PHILLIP- ‘Why I married STEPH'

As Phillip Schofield admits he’s gay after 27 years of marriage, we look at why he married Stephanie Lowe despite the internal battle with his sexuality

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When Phillip Schofield poured his heart out on national TV, telling the world he was gay despite being married with two children, it looked like a huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders.

Presenter Phil, 57, was no stranger to rumours about his sexuality even before he tied the knot – confessing that, deep down, he knew the truth before marrying Steph. ‘I am not saying I didn’t know,’ Phil admitted. ‘Whatever was “there”, I thought, “OK, whatever this is, you stay back because I am happy”. If you ask anyone who is gay, they know – there is no confusion.’

But rewind to 1992 and Piers Morgan, author of Phillip’s unofficial biography To Dream A Dream: The Amazing Life of Phillip Schofield, was aware of people questioning Phil’s sexual orientation.

Piers mentioned the rumours in his book He wrote, ‘The rumours, which tend to haunt any unmarried TV personality who prefers not to show off his girlfriends in public, have dogged Phil on and off for years.’

But it’s clear his early relationships with women kept the rumours at bay. ‘For the truth is that Phil has hardly ever been without a girlfriend, making him one of the most eligible bachelors in Britain,’ Piers added. And, at the time Phil agreed, ‘I’ve been out with a lot of women.’ But, perhaps tellingly, also admitted he was ‘fairly guarded’ when it comes to relationships.

QUASHING THE RUMOURS