Helen Skelton has finally spoken out about the months-long speculation surrounding her relationship with Morning Live co-host Gethin Jones — and she’s done it in a stunning new Prima shoot where she lays bare just how close the pair have become.

Just a week after they cosied up on yet another red carpet, the 42-year-old presenter revealed she and Gethin are now so inseparable at work that they sometimes “forget we’re on the air.” She explained that their chemistry comes from a friendship stretching back more than two decades. “I’ve been friends with Michelle and Gethin for 25 years. Geth was on Blue Peter before me, so we’ve always crossed paths, and Michelle and I were flatmates in London,” she told Prima.

“We’re all in the same frame of mind. The tricky bit is we’re such good mates that sometimes we forget we’re on air. I see my work friends as much as I do my real friends.”

Helen — who split from ex-husband Richie Myler in 2022 — and Gethin, 47, have fuelled romance rumours by appearing together at the Pride of Britain Awards and again at the Royal Television Society Awards. Friends say their long-standing bond quietly turned romantic earlier this year despite claims that things had “cooled.” Their latest appearance suggests the spark is very much alive.

Away from the speculation, Helen opened up about motherhood and how she has let go of her long-standing mum guilt. She is mum to Ernie, 10, Louis, eight, and three-year-old Elsie, and said that she now knows her children love seeing her thrive. “I used to stress about coming back to work after having my kids, but now they love what I do,” she said. “My eldest is gutted every year that I can’t do Strictly.”

She added that her children both embarrass her and lift her up in equal measure. “Every now and again, they say something that brings me to my knees — like when one of them recently said to someone, ‘My mum’s Helen Skelton.’ They also think I’m completely embarrassing.”

In the shoot, Helen also reveals she once longed for a bigger family. “I would have had more kids until this stage of motherhood — I really would. I really like it,” she admitted. “The no sleeping and the no routine — working in telly is really good training for that.”

But she says those days are now behind her. She wants to give everything she has to the three children already in her life. “I’m really conscious I’m at that stage where they all really want me, and I want to be there for them all.”

Turning 40 has also brought her a new sense of acceptance — and a refusal to pretend she’s living a picture-perfect life. “Something I’ve really embraced since turning 40 is that sense of acceptance: we are who we are. My house is chaos, my car’s a tip, I’m probably going to be late,” she joked. “I’ll turn up to a kid’s birthday party without the present wrapped, and when my friends come to dinner, they bring their own food. I’m chaotic, but I’m great fun!”