ITV presenters Ruth Langsford and Eamonn Holmes announced their separation in May and revealed they are in the process of divorce after 14 years of marriage.
The news sent shockwaves across the nation, although speculation emerged earlier this year after fans noticed they hadn’t been pictured together in a while.
While the estranged couple were inundated with support, sources told The Sun that their work commitments had taken them “in different directions”, but they were determined to stay friends.
Following their devastating announcement, reports claim that former This Morning host Holly Willoughby has thrown her support behind Ruth, after years of working closely with the pair.
Holly and her former co-host Phillip Schofield presented the show Mondays – Fridays, while Ruth and Eamonn took over on Fridays, before their 2021 exit.
According to a source via Closer Online, Holly, who is currently in Costa Rica filming Netflix’s Bear Hunt, is looking to get in touch with Ruth when she returns to the UK.
The source claimed: “Holly really feels for Ruth at the moment. Even though it seems the divorce was her choice, she knows she’s going to feel the fallout of it.
“While they haven’t been super close – largely due to tension with Eamonn and Phil in the past – they’ve always had huge respect for each other as they know how hard this job can be and they have always got on.
“She now wants to reach out and speak up, so she wants to meet up with Ruth when she’s back from filming and just have a fun lunch out together and show that there are no hard feelings,” they added.
Tensions arose after Phillip’s affair with a younger colleague was exposed, which resulted in Eamonn calling him “toxic” and labelling Holly as “false.”
The source continued: “Ruth and Holly haven’t always seen eye-to-eye in the past, but that was primarily due to Phil and Eamonn clashing and both women felt they had to stay loyal to their side.
“It was very awkward between them for a while because of Eamonn’s feelings towards Phil, but now both those partnerships are over and Holly is all for strong women.
“Now she’s no longer on This Morning and away from Phil, she can see things more clearly from both sides and she also knows it must have been hard for Ruth to stand by Eamonn when he was so opinionated about a lot of people.”
Express.co.uk has reached out to Holly and Ruth’s reps for further comment.
