Ruth Langsford broke down in tears in an emotional new interview.
The Loose Women presenter, 63, sobbed as she revealed she felt like “a part of my heart had been ripped out” when her son Jack went to university.
Jack, who is now 21 and is Ruth's only child with Eamonn Holmes, went to Salford University to study journalism.
Ruth revealed that Jack's move from their home in Surrey to Manchester made her feel 'terrible' as it felt empty without him.
She told Hello! Magazine In a good place podcast: 'That first week that I didn't have him at home, I literally felt like part of my heart was ripped out.
Ruth Langsford broke down in tears as she revealed she felt like 'a part of my heart had been ripped out' when her son Jack left for university in a new interview
'It would be even worse if they didn't want to. I kept his bedroom door closed.
I remember coming into his bedroom and crying and grabbing the pillow and I could smell him on the pillow.
Ruth said she sobbed into his pillow because she missed her son so much.
'That first week was terrible because I was so used to having him around. And half the time they don't talk to you,” she said.
'We always complain about our teenagers: “I don't know why I'm here, you never talk to me, I'm just like your slave.”
'Then when they're gone, you miss making them breakfast and you miss picking their blazer off the floor and you miss their big trainers in the hall that always drive you crazy.
Ruth said she “used to pretend” Jack was still there to help her cope after he moved out.
Eamonn has three children Declan, 34, Rebecca, 32, and Niall, 30, from his previous marriage to Gabrielle, who she divorced in 1996 after ten years of marriage.
Jack, who is now 21 and is Ruth's only child with Eamonn Holmes, went to Salford University to study journalism (pictured by Jack, Ruth, Eamonn and Rebecca)
Ruth revealed that Jack's move from their home in Surrey to Manchester made her feel 'terrible' because it felt empty without him
Ruth said she sobbed into his pillow because she missed her son so much (pictured with Jack as a baby in 2002)
When Jack left for college, the family had gone through a rough year. Ruth's sister Julia Johnson, who had struggled with depression for years, was found dead at the age of 62
The presenter met Ruth a year later and they welcomed Jack in 2002.
When Jack left for college, the family had gone through a rough year.
Ruth's sister Julia Johnson, who had battled depression for years, was found dead by her husband Paul at their home in Lingfield, Surrey, in June 2019, aged 62.
Speaking to Kaye Adams on her How to be 60 podcast, Ruth told how her husband Eamonn was 'amazing' and helped her through a very difficult time.
She said: 'The hardest year of my life was when my sister died. I can't even tell you what year it is because I've basically blocked it out of my memory.”
Ruth said Eamonn and their son Jack were both supportive and her job also helped her after Julia's death as it gave her 'structure' back in her life.
“Eamonn was great at that time and Jack worked afterward,” she said.
'I needed a focus, which is: get up and I'm crying in the shower, let out a big old cry, and then I can almost break it off and say, “Okay, come on, time for work, dry your hair, go to work”.
'I needed that, because I could lie and cry about my sister all day long. I needed that focus and structure in my life again.'