Eamonn Holmes’ relatives are Ruth-less! TV presenter’s family ‘never took’ to his estranged wife partly out of ‘loyalty’ to his first wife Gabrielle

Eamonn Holmes’ family aren’t shedding any tears over the breakdown of his marriage to Ruth Langsford after ‘never taking’ to his second wife.

The presenter married his first wife Gabrielle Holmes in 1985 and they separated in 1996, during which time they welcomed Declan, 35, Rebecca, 33, and Niall, 31.

Apparently the reason some of Eamonn’s relatives didn’t warm to Ruth during their relationship was ‘partly out of loyalty’ to the mother of three of his children.

An insider told the Daily Mail’s Alison Boshoff: ‘Eamonn’s Catholic family didn’t really see eye-to-eye with Ruth, but he was totally bowled over by her.’

Given Eamonn’ comments about Ruth flatly refusing to entertain the idea of a move back to Northern Ireland, it sounds as if the feeling might have been mutual.

Eamonn revealed he could one day move back to Northern Ireland and marry a ‘local girl’ in a resurfaced interview after his split from Ruth.

The GB News host has endured a difficult period in recent years that has seen him lose his mother, job, his beloved Belfast home, and now his wife Ruth.

Speaking on NVTV’s Conversations With Gerry Kelly in January, the presenter told how his home will always be in Belfast and he may move back to Northern Ireland.

He said: ‘Ruth wouldn’t come back to Northern Ireland. Yes, because of her family and also because she’s English and she sees life around London and things, whereas I can’t stand London. So we have a different outlook on things like that.’

Eamonn then thought about a future without his wife as he added: ‘Maybe Ruth will be run over by a bus or something, who knows? 

‘If I get another wife I might come back, get a local girl. That’s awful talking about Ruth being run over by a bus, that’s awful.’

The couple tied the knot in 2010 after dating for 13 years – and said that despite their separation, they are ‘determined to stay friends’.

It brings to an end one of Britain’s best known TV power couples after 27 years together, 14 of which were spent in wedlock.

They are parents to son Jack, 22, while Eamonn also has children from his previous marriage.

Eamonn and Ruth said in a statement they were ‘determined to stay friends’ after spending most of their professional lives together.

However, sources say Ruth ‘orchestrated’ the statement, which Eamonn refused to sign off on prior to its release.

Sources told Mail+ that Eamonn is devastated about the split and that the break-up has ‘very much been orchestrated by Ruth’.

Eamonn reportedly told friends that he ‘didn’t want to get involved’ and that ‘Ruth can do what she wants but keep me out of it’.

But from being a joint effort – the statement citing their work commitments taking their marriage ‘in different directions’ was in fact arranged by Ruth, with Eamonn, refusing to play a part in its release. 

Work again contributed to his first divorce after the broadcaster’s commute from his family home in Belfast to film GMTV in London took it’s toll.

Writing in his 2008 memoir This Is My Life: The Autobiography Eamonn said: ‘By that stage [Gabrielle and I] tended to be apart during the week because of my job, and I had no trouble with that – though Gabrielle obviously did’.

‘I always believed absence would make the heart grow fonder and, in fact, the commuting heightened my desperation for her, made the time less bearable and longer. But it gave my wife a life of her own, with her children, and come weekends I was intruding on it, y’know’.

He also hinted that following his father’s death in 1991 and his long periods away, his partner began to grow distant and he lacked ’emotional support’ at home.

‘Gabrielle was increasingly indifferent and I didn’t know why. I needed her close, I needed her to reach me and ease my pain, but she had concerns of her own, principal of which was an impending birth.’

Eamonn is now a grandfather after son Declan and his wife Jenny welcomed daughters in November 2023 and 2021.

Two years after his split from Gabrielle, Eamonn met Ruth after being introduced by a mutual friend at GMTV.   

And despite them feeling an instant connection, he ensured it was the nation’s best-kept secret, as he did not 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 a bid to stay respectful to his ex.

And while some at the time believed the secrecy to be unnecessary, Ruth only fell harder for her man.

She admitted to The Daily Mail in 2017: ‘I thought it spoke volumes about the sort of man he was, the sort of father he was and the integrity he had. It made me love him more, not less.’

Then in 2006, the TV couple soon became the nation’s sweethearts as they began co-hosting ITV’s This Morning.

And after Eamonn spotted a couple of 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 because her father was in the late stages of Alzheimer’s.

While Ruth and Eamonn have remained silent following the split announcement, sources close to the pair say that a ‘statement is being prepared by Ruth’s representatives’ which will share the sad news with their followers.

The beloved TV pair, who friends say were ‘as close to Richard Madeley and Judy Finnegan as you could get’, have sparked rumours over the last few months as neither appeared on the other’s Instagram posts.