TV presenters Ruth Langsford and Eamonn Holmes have announced their divorce after 14 years of marriage.
The pair have long been a power couple of daytime television, presenting ITV’s lifestyle show This Morning for 15 years from 2006 to 2021.
Holmes and Langsford, both 64, began dating in 1996 but kept their relationship secret out of respect for Holmes’s first wife, with whom he shares sons Declan, 35, Niall, 31, and daughter Rebecca, 33.
They married in 2010 and share a son called Jack, who is now 22. Despite their separation, the pair are “determined” to remain friends and “keep things amicable”.
Following their divorce announcement, here is a timeline of Ruth Langsford and Eamonn Holmes’ relationship, thriving TV career and eventual separation:
1997
Holmes and Langsford met through their mutual friend, television presenter Sally Meen, in 1997. When they started dating, they kept their romance secret out of respect for Holmes’ first wife, Gabrielle Holmes, who he had split from two years earlier.
“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,” Langsford told the Daily Mail in 2017 of Holmes’ choice to keep their relationship private.
The pair made their relationship public two years later.
2002
Langsford and Holmes welcomed their son Jack in 2002. Langsford revealed on social media in 2020 that she’d discovered she was pregnant with Jack the day before her godson Charlie’s christening.
Langsford told her best friend, and Charlie’s mum, Sam, of the happy news before anybody else because Holmes was away on a trip.
“A very special moment together,” Langsford said.
2006
Langsford and Holmes began presenting the Friday edition of This Morning together nine years into their relationship in 2006. Langsford had been hosting the programme since 1999 when Holmes joined her, making her the longest serving presenter the show has ever seen.
“Everyone knows if you have to work with your partner it’s not the easiest thing to do, but we’re alright most of the time,” Langsford told OK! magazine in 2019.
Over the years, the couple have hosted a number of shows together, including ITV quiz show Gift Wrapped (2014), Channel 5’s How the Other Half Lives (2015-17) and dieting series Lose a Stone in Four Weeks, which debuted on Channel 4 in 2019.
They also presented Eamonn & Ruth’s 7 Year Itch (2017) and Do The Right Thing with Eamonn and Ruth (2018-19).
Holmes joked of their commitment to broadcasting: “Bowing out of TV is not an option for us because how could TV do without us? There would be viewer uproar.”
2010
Thirteen years after they first met – and five years after Holmes’ divorce from Gabrielle was finalised – Langsford and Holmes got married at Elvetham Hall in Hampshire.
Soon after the ceremony, they bought a six bedroom house in Weybridge, Surrey, which is reported to be worth £3.2m.
Speaking about her marriage on Strictly Come Dancing in 2017, Langsford said: “Eamonn will be the first to take the mick out of me, but he will also be the first to floor me with his thoughtfulness.
“I’m giving him zero attention [because of Strictly], but I know he won’t be thinking that. He just gets it. He gets me. That’s why we work.”
2020
In November 2020, Holmes and Langsford were left “furious” after being axed from This Morning in favour of Alison Hammond and Dermot O’Leary.
Langsford remained with ITV, and regularly features on Loose Women as a host – but former GM:TV host Holmes moved to controversial channel GB News, where he hosts a breakfast show.
2024
Holmes and Langsford confirmed their divorce on Saturday (25 May). Their spokesperson told The Independent that the couple have “confirmed their marriage is over and they are in the process of divorcing”. It’s been claimed that the relationship breakdown is due to work commitments taking their marriage “in different directions”.
Their representative said the presenters are “determined to stay friends and keep things amicable”. The couple are understood to be preparing an official statement to share with their fans on social media.