Holly Willoughby is said to be ‘supporting’ Stephanie Lowe, the wife of Phillip Schofield, after news of his affair broke.
Stephanie has remained completely silent since her husband quit This Morning and then admitted having “an unwise but not illegal affair” with a younger colleague. Phillip then left ITV altogether.
After two weeks off, Holly has now returned to hosting This Morning and reached out to fans asking: “Are you okay?” following the developments. She said she herself was “shaken”, “hurt” and felt “lied to”.
But her own feelings have not stopped her from reaching out to Phil’s wife to check how she is coping with the mass fallout from the news.
Holly Willoughby and wife of Phillip Schofield are ‘extremely close’
Phillip married Stephanie in 1993. But publically came out as gay in 2020 while still living with his wife.
Phil shares two daughters with Stephanie – Molly, 30, and Ruby, 27, who he admitted had “saved” him after his “career ended”.
Now a source has alleged to Closer: “Holly and Steph have been speaking on the phone and texting back and forth too. They’ve always been extremely close and Holly wanted to reach out as soon as the affair story emerged.”
Phil confirmed in his BBC interview that he has reached out to Holly, but isn’t sure “if she’s even allowed to reply”. As a result, the insider alleged that Holly cannot bring herself to reply to any of Phil’s texts. They claimed: “She’s told mutual friends to politely ask him not to communicate with her as they get on with their lives. She’s furious, hurt and feels a deep sense of betrayal from someone she thought was her best friend.”
The source also alleged she is “leaning on” friends and family for support as she focuses on “saving” her career and reputation. Entertainment Daily has contacted representatives for Holly for comment.
This Morning fans have continued to call for Holly to go
Despite Holly’s statement on Monday’s episode, This Morning viewers have continued to call for Holly Willoughby to leave. Some viewers have continued to accuse Holly of knowing about the affair, and others think she is just too closely linked to Phil.
One person wrote: “Holly should leave she is really selfish, calculating and heartless. All fake.” Another viewer added: “Time for the fake Holly Willoughby to go. Let Josie take the helm. We’ve all had enough of you, Holly.” A third person ranted: “I am not pondering watching This Morning on ITV until Holly Willoughby is out. She needs to go.” Another viewer said: “Time to get rid of Holly and start afresh with This Morning.”
Holly has also come under fire from others in the public eye, with Kim Woodburn and James Haskell among those attacking her. Kim has insisted Holly must also step down.
Meanwhile, James has accused her of ‘lying’ over not knowing the truth about Phil. He said on The Jeremy Vine Show earlier this week: “I knew about this years ago, of course, she [Holly] knows. Everybody knows.”
Do you think Holly should leave? Leave us a comment on our Facebook page @EntertainmentDailyFix and let us know what you think.