EAMONN Holmes gave a brutal five word response when quizzed about Ruth Langsford two years ago, it has emerged.
The presenter, 64 whose break-up with his wife Ruth Langsford, also 64, was revealed by The Sun in May, appeared to have hinted at marital troubles back in 2022.
At the time, Eamonn had been unwaveringly vocal of his contempt for ITV following his and Ruth’s This Morning axing after 14 years in the job.
He even branded the broadcaster the “ministry of lies” over their handling of his departure, before his move to rival station GB News.
This came despite his then-wife’s position at his old employer in the Loose Women panellist role she still holds today.
Speaking at the TRIC Awards after winning the News Presenter of the Year trophy, Eamonn continued to criticise the channel, telling us: “I haven’t been slagging off This Morning, I’ve been telling the truth about ITV.
“I haven’t been slagging them off. ITV have been telling lies about me. They’ve been telling lies about me. I just put their record straight.”
When asked how Ruth felt about his public lambasting of her bosses, the Northern Irish star snapped a response that intimated at their future – despite their ‘happy couple’ image at the time.
He fumed: “It’s none of your business what she does with me. She always gets annoyed with me.”
While Eamonn and Ruth were replaced with Alison Hammond and Dermot O’Leary, Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield remained in their Monday-Thursday slot.
He said at the time: “Phillip is renowned for snubbing people.
“He’s very passive-aggressive. It’s up to Ruth to say how she felt, but I was feeling hurt for her. No one would have snubbed me like that.
“I have a good Belfast street fighter in me… I would be direct. I don’t go for presenters who think they have a special privilege or aura or influence.”
He also accused ITV bosses of using “sly” tactics when they gave him the boot from This Morning.
Eamonn alleged that they wanted it to appear that he’d decided to leave rather than being pushed out, claiming he had “no idea” why he was being replaced.
“No one explained anything to me,” he told The Daily Mail’s Weekend magazine.
“I’m all for TV companies being able to choose who works for them, but it would be nice if you were told why you were going.
“They’re sly. They didn’t want to announce that I’d been dropped because it would adversely affect audience figures, so they made it look as if I’d walked away from them rather than the other way round.
“They had a chat with my agent and announced that I was going to GB News, when they’d done no more than ask if I’d be interested in joining [GB News].
“I’m not going to have myself derided as some sort of has-been. I may be male and pale but I’m still at the top of my game.”
A spokesman for ITV said of Eamonn’s claims: ‘This isn’t a version of events we recognise and as we have said before we wish Eamonn all the very best.”
Ruth filed a complaint against Phillip and it followed an on air incident in April 2019 which saw him interrupt her while she was presenting a preview of Loose Women during an episode of This Morning.
Amanda Holden praised Ruth for making a complaint against Phil at the time.
The TV presenters stunned fans in May after announcing the breakdown of their 15-year marriage.
The couple’s union was said to have rapidly deteriorated after their departure from This Morning in 2021.
He has since been spotted with blonde beauty Katie Alexander, 42, after The Sun told of their close friendship.
The two have been on numerous outings together in the last year.
Eamonn treated her to a Beyonce concert, Center Parcs and a Manchester United game — while Katie has been seen in his native Belfast.
Katie met Eamonn on X/Twitter in 2015 after she commented on a post and it sparked a conversation.
And relationship counsellor Katie, who is said to be head over heels for the presenter, has been staying with him in his luxury apartment.
A source told us: “The fact remains that he would still be in the marital home, being cared for by Ruth, if she didn’t find out what had gone on behind her back.
“There is a lot still to spill out on what has really gone on during Eamonn’s marriage. It will all come out in the wash.
“And even he will raise eyebrows at some of the details surrounding his new confidant Katie, who has told pals she’s ‘madly in love’ with him.
“Watch this space.”
Before the shock split announcement, Ruth and Eamonn seemed like one of the strongest couples on UK TV – even with their signature bickering style.
Here’s how their romance played out…
1997 – The couple first meet after being introduced by mutual friends, two years after Eamonn splits from his first wife, Gabrielle, with whom he has three children.
1997-2002 – To be respectful to Gabrielle, the couple kept their relationship out of the limelight. Ruth told Daily Mail: “I thought it spoke volumes about the sort of man he was, the sort of father he was and the integrity he had. It made me love him more, not less.”
2002 – Ruth and Eamonn welcome their son, Jack, to the family.
2005 – Eamonn finalises his divorce with Gabrielle.
2006 – The pair begin to host Friday episodes of This Morning together.
2010 – Eamonn proposes to Ruth while at the Cheltenham Races, after asking Ruth’s mother for her hand.
June 2010 – Eamonn and Ruth marry at Elvetham Hall, Hampshire.
2016 – Eamonn undergoes a double hip replacement in the first of many health battles.
June 2019 – On This Morning, Ruth and Eamonn say the secret to their happy marriage. Eamonn credits “compromise, consideration and lots of conjugal,” while Ruth said it was “laughter and an equal marriage”.
November 2020 – Ruth and Eamonn are replaced on their regular Friday slot by Alison Hammond and Dermot O’Leary in a ‘show shake-up’.
December 2021 – After a year of being moved to the bank holiday presenting slot, both Eamonn and Ruth left This Morning.
January 2022 – Eamonn debuted on GB News, while Ruth stayed with ITV in her long-standing role on Loose Women.
September 2022 – Eamonn undergoes spinal surgery after years of back issues including a trapped sciatic nerve.
November 2022 – Eamonn falls down the stairs of his Surrey home with Ruth and breaks his shoulder, requiring a new operation.
September 2023 – Eamonn has a spine and neck stretching procedure as part of his year-long recovery.
May 2024 – Ruth and Eamonn announce they have split after 14 years of marriage and a 27-year relationship.
