Phillip Schofield has revealed he knew he was gay on his wedding day to Stephanie Lowe 27 years ago.
The This Morning presenter, 57, admitted that before coming out he had suicidal thoughts and even sought therapy on his sexuality, and added he was ‘naive’ to think he could suppress it when he married Stephanie in 1993.
On Friday Phillip emotionally revealed that he was gay in a lengthy social media post, before speaking about his sexuality to Holly Willoughby on This Morning.
Candid: Phillip Schofield has revealed he knew he was gay on his wedding day to Stephanie Lowe 27 years ago
Phillip told The Sun On Sunday that he does believe he’s known he was gay throughout his marriage to Stephanie, saying: ‘Whatever was ”there” I thought, ”OK, whatever this is, you stay back because I am happy.”
The veteran TV star added that he was ‘naive’ to think he could suppress his sexuality when he married Steph 27 years ago, but he didn’t consider his sexuality as it was such a ‘joyous time’ for him.
‘If you ask anyone who is gay, they know — there is no confusion.’
As Phillip praised his This Morning co-host Holly Willoughby, he admitted he battled depression as he struggled with his sexuality, and even sought therapy to come to terms with it.
He admitted: ‘I went to seek professional help, I sat down and poured out my heart.’
When asked about the future of his marriage to Stephanie, Phillip was unsure about whether they will divorce in the future, and refused to confirm or deny whether he is currently in a relationship with a man.
Phillip also admitted that for a time he thought he was bisexual, and it took time for him to be honest with him and accept that he was gay.
The How To Spend It Well star added that the mental struggles have left him in tears on numerous occasions.
Phillip also highly praised his wife Stephanie for being such a strong support, and explained that she and his two daughters noticed he had been ‘low.’
Amid the fallout around his decision to come out, Phillip insisted that he is still the same person that viewers see on their television every day,
Proud: Following his public coming-out, Phil took to Instagram to emotionally thank fans for their support
Following his public coming-out, Phil took to Instagram to emotionally thank fans for their support.
He wrote: ‘You will never know how important your support has been today, I’ve read as much as I can.
Urging others in a similar situation to turn to others for support, he added: ‘Please please, no matter your age or your thoughts, TALK to someone, don’t let your head beat you and hopefully you’ll find out that your friends and family have a remarkable ability to surprise you with their love and understanding.’
‘Be kind’: The This Morning star praised the ‘love and understanding’ his family have shown him while urging others in a similar situation to turn to others for support
Hours earlier, Phillip revealed that he has been ‘consumed’ by a secret battle with his sexuality for years and finally made the decision to come out as gay, following a series of ‘heartbreaking conversations with his family.
Phillip is married to wife of 26 years Stephanie and they share two daughters Ruby, 24, and Molly, 27.
He met Stephanie when she was a BBC production assistant and he was working for BBC Children’s television. They married back in 1993 and celebrated their silver wedding anniversary in 2018.
Brave: Phillip, with the help of his close friend Holly Willoughby, addressed his decision to publicly come out in a candid interview on This Morning following his initial statement
He shared a statement to Instagram on Friday morning and admitted his beloved daughters ‘jumped up and gave him a hug’ just seconds after he spoke about his sexuality, as he praised the support of he has received from his ‘incredible family.’
Phil also revealed that he had suffered ‘dark moments, pain and confusion’ as he gradually came to terms with his sexual orientation, before finally deciding to come out to the public.
His statement read: ‘You never know what’s going on in someone’s seemingly perfect life, what issues they are struggling with, or the state of their wellbeing – and so you won’t know what has been consuming me for the last few years.
‘With the strength and support of my wife and my daughters, I have been coming to terms with the fact that I am gay.
‘This is something that has caused many heart-breaking conversations at home. I have been married to Steph for nearly 27 years, and we have two beautiful grown-up daughters, Molly and Ruby.
‘My family have held me so close: they have tried to cheer me up, to smother me with kindness and love, despite their own confusion. Yet still I can’t sleep and there have been some very dark moments.
‘My inner conflict contrasts with an outside world that has changed so very much for the better. Today, quite rightly, being gay is a reason to celebrate and be proud. Yes, I am feeling pain and confusion, but that comes only from the hurt that I am causing to my family.’
Phillip then appeared on This Morning, where he was interviewed by his co-host and close friend Holly Willoughby, who said she was ‘so proud’ of the star and will ‘sit by his side forever and ever’.
Both were seen getting visibly emotional as Phillip explained his decision to publicly address his sexuality and praised his friends and family for instantly throwing their support behind him.
Phillip added that his job on This Morning had also been a contributory factor in helping him come out after being left ‘in awe’ by guests who have made the decision to come out in public.
He told Holly: ‘Every person I tell it gets a little lighter and a little lighter, at the same time I have made this decision which is essential for me and essential for my head and that is principally the reason I have done this. They have been supporting while we get to this moment because we all know it was coming…
‘We’ve never had any secrets. It is tough but it’s not something that has happened quickly, I have had to deal with this in my head for quite some time, we’ve gone through this together, we have been honest and have been open and Stephanie as I said, you know’.
Again, lavishing praise on his wife Steph, he said: ‘She’s amazing, she’s incredible, there’s no one in my life who would have supported me.
‘As a wife the way she’s supported me, she’s astonishing, literally astonishing… you know this has been bothered me for a very long time.’
Family: Phillip shares daughters Molly, 27, and Ruby, 24, with wife Stephanie, and has praised them for supporting his decision to come out
Phillip, who shares daughters Molly, 27, and Ruby, 24, with his wife, spoke on This Morning about his battles with keeping his secret and the relief of coming out. Phil met Stephanie when she was a BBC production Assistant and he was working for the BBC Children’s television.
The couple’s last public appearance was at the National Television Awards last Wednesday. They appeared together on festive show How to Spend It Well at Christmas in December.
Speaking about how his mum Pat, 83, reacted: ‘It was the same with my mum, my mum is watching this today. She’s been on the phone this morning – hope you’re OK.
‘I went down to see her, she’s down in Cornwall, and I went down to see her. And I told her and she said ‘oh, OK, well, I don’t care’ – and that’s the same with everyone.’
Asked about a potential new relationship, he said: ‘I don’t think so, I’m not thinking there. I’m doing each day at a time now. This has always been a slow process.
‘There is no fast process after this. This was the day I knew everything was pointed towards. I couldn’t have done it if it hadn’t been you.’
Phillip has since been inundated with supportive messages from fans and his celebrity pals, who have showered him with praise and spoke of their ‘admiration’ and ‘respect’ for him.
‘I’ve no secrets’: Full transcript from Phillip Schofield’s interview with Holly Willoughby on This Morning
‘It’s funny because, everyone I’ve spoken to, you, have all been so supportive and so loving and caring.
‘And my entire family to a person have grabbed us and said it’s OK, it’s OK, we love you, we’re proud of you.
‘And every person I tell it gets a little lighter and a little lighter but at the same time, you know, I have made this decision which is essential for me and essential for my head and that’s principally the decision why I’ve done this.
‘Of course I’m really very aware that Steph and the girls are at home watching this and we’re all together, and we spent a lot of time together, we spend a lot of time together obviously.
‘And they’ve been supporting us as we got to this moment and we all knew it was coming.
A pillar of support: TV presenter Phillip Schofield on ITV’s This Morning talking with Holly Willoughby today about his announcement that he is gay
‘So, yeah, I mean I feel a little lighter, but I’m also very aware, there’s no question that it causes pain and it causes upset. I’ve no secrets. We’ve never had any secrets. Tough, it is tough, but this is not something that’s happened quickly. I’ve had to deal with this in my head for quite some time.
‘We’ve gone through this together and we’ve been honest and we’ve been open. Steph, as I said, I can’t write in any statement what I feel about that women.
‘She is amazing, she’s incredible. There’s no one in my life who would have supported me the way, as a wife, as the way she supported me. She’s astonishing, literally astonishing.
‘It’s a good question (why now). You know this has been bothering me for a very long time and I think everybody does these things at their own speed, at their own time, when they feel the time is right.
‘I’ve no secrets’: Full transcript from Phillip Schofield’s interview with Holly Willoughby on This Morning
‘And there’s no question that it has in recent times consumed my head and has become an issue in my head.
‘And so I got to the stage where I thought we sit here every day, and I’m over there and some amazingly brave incredible person is sitting here, and I’m listening to their story and thinking ‘oh my God, you’re so brave, oh my God, you’re so brave’.
‘And I’m thinking ‘I have to be that person, I have to be that person’. I think all you can be in your life is honest with yourself. I was getting to the point where I knew I wasn’t honest with myself, I was getting to the point where I didn’t like myself very much because I wasn’t being honest with myself.
‘And so, when is the right time, when is the right time to do it? And as a family, it’s the right time.
‘There are people around the world, there are people in this country, there will be people watching this, and we always say talk to someone, and believe me, believe me, when we say that and we do say that a lot on this show, you must talk to someone, you must talk to someone, i have and it’s helped a lot.
‘And it’s brought me back – i mentioned those dark places in the statement – talking to people does bring you back. And in some cases talking to people saves you. You have to discuss it, with my friends, with my family, with my wife, we’ve talked it through – and we have to talk it through.
‘This is my decision, this is absolutely my decision. It was something I knew that I had to do. And I don’t know what the world will be like now – I don’t know how this will be taken, or what people will think.
He said: ‘But at the same time I will sit here and say actually, I’m proud of myself today. And I am proud of myself today’
‘But would I say is that yes, I am very conscious of the hurt, and so my overriding emotion with my family is obviously going to be guilt, because I do feel guilty that this can’t be anything other than a painful process for them.
‘But at the same time I will sit here and say actually, I’m proud of myself today. And I am proud of myself today. It wasn’t easy but they (my daughters) were, they are so amazing in their love and support.
‘I sat them down and I told them and they jumped up and they gave me a hug, a big hug, a long hug, and then they hugged Steph and they said it’s OK, we’ll be OK, we’ll always be a family, always us four, is what we always call ourselves. We’ll always be that.
‘It was the same with my mum, my mum is watching this today. She’s been on the phone this morning – hope you’re OK. I went down to see her, she’s down in Cornwall, and I went down to see her. And I told her and she said ‘oh, OK, well, I don’t care’ – and that’s the same with everyone.
‘No I don’t think so (thinking about future relationships) – I’m not thinking there. I’m doing each day at a time now, this has always been a slow process and there is no fast process after this.
‘This was the big day and this was the day that I knew everything was pointing towards and I could not have don’t it if it hadn’t been you. So afterwards I don’t know, but no, there’s no one, I’m not rushing out to anybody.’
His side of the story: Phillip was open and honest during the appearance in which he chatted to his good friend
Leading the pack was his beloved co-host Holly, who alongside a picture of them at an awards ceremony wrote: ‘Never been more proud of my friend than I am today. We’ll be together at 10am on This Morning.’
During Phillip’s emotional This Morning appearance, he also appeared to bury his so-called rift with Ruth Langsford, as they shared an embrace live on air.
After wrapping her arms around Phil, Ruth could be heard asking him if he felt ‘better’ after telling viewers the truth about his sexuality, which he claimed had been ‘filling his head’ for a long time now.
During his impassioned announcement, Phil revealed that he was getting to the stage where he ‘no longer liked himself’, which may have been a reference to his ongoing row with Ruth.
Ruth is said to have previously made a formal complaint against him due to the ‘toxic’ backstage atmosphere the alleged feud has created.
Last sighting: Phillip and his wife Steph are pictured in their last show of unity on January 28, as the presenter admitted he had been discussing his sexuality with her for some time
Meanwhile co-host Eamonn Holmes tried to lighten the mood by joking that he thought Phil was planning to announce his resignation on the show.
Showing their support to the ITV star, Eamonn said: ‘Nobody should be embarrassed about their sexuality.’
To which Phillip awkwardly responded: ‘I’m not,’ with Eamonn adding: ‘It’s fantastic you have spoken. We are all here by your side. We will be the first to stand beside you. It’s brilliant, mate, as long as Steph and the girls are happy.’
Eamonn went on to joke that he was told the television star would be making an announcement and he thought he would be resigning so he could get his job.
He quipped: ‘I am disappointed in a couple of ways, first of all, I thought ‘big announcement from Phillip’ I thought you were going to come in and announce you had resigned and I would take your job, so that wasn’t to be.’
While he went on to joke about Phillip spending so much time with Holly in a hot tub, even poking fun at her ‘Willoughbooby’ nickname.
Slammed: Following his announcement, Ruth, 59, and Eamonn, 60, joined Phil and Holly on screen and offered them both a hug before sitting down on the sofa
