Loose Women host Ruth Langsford has admitted her divorce from Eamonn Holmes is ‘painful’ in a candid new interview but also insisted she is moving on with her life

TV host Ruth says she had a “choice” how to respond to divorce and she has picked herself up and “got on with life”.(Image: [C] DAN KENNEDY )

Ruth Langsford has spoken for the first time about her split from husband Eamonn Holmes – admitting it has been “very painful” but insisting she refused to “crumble” and is moving on with her life.

The Loose Women star and Eamonn announced their break up last year amidst reports they had been living separate lives for some time already. Since then Ruth has had to watch on as Eamonn began a new 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.”

Asked how she is feeling now, Ruth added: “I’m all right. 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.”

Ruth, who shares son Jack, 22, with Eamonn, added: “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 Langsford looks glam in new magazine shoot(Image: [C] DAN KENNEDY )

In happier times with Eamonn at The TRIC Awards 2022(Image: Dave Benett/Getty Images)

Ruth gave the interview to woman&home magazine with sources close to her saying she felt it was the right time to speak, choosing to promote her clothing range at the same time as touching on the break up. In the magazine, honest Ruth also says she has lost weight in part due to the divorce, which came after 14 years of marriage. Cracks had started to appear in their relationship before the formal announcement of the split and they had not been photographed together for two years.

“I have lost weight,” she said, confirming she is now a size 14. “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.”

Admitting some self-doubt, she added: “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!”

Ruth took time off work from Loose Women when the split was first announced in May and returned in July with sources saying at the time she had been left devastated by what had happened and how quickly Eamonn moved on. Her presenting jobs on ITV and with the QVC shopping channel have helped her to look forward with a positive outlook. She said: “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 used her first interview to pay tribute to her friends who have had to help her through the split and sometimes been there during tearful late night conversations. Ruth said: “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.”

By contrast to Ruth’s pain, soon after the split was announced, Eamonn was photographed with girlfriend Katie, although his friends insist they only became close after his split to Ruth. Speaking in June last year, Eamonn “I’m not OK. This is not a good time at all.” When asked about whether he and Ruth will continue to have a relationship of any kind, Eamonn added: “It’s too early to say but I hope we can still be friends.” He has since gone on holiday with his new partner Katie and has continued to work on GB News throughout the break up.

Ruth is now planning holidays herself, considering a visit to Thailand to see her best friend from school. Another option may be to go on a girls trip abroad to celebrate turning 65 as she says she would like to travel more. 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!”

Ruth dresses to impress in the new photoshoot(Image: [C] DAN KENNEDY)

Ruth is on the cover of woman&home for March(Image: Dan Kennedy for Woman and Home Magazine)

Ruth also suggested she will look to date again like Eamonn when the time is right. She said: “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.”

In the magazine she names Coronation Street actor Jacob Roberts as a celebrity crush describing him as “hot, tall and dark”. Ruth, who turns 65 in March, also speaks in the interview about her dementia fears, as both her parents had Alzheimer’s, with her dad passing away in 2002 and her beloved mum now 94.

She could be tested to see if she is more likely to suffer with the disease when she gets older but she “would rather not know” for the time being as there is currently no medication to treat it. Ruth has found some comments about her looks on social media hurtful but has no plans to go under the knife just yet.

I’m not saying that I’ll never have a neck lift or a chin lift because, who knows? By the time I’m 68, I might not be able to stand it any more. My grandma and mum were against vanity. If ever I said to my mum, ‘My knees are so chubby,’ she’d say, ‘You’re lucky to have knees.’ Perhaps somewhere in the back of my mind I’ve got a conditioning that to do anything like that is vain. There are times when I think, ‘Am I just cutting my nose off to spite my face?’ I say I don’t want injectables or fillers but I could look great.”

Eamonn and Ruth met in 1997 when they were introduced by mutual friends and they then dated for over a decade before Eamonn popped the question and they married in 2010. Sources close to the former couple admit their divorce has not been finalised and it is unclear how much longer that will take, with one source saying they expect it will be months before they have settled everything.