Ulrika Jonsson has insisted Ruth Langsford wanted to ‘get on with life’ by divorcing husband Eamonn Holmes
Ruth and Eamonn, both 64, shocked the industry when they announced their plans to divorce in May after 14 years of marriage and 27 years together.
In her column for The sunUlrika, 56, hit back at criticism of Ruth for leaving Eamonn in his darkest hour, after it was revealed the star had started to feel more like ‘his carer than his wife’ in the wake of his recent health problems.
The presenter said: ‘This baffles me. Let’s face it: Eamonn, 64, has become a leading member of the Grumpy Old Men’s club over the years and he’s a real cheapskate.
‘It could be that all his moaning was getting on Ruth’s nerves. There she is, wanting to get on with life, and she’s got an old misery on two canes dragging her down.”
Ulrika Jonsson has insisted Ruth Langsford wanted to ‘get on with life’ by divorcing husband Eamonn Holmes
Ruth and Eamonn, both 64, shocked the industry when they announced their plans to divorce in May after 14 years of marriage and 27 years together
She continued: “I like Eamonn. A lot of. I met him very early in my career and he was always super encouraging, supportive and kind… But it feels like the knives are on Ruth – and regardless of the truth behind their split, I’m here to defend and applaud her .’
Ulrika also said she believed Eamonn was ‘hitting’ Ruth – and knew he was. She praised Ruth for not continuing the marriage past the sell-by date and wondered whether a split would be such a problem if Eamonn initiated it.
The Ny Breaking’s Katie Hind revealed last week that Ruth is struggling to cope with Eamonn’s painful bad back after a herniated disc and a fall at home in 2022.
Speaking previously to Woman’s Weekly magazine, the Loose Women presenter admitted his injuries were ‘testing’ as they tried to ‘get by as a family’.
A friend told Katie that Ruth has become ‘more of a carer than a wife’ as the Belfast-born star became increasingly ‘grumpy’.
“Eamonn was thoroughly miserable,” they admitted. “He’s had a really hard time with his health, he’s in constant pain, and the truth is he can’t fathom how miserable it makes him.”
“Ruth has faced a lot of anger and frustration over the years – and eventually something had to be done. She is still a woman with a real zest for life and eventually it started to depress her more than she could accept.
‘She needs her own life. It’s a case where she wants to get out and enjoy herself. Women at Ruth’s age realize they only have ten, twenty, thirty years left and they want to have some fun.
‘They go out, get fit, look great and go out and have the time of their lives. In the meantime, the men stay at home grumpy.’
The friend added: ‘The couple still live under the same roof but sleep in separate rooms – with Ruth increasingly acting more like a carer than a wife. She runs around and makes him lunch, despite their fraught relationship.”
A friend told The Mail’s Katie Hind that Ruth has become “more his carer than a wife” as the Belfast-born star became “increasingly grumpy”
A source said: ‘Eamonn was thoroughly miserable. He has had a torrid time with his health, he is in constant pain.”
Former golden couple Ruth and Eamonn first met in 1997 when Eamonn presented breakfast show GMTV.
A mutual friend and fellow TV star, Sally Meen, 58, introduced them.
Two years earlier, Eamonn had split from Gabrielle, mother of his three eldest children, Declan, 35, Rebecca, 33, and Niall, 31.
They decided to cancel their commitment as the pressure of traveling from their home in Belfast to London to present GMTV took its toll.
And despite Ruth and Eamonn feeling an instant connection, he made sure it was the country’s best-kept secret as he didn’t publicly confess his love for Ruth for two years.
Eamonn even refused to hold hands in public or attend events together for the first few years of their relationship, in an effort to remain respectful to his ex of nearly two decades.
And while some at the time believed the secrecy was unnecessary, Ruth only fell harder for her husband.
She admitted to The Ny Breaking in 2017: ‘I thought it spoke volumes about the kind of man he was, the kind of father he was and the integrity he had. It made me love him more, not less.”
An insider told the Ny Breaking’s Alison Boshoff this week: ‘Eamonn’s Catholic family didn’t really agree with Ruth, but he was totally in awe of her.’
Considering Eamonn’s comments about Ruth flatly refusing to accept the idea of a return to Northern Ireland, it sounds like the feeling could be mutual.
Eamonn revealed he might one day move back to Northern Ireland and marry a ‘local girl’ in a resurfaced interview following his split from Ruth.
The GB News presenter has gone through a difficult period in recent years, losing his mother, job, his beloved home in Belfast and now his wife Ruth.
Speaking on NVTVs Conversations with Gerry Kelly in January, tHe presenter said his home will always be in Belfast and he may move back to Northern Ireland.
He said: ‘Ruth would not return to Northern Ireland. Yes, because of her family and also because she’s English and she sees life around London and all that, while I can’t stand London. So we have a different view on those kinds of things.’
Eamonn then reflected on a future without his wife, adding: ‘Maybe Ruth gets hit by a bus or something, who knows?
‘If I get another woman, I might come back, find a girl from the area. That’s terrible to hear that Ruth is being run over by a bus, that’s terrible.’
The couple tied the knot in 2010 after 13 years together – and said they are ‘determined to remain friends’ despite their split.
It brings an end to one of Britain’s best-known TV power couples after 27 years together, 14 of them married.
They are parents to son Jack, 22, while Eamonn also has children from his previous marriage.
The GB News presenter has gone through a difficult period in recent years, losing his mother, job, his beloved home in Belfast and now his wife Ruth (pictured in 2022)
Eamonn said: ‘Ruth would not return to Northern Ireland. Yeah, because of her family and also because she’s English and she sees life around London and stuff, whereas I can’t stand London’ (pictured in 2009)
Eamonn and Ruth said in a statement that they were “determined to remain friends” after spending most of their professional lives together.
However, sources say Ruth ‘orchestrated’ the statement, which Eamonn refused to sign before it was released.
Sources told Mail+ that Eamonn is devastated over the split and that the split was ‘largely orchestrated by Ruth’.
Work also contributed to his first divorce after the broadcaster’s commute from his family home in Belfast to film GMTV in London took its toll.
Two years after his divorce from Gabrielle, Eamonn met Ruth after being introduced by a mutual friend at GMTV.
And despite them feeling an instant connection, he made sure it was the country’s best-kept secret as he didn’t publicly confess his love for her for two years.
Eamonn even refused to hold Ruth’s hand in public or attend events together for the first few years of their relationship, in an effort to remain respectful towards his ex.
And while some at the time believed the secrecy was unnecessary, Ruth only fell harder for her husband.
She admitted to The Ny Breaking in 2017: ‘I thought it spoke volumes about the kind of man he was, the kind of father he was and the integrity he had. It made me love him more, not less.”
Work also contributed to his first divorce after the broadcaster’s commute from his family home in Belfast to film GMTV in London took its toll (pictured on GMTV in 1994)
Eamonn pictured with daughter Rebecca (R) who he shares with Gabrielle and his son Jack (L) who he shares with Ruth
In 2006, the TV couple quickly became the nation’s sweethearts when they started co-hosting ITV’s This Morning.
And after Eamonn saw some gentlemen flirting with Ruth at Cheltenham Races, he made an impromptu proposal.
Eamon had already respectfully asked Ruth’s mother for her hand in marriage, as her father was in the late stages of Alzheimer’s disease.
Eamonn is now a grandfather after son Declan and wife Jenny welcomed daughters in November 2023 and 2021.