RUTH Langsford and Eamonn Holmes revealed they ‘needed space’ from each other during a forgotten TV interview from the pandemic.
Chatting on TalkTV during lockdown, the unearthed clip saw the former This Morning hosts – who recently announced they are divorcing– reveal they spend very little time together.
In a joint interview with host Kevin O’Sullivan, Eamonn admitted that the only time the pair really interacted was when they were working together.
He said at the time: “Although we live together, we’re not really together, we don’t watch the same TV, Ruth likes her own space, when we do This Morning it’s a rare time we actually interrelate.”
Ruth then chimed in: ‘That’s why we’ve been together 24 years, because we aren’t actually together a lot.’
And in another resurfaced clip from 2018 when the pair were still presenting This Morning, Eamonn and Ruth has rather different opinions on staying friends with an ex.
The hosts discussed whether they could remain pals with a former partner in a discussion topic on the flagship ITV show.
Eamonn said on the subject: ‘It is easier to stay friends.’
But Ruth had a very different stance, admitting: “Why would you need to stay friends, you aren’t with them anymore, you don’t need to be friends.
“My thing is you weren’t just friends, you were married or had a relationship.”
It comes as pals claimed the pair had secretly separated a year ago.
And The Sun exclusively revealed Ruth and Eamonn have actually been living separate lives for two years.
Eamonn, 64, has suffered greatly over the last couple of year, losing his mum, job on This Morning, health, a home and now his wife.
Pals say he has been through ordeals which would “break most people”, but has “kept on going and kept on working the best he can”.
Eamonn also wanted to return to his native Belfast, spending long periods of time away from their £3.6million Surrey home.
Ruth, who has son Jack, 21, with Eamonn, reportedly didn’t want to up sticks to Northern Ireland.
And insiders claim the pair’s departure from This Morning in 2021 was the beginning of the end.
A source said: “Eamonn and Ruth’s relationship changed when they left This Morning. They started moving in different directions in their careers and their priorities started to change.
“Eamonn was desperate to return to Belfast, which he thinks of as home, but Ruth would never move. It became a bone of contention.
“As her ITV career continued, Eamonn went down another path and they became ships in the night.
“For the past two years they had led separate lives, professionally and personally.”
The former couple’s last public appearance together was at the 2022 Tric Awards.
While they put on beaming smiles for photographers on the red carpet, Ruth and Eamonn did not leave the event together.
In images taken at the time, Loose Women host Ruth was seen looking stressed as she left the bash while on the phone.
Meanwhile Eamonn appeared glum as he was seen walking away from the venue with his head down, after stopping to speak to GB News colleague Bev Turner.
Ruth and Eamonn Relationship Timeline
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 conjugals,” 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 makes his debut 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 27 year relationship
Ruth is not scheduled to appear on Loose Women this week.
Eamonn is expected to return to front GB News Breakfast tomorrow after taking the Bank Holiday off today.