How my split from Eamonn broke me: For first time emotional RUTH LANGSFORD tells devastating way her marriage ended, how the trauma left her in therapy… and the moment she took her ring off

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A year after separating from her husband, Eamonn Holmes, Ruth Langsford continued to wear her wedding ring. Her close friends would sometimes ask her why, and she’d automatically say she was still married. However, one night last May, she paused when asked. It was then she realized, “Actually, I’m not really married anymore, not truly. We’re still legally married, but that’s all.”

Her friends encouraged her to remove her wedding ring, wanting to share the moment with her. Looking back, she remembers being incredibly upset. ‘It felt huge,’ she explains. ‘It was a real moment of accepting that it was over. Wow, this is it. I’m officially getting divorced.’

As Ruth, 65, speaks, she begins to cry. These aren’t delicate tears easily wiped away; they’re deep, heartfelt sobs that make her voice – a voice as warm and recognizable in person as it is on television – waver and become strained. You genuinely believe her when she says, “It’s been nearly two years since we announced our split, but it still feels like it just happened.”

The end of her 27-year relationship and 14-year marriage in 2024 came as a complete shock. She reflects, ‘I truly believed I had a happy marriage. It’s natural to wonder if I overlooked something, or if I wasn’t paying enough attention, but dwelling on who’s to blame isn’t helpful.’

Honestly, I never imagined my life would end up like this. I was a mess, completely shattered. My heart was broken, and all my dreams felt ruined. I had this whole picture in my head of how things were supposed to go, and this… this wasn’t it. I was absolutely devastated when it all fell apart. One minute we were a couple, working through the normal stuff that every marriage has, and the next… just gone. It was such a shock, I couldn’t even process it.

I realized I was getting carried away with worst-case scenarios, worrying about being alone and what my life would be like without a partner. I was dramatically imagining a bleak future, almost like a character in an old-fashioned novel. But then I reminded myself – with the wisdom of age – that divorce wasn’t a life-threatening situation. I’d get through it, even though everyone eventually faces the end, this wasn’t how I would go.

This realization led to a sense of peace. She decided she needed to make her own happiness, and she immediately started doing so. She threw herself into work, raised her son Jack, now 23, and enjoyed cooking, traveling, and gardening. She also finally wrote a book. Unlike many public figures, Ruth avoided offers to write an autobiography or a ghostwritten novel early in her career. She wanted to wait until she had a meaningful story to tell, and that story is now available in her book, Feeling Fabulous, which is a blend of personal memoir and a guide to thriving in midlife.

This book shares wisdom from Ruth’s sixty years of life – both on and off screen – offering guidance on how to live your best life. It’s like a friendly chat with a close friend, but one who also happens to be a career expert, family counselor, and style advisor.

The Ruth revealed in these pages is a relatable woman – someone who deals with everyday annoyances like uncomfortable bras, enjoys a good gin and tonic and delicious cake, and isn’t afraid to be herself. She openly discusses the challenges of being part of the ‘sandwich generation’ – balancing a career, raising children, and caring for aging parents with dementia. This book also marks the first time she’s shared the story of her sister Julia’s suicide, and the profound lessons she learned about grief and loss.

Eamonn is also part of the show, playing Jack’s father. He’s famous for being one half of the popular husband-and-wife duo who hosted ‘This Morning’ for fifteen years, and he was always Ruth’s biggest supporter in the often-unpredictable world of television. When writing about their split, she focused on how she handled it with strength, rather than dwelling on any perceived failures.

She explains that she shares her own struggles to remind people they’re not alone. Many assume that celebrities, especially those on TV, lead perfect lives, but that’s not the reality. Even having a supportive partner like Anton Du Beke on ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ – as she did in 2017 – or having someone like Rylan to call for help, doesn’t prevent difficulties from arising.

For three decades, Ruth has been a familiar face on television, notably hosting shows like This Morning and Loose Women in the early 2000s. Surprisingly, she didn’t intentionally plan a TV career; she stumbled into it after a random encounter in a pub. Her upbringing doesn’t match the polished image she often presents. She had a nomadic childhood due to her father’s military career and was even expelled from school at 16, leaving with just four O-levels, including one in needlework.

Her career began with a continuity role at a regional company in the southwest, but it closed down during the major restructuring of franchises in the 1980s. Losing that job led her to freelance work in London, which was often unstable. The core message of her work – building resilience, taking chances, and fighting self-doubt – all stem from the challenges she faced early in her career.

Oh my gosh, Eamonn was already, like, Eamonn when he first saw Ruth! It was on Countryfile, she was filming something by the coast of Northern Ireland, out on a boat, and honestly? She’s terrible at sailing! But she just laughed it off and said, ‘Well, everyone’s gotta pay the mortgage,’ and it was just… perfect. I’ve been obsessed ever since.

When they finally met in person, he instantly remembered the red shirt she was wearing, and that sealed it for him. She says she thought he was her soulmate. Their relationship was perfect for television – they had amazing chemistry on screen, like two natural and well-matched hosts, and viewers could imagine them even having relatable arguments at home, like about loading the dishwasher. She believes what made them special was their genuineness.

We never had big, dramatic fights on TV – we were always professional. But like any married couple, we had playful teasing and didn’t shy away from showing it. We weren’t a fake, overly sweet TV couple pretending to be best friends. We were a real husband and wife, and I think people connected with that authenticity. It simply felt genuine.

I asked her if, in retrospect, being so open on camera had strained their marriage. She immediately replied that it hadn’t bothered her, but suggested I ask Eamonn. She explained that she always firmly separated work from home life, quickly switching into family mode as soon as she walked in the door – getting dinner started and helping their son, Jack, with his homework. She described how Eamonn would want to discuss work matters further, while she’d prefer to leave them for the next day, wanting to fully disconnect.

She also points out that she’s never been drawn to the flashy side of her profession, finding a cozy night in watching Coronation Street much more appealing than dressing up for red carpet events. ‘People might know me as an actress on TV,’ she explains, ‘but I’m just a regular person – you’ll find me doing everyday things like shopping at the garden centre, standing in line at the supermarket, or even taking trips to the dump.’

She always enjoyed homemaking and, even with a successful career, dreamed of a lively family life. However, she and her husband, Eamonn, only had one child. Eamonn already had three children from a previous relationship, and she was an older mother. She recalled asking if they should have another baby, and Eamonn’s surprised reaction – “Four kids?” – made her reconsider. She realized she was fortunate to have conceived naturally at 42, had a healthy pregnancy, and a wonderful baby, and decided to be content with that. She admits she sometimes imagined having a larger family, though.

The book frequently emphasizes focusing on the present and appreciating what you have, rather than dwelling on past regrets. Ruth herself describes a time when her life felt perfect – a great career, a loving marriage, and a wonderful son. However, she then faced ten years filled with hardship. Both her parents were diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, and her father passed away in 2012, while her mother is still living at 94. More recently, in 2019, her sister Julia tragically died by suicide after struggling with depression for a long time.

In her book, Ruth powerfully describes this deeply personal experience, something she’s never been able to discuss publicly. She wonders how she ever could, and as she speaks, she reveals a simple silver Tiffany bracelet on her wrist. It was a gift to her bridesmaid, Julia, back in 2010, and she’s worn it every day since.

The hardest part is simply not seeing her anymore,” she said, tears welling up. “When you keep thinking about someone and realize you’ll never see them again, especially without understanding why, it leaves you with a deep sense of loss. She admits she could have handled things differently, wishing she’d just listened to Julia instead of trying to fix her problems. “I was motivated by love, wanting to help, but I now see that my attempts to ‘fix’ things actually added to her stress,” she explains. Ruth acknowledges this was difficult to admit, and she’s sharing it in hopes it will help others support loved ones facing mental health challenges.

Still reeling from everything that had happened, Ruth’s marriage ended, and Eamonn quickly started a relationship with Katie Alexander, a woman 22 years younger. She doesn’t want to discuss the details of the breakup, especially to protect their son Jack. However, this was when Ruth realized she needed to seek professional help. While friends are always there for support, she needed a trained counselor – someone impartial – to help her navigate a very difficult time.

For the first three therapy sessions, she only appeared on Zoom from the shoulders up, hunched over her keyboard and crying uncontrollably. Her therapist told her, “Ruth, what you’re experiencing is grief and trauma, and you’re in shock. It’s okay to express everything you’re feeling.” It took several more months for her to fully accept her therapist’s reassurance: “Recovery won’t be easy, but you will be okay. You need to believe that. Dwelling on negativity won’t help – you have to believe there’s a future worth looking forward to.”

It’s been around six to eight weeks since her last therapy session, and now she only requests one when she feels she needs it. She explained that she doesn’t want to dwell on the past, as she worries it could lead her to dismiss the good parts of her relationship and marriage. She values the many happy years she shared with Eamonn, but recognizes the relationship ultimately ended. Her focus now is on moving forward.

She’s incredibly talented, and her new book is fantastic. It’s all about finding new life and happiness after middle age, and refusing to lose your identity, your personal style, your self-assurance, your passions, and most importantly, your sense of purpose.

She jokes that she doesn’t plan to work until she’s 95, but feels great right now and is enjoying her career. She’s accepting of getting older and isn’t interested in procedures like fat-dissolving injections or cosmetic tweaks, admitting she’s sometimes tempted but ultimately against them. She’d even be unhappy with Botox, she says. While she doesn’t rule anything out completely, she’s currently happy with hormone replacement therapy and her Pilates machine, which she purchased from QVC.

She’s currently single and hasn’t even been on a casual date. She explains she needs more time to recover from her last relationship before she’s ready to date again, but she hasn’t given up on men, relationships, or even marriage. She’s not jaded or angry, just focused on enjoying life and figuring things out on her own terms. She’s taking a different direction in life right now.

I encouraged her to continue sharing the story of her wedding ring, and as always, she happily did. She explained that the night she took it off, she returned it to its box and placed it in a drawer. The next morning, while washing her face, she was surprised by how strange it felt to not have it on her finger.

‘I thought, “Ohhhhhh!”’ she exclaims. ‘And then… it felt right.’

  • Feeling Fabulous by Ruth Langsford (Hodder & Stoughton, £22) will be published on Thursday. © Ruth Langsford 2026. To order a copy for £18.70 (offer valid to 07/03/26; UK P&P free on orders over £25) go to www.mailshop.co.uk/books or call 020 3176 2937. 

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2026-02-20 15:22