THEY vowed to stay friends but Ruth Langsford and Eamonn Holmes’ split has been turning increasingly sour over his relationship with close female ‘pals.’
It’s also causing a rift in the showbiz world with camps forming on both sides since they announced their separation in May.
The couple released a a joint statement confirming that they were divorcing and Eamonn told Best magazine: “I hope we can still be friends.”
But things are now far from amicable, with Ruth said to be “blindsided” by her husband’s rumoured romance with relationship expert Katie Alexander and Eamonn playing the sympathy card, telling pals he’s “living on borrowed time” and holed up in a tiny flat.
A source told The Sun: “It emerged that Ruth, 64, had chosen to leave Eamonn, 64, after a string of mystery messages and told pals there was no way back” for the marriage.
And her friends have accused Eamonn of making things harder for them both.
A source said: “It is utterly absurd what is being said by Eamonn and his friends, but the sad reality is that the marriage split has caused a fissure among the showbiz community.
“It’s ‘Eamonn or Ruth’ and people are taking sides. The row is incredibly divisive and getting worse.”
Relationship psychologist Jo Hemmings says the situation is all too common in divorces as friends feel they are forced to choose.
“It’s really common in relationships because I think that people feel the need to show their support for one side or another,” she says.
“People want kindness and empathy and compassion when they go through a break up but friends will say things that are meant well but don’t help the situation, like ‘I never liked x’.
“While they’re very well meaning in the support that they give but often that will push that couple further apart.
“But for the people in the break-up, it’s nice to feel like you’ve got someone in your corner.
“In an ideal world, I don’t think Eamonn or Ruth would want things to get really polarised as neither will want to lose friends they’ve had for years.”
Team Eamonn have been peddling a narrative that he is living a miserable life in a small flat by a roundabout.
Sources told the MailOnline: “He is alone in a flat living a pretty solitary existence. His marriage ending after such a long time has been something he has found difficult to accept.”
In reality, he’s in a luxury apartment on a plush private estate full of £10m homes, just a stone’s throw from a golf course and wild deer strolling around idyllic Richmond Park in Surrey.
Since the split, GB News host Eamonn has found comfort in relationship counsellor Katie Alexander, 42, who is 22 years his junior.
She has been seen regularly visiting and staying with the increasingly immobile presenter at his flat in London.
The pair met back in 2015 after Katie replied to one of his tweets and since then, Eamonn has treated her to a Beyonce concert, Center Parcs and a Manchester United game — while Katie has been seen in his native Belfast.
It is thought the pair’s close bond was the final straw for Ruth.
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.”
Katie, however, is said to be concerned about the optics of their relationship, given the timing.
“She is helping Eamonn through the tough times but doesn’t want to be seen as a marriage wrecker,” the source said, adding that his “marriage had been over for a while,” according to The Mirror.
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.
“She wants to help Eamonn with his situation and their friendship has grown over a period of time,” they added. “She feels she will be close to him for a long period and is in this for the long haul.”
Jo reckons that Eamonn’s new relationship will be adding fuel to the fire for people to take a side.
She said: “We don’t know when this close relationship started, but for some people it’s easier to view Eamonn as the bad guy and take Ruth’s side.
“It certainly won’t have made the situation any easier to navigate and people speculating over what has or hasn’t happened will make things more toxic.”
Katie isn’t the only woman Eamonn has been turning to since the split.
He is said to be leaning on beauty therapist Lisa Harris who has known him and his estranged wife for years.
A source told the MailOnline: “Lisa has been there to support him during marriage problems in the past few years. They’ve even been out recently together.
“She’s grown close to him and been there to offer a shoulder to cry on during the past few years whilst his marriage to Ruth has fallen apart.”
If anyone had a go at Isabel, I might punch them
Eamonn Holmes
Lisa has been a part of Eamonn and Ruth’s lives for years thanks to her beauty saloon that was attended by the formerly married couple.
But it’s just Eamonn that has been seen with her since the former This Morning hosts split.
Eamonn has also been supported by Isabel Webster, 41, – who he has called his ‘TV wife’ – and the pair have grown close off-screen since joining GB News.
In a Hello! magazine interview, Eamonn told how his co-host helped look after him when he was struggling with mobility as they reported outside Buckingham Palace following the Queen’s death.
“There was scaffolding everywhere and if I needed the toilet, it took me ages to get around it. It was humiliating and really wearing me down,” Eamonn told HELLO! “But on the long route back to the car, Isabel took my weight and steered me.”
In the interview, published in December, he compared Isabel to ex-wife Ruth and revealed the women often chatted about him.
It is clear the presenters are close. “We’re like family,” says Eamonn. “I can’t ever imagine us arguing or not having her in my life. In this business, no one else will fight your corner. But if anyone had a go at Isabel, I might punch them.”
Ruth is also surrounded by a bevvy of women and close friends to help her cope with the end of her marriage.
A Place In The Sun presenter Lucy Alexander, 54, has remained by Ruth’s side to provide constant support.
Shortly after the split of the former This Morning hosts was announced, Lucy posted supportive comments on Ruth’s Instagram.
Under a photo of Ruth walking her dog, Maggie, and spending time with mum Joan, Lucy penned: “Just what you need – mum and Maggie cuddles… I reckon you should have a swig of Joan’s sherry. Love you.”
The pair have been close pals for years and even holiday together.
Lucy previously told The Mirror: “Ruth and I go on holiday together and we always need another holiday by the end of it. We just do not stop talking. She loves cooking and doing stuff at home.”
Lucy had previously joked about how Eamonn was often involved in their “girls night” and how she had helped the couple out when he was injured before.
Ruth was the first to interview Lucy’s daughter Kitty Castledine after she joined the cast of EastEnders.
Writing on social media, Lucy said: “In the audience today at ITV’s @loosewomen. particularly special as my bestie was interviewing my daughter about her new role in Eastenders as Penny Branning.”
Ruth has also turned to her Loose Women co-stars for comfort despite being away from the show and has been confiding in Coleen Nolan.
She recently referred to the former musician as her “work bestie” and added “love this woman”.
Coleen is in a great position to support Ruth after going through two public divorces with Shane Richie and Ray Fensome.
The women regularly post supportive comments on each other’s social media.
And Coleen has referred to herself as one of Ruth’s “best friends”, in a post, admitting she used to wind Ruth up about Eamonn being a closer pal.
“I love winding Ruth up about him. I love him – and me and him get on so well – and Ruth’s like, ‘seriously, my best friend, one of my best friends?’ And I know that she’s insanely jealous,” she admitted.
Another showbiz face that has been giving Ruth a shoulder to cry on is Lisa Armstrong.
The celebrity make-up artist is aware how hard it is to see your ex-husband move on with a new relationship.
A source told Entertainment Today: “She has received a lot of support from her friends in the industry and one of them is Lisa.
“They always got on during Strictly and Ruth never took sides in her split with Ant.
“Lisa has offered a lot of support and knows exactly what Ruth is going through.
“They are determined to have a few wines together and put the world to rights and have fun.”
Other sources have suggested that Ruth is struggling with Eamonn’s new romance, just as Lisa did when ex Ant McPartlin started publicly seeing Anne-Marie Corbett.
They told OK!: “Ruth is getting more and more angry about Eamonn’s new ‘relationship’ and feels very betrayed and hurt.
“She can’t believe that Eamonn is doing this so publicly and it feels like he’s trying to rub her face in it as some form of payback for Ruth ending the marriage.”
However, Lisa’s support could drive a wedge even further between Ruth and Eamonn as the make-up artist’s split was extremely acrimonious.
Ruth and Eamonn are like my mum and dad
Rylan Clark
Jo explained: “Having support from someone who went through a similar experience isn’t always going to be a huge help.
“If someone’s been through a very bitter, acrimonious, separation or divorce, the resentment at what has happened and the hurt they’re left with can sometimes transfer on to the person they’re empathising with.
“It can skew how the person who is currently going through it all feels. I’ve seen it happen where couple who might have got back together don’t because they feel like there is no way back.”
Ruth is also leaning heavily on Rylan Clark, 35, as she navigates her breakup.
He is still healing from his own split from husband Dan Neal, but will be a key part of Ruth’s support system according to sources.
But it will be hard for him to truly take a side as he classes them both as family, previously saying: “Ruth and Eamonn are like my mum and dad.”
But sources say he is keen to be there to remind Ruth what it is like to enjoy life and have fun.
“Although this split happened a while ago, Ruth feels shattered as she’s had to put a brave face on for so long. It’s been a really tough time for her as her whole life has now changed,” a source said.
“She no longer has Eamonn and their son Jack is all grown up living his life – she feels a little lost. But she’s got a very strong group of friends who have all been there for her and will support her – with the main person being Rylan.”
While Rylan was in the depths of his depression and struggling to cope, it was Ruth and Eamonn that his mum Linda called to try and help him.
The former couple drove two hours to be there for the former X Factor star and he admitted he wasn’t thrilled to see them.
Speaking about the visit on The High Performance podcast, he said: “Eamonn got really upset because I was visibly very sick, as did Ruth, and I didn’t want to see them.
“I just remember breaking down and saying, ‘Get out, I don’t want to see anyone.’
“And they had driven two hours to get there but they did that not because it was going on Instagram, not because they are going to get kudos from people on Twitter, they did that because they cared about me. And I would do the same.”
Rylan said the visit reminded him that there was a world outside of his front door.
The source added: “Rylan was close to both Ruth and Eamonn and owes them both a lot, so he doesn’t want to take sides. But he and Ruth have always got on and love a party so Rylan has promised to take Ruth away this summer and make her go wild.
“She’s had a tough few years because of looking after Eamonn and also caring for her mum so he feels she deserves it, he’s desperate to take Ruth clubbing in Ibiza!”
As a mutual friend, Joe says Rylan help the warring couple navigate their split.
Jo commented: “People who are able to be more impartial will make things much less toxic.
“It’s a much harder role to play, but it means that neither partner loses a friend and that narrative of picking someone isn’t being fuelled.”
