Ruth Langsford has admitted that her split from her husband Eamonn Holmes last year has been “very painful”. Speaking out for the first time since the divorce, she says she is determined to move on with her life and will not “crumble”.
The break up was announced last year during reports that Eamonn and the Loose Woman star were no longer living together, and had been for some time. The Northern Irish Broadcaster has since moved on by starting a relationship with girlfriend Katie Alexander.
Ruth said: “A break-up of a relationship is hard enough for anybody to deal with. A divorce is very difficult and it’s very painful, but most people don’t have to do it in the public eye, with everybody having an opinion about you and writing things about you and commenting things about you.
“But that’s the nature of my job. I’ve always had that and if you can’t cope with that, you shouldn’t be doing this job.” The Mirror reports that Ruth, who shares a 22-year-old son Jack with her ex, is feeling “all right” now. She added: “Relationship breakdowns are very difficult – marriage, friendship, whatever it is – but you just deal with it and you have to move on.
“You can either let yourself crumble or you pick yourself up and get on with life. It’s a choice. I’m not delighted my marriage is over but I’ve accepted that my marriage is over, so I am trying to now embrace the fact that I’m single and can make choices that are just about me.”
Ruth revealed to woman&home magazine that she has lost weight partly due to the divorce, which ended 14 years of marriage. The pair had not been photographed together for two years and cracks in the relationship had developed a while before the formal announcement was made.
She has confirmed that she is now a size 14. She added: “I have lost weight. Divorce obviously has something to do with it but I also went for a hormone check and rebalance, which helped. It could also hopefully mean that I’m coming to the end of menopause. I feel better when I’m a bit lighter.”
However, she admits that she doesn’t feel confident all of the time. She said: “I know I’m supposed to be empowered, look in the mirror and love my 65-year-old body. Well, I don’t always and, actually, I don’t think many women do.
“When I’m with my friends, we all complain about trivial stuff but it’s how we feel and that’s OK. Then, we pick ourselves up and get on with our lives because we have so much to be grateful for. We have a good moan, then another bottle of wine!”
Following the announcement of the break up in May, Ruth took some time away from Loose Woman. She returned in July while sources said she was left devastated at the time due to Eamonn quickly moving on. However, she had a positive outlook about returning to work.
She explained: “For a lot of people, whatever troubles you have, work is something that you have to get up and do. For me, it’s always been a good thing to dust myself down and concentrate on something else.”
She dedicated her first interview to her friends who stood by her during the tearful time: “My female friendships are very important and, by God, have they stepped up. They did before, when my sister died, particularly. I’ve always known they’re there, but when the chips are down, they’re really there.
“They lift you up from the floor. They dry your tears, they bring food around, they phone you all the time to make sure you’re OK – and I would do the same for them. I can probably count those friends – the 2am friend – on one hand.”
Despite what was seen as a quick turn around for Eamonn, he revealed in June that he was “not OK” and that it was “not a good time at all”. When asked if there will ever be a relationship going forward between himself and Ruth, he said: “It’s too early to say but I hope we can still be friends.”
Looking forward to the future, Ruth is planning some fun holidays as she says she wants to travel more. She is even considering visiting Thailand to see her best friend from school. She said: “As for the future, there is a certain feeling of liberation but I’m definitely not planning my next 10 years in finite detail!”
In terms of relationships for herself, Ruth has suggested that she will look into getting back into dating when the time is right. “I’m quite fine being on my own, but not forever. When you’re in a relationship, it’s easy to say, ‘Great, I’ve got a weekend to myself,’ but when you think that might be every weekend, it’s a different story.”
Ruth and Eamonn first met in 1997 and dated for over a decade before Eamonn popped the question, they then got married in 2010. Sources close to the pair have said that the divorce has not been finalised and it is unknown how much longer it could take. One source believes it could still be months before everything is settled.
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