This week, telly power couple Ruth Langsford and Eamonn Holmes shared the sad news that they are going their separate ways after 14 years of marriage.
Our hearts truly go out to the pair, who have both been through a lot in recent years.
While Eamonn has endured years of painful health problems, Ruth too has had a lot on her plate to deal with.
Ruth Langsford mourns loss of her dad
Ruth’s dad Dennis passed away in 2012 as a result of complications caused by Alzheimer’s disease.
Ruth once recalled a particularly devastating story of visiting her dad in his care home, and This Morning being on the TV.
“My aunt Rosa said: ‘Oh, Dennis, look, there’s Rooty.’ He used to call me Rooty Tooty, he turned around, he looked at the screen he went: ‘Oh, I can’t stand her,’ and turned away.
“Which is so funny… but also like heartbreaking, but you know you have to laugh because there are so many funny moments and if you didn’t laugh you’d just be crying the whole time,” she added.
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Ruth’s mother, who cared for him for other a decade, was subsequently diagnosed with dementia herself.
In an appearance on fellow Loose Woman Kaye Adams‘ podcast, Ruth confessed that she is scared that she too will develop the disease, but is too afraid to take a test to find out if she is likely to.
“I don’t really want to do it, because there’s no cure at the moment,” she explained.
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Earlier this year, Ruth’s mum, Joan, who is now 92 and lives in sheltered accomodation, had a further health scare. She fell and broke her hip. Thankfully, she seems to have recovered well.
Losing her sister
In June 2019, Ruth tragically lost her older sister Julie to suicide, after a long struggle with depression.
Ruth has since described it as the “hardest year of [her] life”.
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“I can’t even tell you what year it is, because I’ve blocked it from my memory really,” she said. The star also admitted that she considered quitting TV in the wake of her bereavement.
“It seemed wrong to be cheery on screen, when, inside, my heart was breaking.”
‘Like part of my heart had been ripped out’
Ruth has spoken candidly on Loose Women about her experience with empty nest syndrome. Her only son, Jack, who she shares with Eamonn, recently moved out, something that she found very difficult to come to terms with.
“I would say that first week of not having him at home literally felt like part of my heart had been ripped out,” she confessed, fighting off tears.
Ruth then added: “I kept his bedroom door shut. I remember coming home and going into his bedroom and crying.”
Read more: Eamonn Holmes issues emotional statement as he addresses Ruth Langsford split on live TV
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