Ruth’s heartache: ‘I hide my tears… I cry in the shower’
best columnist Ruth Langsford admits she still breaks down in tears, over the shocking loss of her sister Julia…
Charting her emotional struggle following a year which changed her life forever, Loose Women’s Ruth Langsford is opening up about her grief over older sister Julia – who had battled severe depression for many years and shockingly took her own life at home last June.
Speaking of how she is still coming to terms with her loss, the 60-yearold presenter revealed, ‘I’ve learned now that I can have those moments; sometimes, I have a good old cry in the shower and feel better for it. I think it’s good to have a loud, snotty cry.’
But, while she confesses to shedding rivers of tears since the tragic events of last summer, she also says, ‘ You can’t spend your whole life crying.
‘It’s not even a sense of saying, “Pull yourself together and get back to work”, it’s just that you have to get on with your life, and you can’t get on with it if you’re crying all day.’
Ruth’s beloved sister would have wanted to see her happy, she adds: ‘I’m lucky that I have a loving husband and a good family, and all I can do is live a happy life in her memory.’
It has been a long, tear-filled journey for Ruth – one that, in some ways, she will be on for the rest of her life.
Thankfully, the popular mum-ofone is finding ways to ride those waves of emotion – and is doing her usual brilliant job on-screen.
But in the early months after the tragedy, Ruth was so devastated, she considered quitting TV altogether.
Speaking to best, she admitted: ‘It seemed wrong to be cheery on-screen, when, inside, my heart was breaking.’
But it was her devoted husband – Northern Irish broadcaster Eamonn Holmes – who, after a torturous month of watching his wife ‘crying, screaming and sobbing’, finally convinced her she had ‘so much to live for’ – and to go back to work.
‘Eamonn pointed out that he was, in effect, losing not one, but two of the most precious people in his life – Julia and me,’ she explained. ‘He showed me how I had so much to live for in Julia’s memory – and beyond.’
Wise words, Ruth.
● If you have been affected by this story, you can call the Samaritans on 116 123 or visit samaritans.org.