing was quite embarrassing for her. The dispute with ITV bosses proved hugely uncomfortable for Ruth, who remained employed with her role on Loose Women and other programmes.
But Eamonn was out there criticizing them… He maintains that he was fired because he’s an older white man, but Ruth was still in high demand there. You can understand how that would cause friction.’
After leaving This Morning, Ruth and Eamonn signed a series of lucrative advertising deals to front campaigns aimed at over-55s, promoting everything from blood circulation boosters to share release schemes and bingo games.
Once again, close friends of Eamonn were quick to point out that he was instrumental in creating their brand. What he couldn’t control, however, was his recent run of poor health: A double hip replacement in 2016 was followed by three slipped discs that required back surgery. To make matters worse, in 2022, he fell down the stairs and injured his shoulder. Ruth recently revealed that at times she had felt more like a carer than a wife.
Another source of marital strife has been the issue of Eamonn’s tax bill, a dark cloud that has hung over the couple for more than five years. In January, he revealed that he had been forced to sell his beloved home in his hometown of Belfast after a £250,000 tax battle with HMRC.
He had spent more than five years at war with the agency after they ruled he was a staff member and not a freelancer. He then allegedly asked for ten years of retrospective tax and national insurance payments. It was all piling up, insiders say, and “something had to give.”
I’m told that even when the divorce was announced last weekend, Eamonn was against making the news public after months of trying to save his marriage.
Ruth, however, was determined to leave. Far from being a joint effort, the statement was organized by Ruth, and Eamonn refused to take part in it. He reportedly told her friends that he “didn’t want to get involved.”
For its part, the future at ITV looks promising. She did not appear on Loose Women this week but intends to return. A source said: “This split will only add to Ruth’s story, to her brand.” Even in separation from her, Ruth will benefit.’ No wonder Eamonn seems so depressed.