For ITV viewers, Eamonn Holmes and Ruth Langsford were the relatable couple they loved to watch.
One minute they’d be giggling, the next snapping at one another, entertaining fans of This Morning in the same way as the show’s original married couple Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan.
But five years after their exit from the daytime programme – where many preferred them over main hosts Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield – they have gone to war over their combined £10million wealth in what has emerged as one of the most bitter showbiz divorces in recent history.
Friends of the pair, both aged 66, say their ‘love has turned to absolute hatred’ as they have viciously argued over how their former marital home and money should be split.
Following two court hearings, they are to come face to face in a Brighton divorce court in November – Ruth Holmes vs Eamonn Holmes – where a judge will decide who gets what. One source described relations to me as ‘a huge mess’, with neither side prepared to give in.
‘It’s war. Ruth wants what she thinks is hers, Eamonn wants what he think is his, but these are wildly different,’ says the source. ‘Neither is prepared to back down, it’s vicious. And it’s difficult to see any way through it other than a very expensive court hearing.’
Sources say it was Ruth who instigated the court action for a so-called ‘financial remedy’ hearing after negotiations broke down. But Eamonn, I’m told, is so desperate to ensure he gets the best deal possible, as he recovers from a stroke and is off sick from his GB News presenting job, that he has hired Deborah Bangay – the lawyer who won a landmark court case for Karen Parlour, ex-wife of former Arsenal footballer Ray Parlour in 2004.
Those who know Eamonn say his ill health means he needs a settlement that will secure his future
Ms Bangay, an expert in handling divorce financial proceedings for high net worth individuals, ensured that Karen was paid more than a third of Ray’s future income for at least four years because she had been instrumental to his success.
Until then, divorcees had not been entitled to future earnings.
‘He means business,’ says a friend. ‘He has no choice.’
Meanwhile, Ruth’s barrister, who works at the same chambers as Ms Bangay, is Nicholas Wilkinson.
‘Both have their work cut out,’ says a source familiar with the row. ‘Things are more complicated than you’d think for people with a grown-up son.
‘But this has become an unusual situation – it’s a case of human capital versus financial capital. So much of what they did was together but now they are apart it’s hard to untangle it all.’
Those who know Eamonn say his ill health means he needs a settlement that will secure his future. While I’m assured he will return to GB News – he is still in hospital six weeks after he suffered a stroke – it is uncertain how long he will be able to work for.
And one associate of his is adamant that he should get a ‘fair deal’ from Ruth because it is he who put her on the road to stardom when they met in 1997, while she was working on regional television in the south-west. The friend is quick to say they believe it was down to Eamonn that they became This Morning hosts, which is when Ruth earned the bulk of her money – from her ITV pay cheque as well as commercial offshoots, such as her clothing range that she sells on QVC and an Ultrasun deal.
She and Eamonn, who have a 24-year-old son, also hosted a Channel 5 show, Eamonn And Ruth: How The Other Half Lives, from 2015 to 2019.
‘Eamonn feels strongly about this,’ says the pal. ‘Ruth is a brilliant broadcaster but she did get her break because of him. He was a household name and she was his new wife.
Sources say it was Ruth who instigated the court action for a so-called ‘financial remedy’ hearing after negotiations broke down
Eamonn moved out after the split in 2024 and now lives in a penthouse apartment just off the Kingston one-way system in Surrey
‘Together, they were adored by television bosses and brands, but on her own Ruth wasn’t a money-spinning offering.
‘Money is often the subject of so much fall-out and this is simply the epitome of that.’
Those who know them also claim that Ruth’s recent autobiography, Feeling Fabulous: Be Your Best Self, No Matter What Life Throws At You, published in February, could also form part of a case. ‘The parts of the book which most people were interested in were those where she spoke about Eamonn,’ says the source.
‘Again, it was his name that meant Ruth could get the serialisations and the column inches.’
Sources say Eamonn hired Ms Bangay for her expertise in future earnings, though it’s not known if it is to protect his from Ruth or for him to have some of hers.
The couple’s six-bedroom mansion in Weybridge, Surrey is also said to be a ‘major sticking point’. Bought 12 years ago for £3.6million, it is now thought to be worth more.
Eamonn moved out after the split in 2024 and now lives in a penthouse apartment just off the Kingston one-way system in Surrey, while Ruth stayed put.
There was talk that she wanted to buy him out, although that is looking unlikely now.
Last year, Loose Women star Ruth was granted a ‘severance of joint tenancy’ over the property. The move, revealed in public documents, meant that if she were to die, her share of the house would not go to Eamonn.
‘Eamonn can’t keep it but Ruth really wanted to,’ says a source. ‘She didn’t want to sell but the court hearing could mean she has to. It’s so very sad it has come to this, but getting divorced later in life means both need to make sure they have what they need for the future. Who knows when the work will dry up?’
Indeed, Eamonn has made no secret of his financial woes.
In 2024, he was reportedly ordered to pay ten years of backdated national insurance and tax bills totalling around £250,000 and says he also had to shell out ‘hundreds of thousands of pounds in legal fees’. He said he was a self-employed freelancer with ITV payments going to his limited firm, and he ‘never knowingly avoided taxes’.
Eamonn also had to sell two properties to make more cash, as well as host stand-up shows around the country.
Speaking of his fury, he said at the time: ‘It’s something I’m very bitter about because people think you earn lots of money and therefore you have to pay. It’s like they have taken away everything I ever worked for.’
Over at GB News, Eamonn’s colleagues are waiting to see when he will return. This week, I’m told the chief executive Angelos Frangopoulos paid his biggest star a visit, apparently very keen to welcome him back as he is still a huge ratings winner for the station despite having issues such as falling off his chair last year.
While those who know Eamonn say he loves his job, and thrives when he’s on air, they believe returning to work is now mostly about the money.
‘This is all so stressful for Eamonn,’ says a friend. ‘He has never stopped working throughout his entire adult life. It’s very sad to watch the winter years of his career play out like this.
‘He thought he would be sitting in his slippers with Ruth. Instead it looks like he will be facing her in a court room.’
