They just grew in different directions

TV golden couple Ruth Langsford and Eamonn Holmes ended their 14-year marriage after a "perfect storm" of relationship woes, friends said last night.

- JANINE YAQOOB and LAURA ARMSTRONG

Fans were stunned by a 19-word statement declaring their once rocksolid relationship was finished.

The couple's spokesman said: "Ruth Langsford and Eamonn Holmes have confirmed their marriage is over and they are in the process of divorcing."

The pair, both 64, who began dating 27 years ago, are said to have grown apart because of pressures, including Eamonn's faltering health and their diverging career paths.

A source said: "They'd been leading separate lives for some time and had drifted apart." An insider close to Ruth said the split was recent but it was her decision to divorce.

There was a growing strain between them caused by losing their lucrative hosting gig on This Morning and Eamonn's chronic back pain. They also lost people closest to them. In November 2022, Eamonn's mum died and, in 2019, Ruth was devastated by sister Julia's suicide.

On top of this, Ruth has spoken of struggling with empty-nest syndrome when their son Jack, 22, described as the glue that held the family together, went to university in 2022. And Eamonn faces an ongoing legal battle over a disputed tax bill of £250,000 dating from 2018. He said the saga had caused shingles that could have left him blind.

The source said: "It's a perfect storm." The pair, last seen together almost two years ago, had been seen as one of TV's most formidable couples.