Schofield leaves his £2m family home – ten weeks after coming out on ITV
PHILLIP SCHOFIELD has left the family home he shared with his wife of 27 years only weeks after announcing on daytime television that he is gay.
In an emotional interview on This Morning, the presenter vowed that he, wife Stephanie and their two daughters ‘will always be a family’.
Now The Mail on Sunday can reveal that the 58-year-old has moved out of the £2million modern rustic property near Henleyon-Thames in Oxfordshire and is living in a central London apartment where he commutes to ITV’s White City studios.
During a Clap For Carers event on March 26 during the first week of the coronavirus lockdown, Mr Schofield posted a video on Instagram from his window looking out on to the Shard skyscraper in central London.
The location is 40 miles from the sprawling country home he shared with Steph and their daughters Molly, 27, and 24year-old Ruby.
Staff on the ITV daytime show have been made aware of the star’s change of address, including the drivers who ferry him to and from the studio.
His relocation has prompted speculation among colleagues that his marriage to Steph, whom he says he loves more than ever, could finally be over.
A source said: ‘There has been talk for weeks that Phillip isn’t living with Steph any more, that he had moved out for good and had a new home. He has a place in central London.
‘It’s not as big but it’s the beginning of a new life for him.
‘It very much also seems as though their marriage could well be over.’
Mr Schofield surprised fans on February 7 by issuing a statement on social media declaring that after 27 years of marriage, he was ‘coming to terms with the fact that I am gay’.
In a choreographed follow-up, he took his place on the This Morning sofa besides co-host Holly Willoughby to further pour his heart out.
Writing on Instagram about his decision to come out, he said: ‘With the strength and support of my wife and daughters, I have been coming to terms with the fact that I am gay.
‘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.’
He later admitted in a newspaper interview that it was too early to say if he and Steph would stay married.
‘It has taken me a long time to get here, I am not rushing to get to any other place,’ he said.
‘We will always be a family... And where the wind blows us I don’t know. But I still love Steph as much as when we first met. More probably.’
A spokesman for Mr Schofield declined to comment last night.