PHILLIP SCHOFIELD
What it’s like when your husband tells you he is gay
BY PHILLIP Schofield’s own admission it was his “big day”. At just before 10am yesterday, the king of daytime television issued a statement on social media declaring that at the age of 57 and after 27 years of marriage, he was “coming to terms with the fact that I am gay”.
In a choreographed self-outing, Schofield then took his place on the
This Morning sofa besides his co-host Holly Willoughby to further pour his heart out.
She hugged him and he cried. Just one or two senior executives, as well as Willoughby herself, were aware of the confession that was coming.
The statement laid bare Schofield’s turmoil. It wasn’t entirely clear why the father of two grown-up daughters was suddenly admitting to being gay, but he hinted that he had finally had enough of living a lie.
“This is absolutely my decision. It was something I knew that I had to do,” he said, denying he had been forced into it.
Schofield, still wearing his wedding ring, accepted his decision to go public had caused hurt to his family. But he said of his wife Stephanie, 55: “We have never had any secrets.” It was not clear if Stephanie was sticking by him.
With tears in his eyes, Schofield declared: “My entire family, to a person, have grabbed us and said, ‘It’s OK, we love you, we are proud of you’, and every person I tell, it gets a little lighter and a little lighter.
“I’m really very aware that Steph and the girls are at home watching this and we’re all together … And they’ve been supporting us as we got to this moment and we all knew it was coming. I feel a little lighter, but I’m also very aware, there’s no question that it causes pain and it causes upset.”
He told the millions of viewers of the programme he has presented since 2002: “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.”
On Instagram, a little earlier, he had posted a statement praised by celebrity friends, fans and the gay community for its bravery.
“You never know what’s going on in someone’s seemingly perfect life, what issues they are struggling with, or the state of their well-being – and so you won’t know what has been consuming me for the last few years,” he wrote.
“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.”
He praised his wife and daughters Molly and Ruby, as well as Willoughby for her support, and ended his statement with the plea:
“Please be kind, especially to my family.”
There had been rumours of a feud behind the scenes of This Morning including claims, all denied, that Schofield had fallen out with Ruth Langsford and Eamonn Holmes, the husband and wife team, with whom he and Willoughby share presenting duties.
After his television confession yesterday morning, Langsford and Holmes were ushered on to give him a hug too. “Nobody should be embarrassed about their sexuality,” said Holmes to which Schofield responded: “I’m not.”
But viewers accused Holmes of making an inappropriate joke after he said he had wondered how Schofield “can sit in a hot tub with Holly Willoughby and Steph doesn’t have a problem”.
Schofield first appeared on television screens in 1985 as continuity presenter on Children’s BBC alongside Gordon the Gopher. “If you can introduce Newsround with a fluffy gopher squeaking next to you, you can handle anything,” he later said.
He moved to the children’s Saturday morning show Going Live, and starred in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour
Dreamcoat on stage. He also presents the hit ITV show Dancing on Ice and has attracted a series of commercial contracts, making him one of the wealthiest television stars in Britain.
Waitrose, for which he is “wine ambassador”, said: “We are incredibly supportive of Phillip and his family” while Princess Cruises said it was “deeply moved and proud of our brand ambassador Phillip Schofield”.
Stonewall, the gay rights charity, hailed Schofield’s “hugely powerful and courageous move”.
Schofield has always previously denied being gay.
‘I feel a little lighter but I’m also very aware, there’s no question that it causes pain and it causes upset’