Ruth Langsford's hidden family heartache from sister tragedy to tears over son
Ruth Langsford has endured her fair share of heartache while in the public eye.
The Loose Women star, 63, has not shied away from discussing the challenging times in her life, using her platform to share the highs and lows of her personal life with fans.
Ruth, who is married to fellow TV star Eamonn Holmes, recently shocked fans - and even herself - as she broke down in tears while talking about her only son moving out.
It is not the first time Ruth emotionally braved all as she shared the impact of having both of her parents being diagnosed with dementia and the heartbreaking loss of her older sister Julia. She has been close to giving up her career in the public eye, but the love and support from her tight-knit family has kept her strong.
Ruth's sister Julia tragically took her own life in 2019 (Ruth Langsford Instagram)
She has been supported by her husband Eamonn Holmes (Dave Benett/Getty Images)Tragedy
Ruth shared a close bond with sister Julia, who tragically took her own life in 2019 aged 62. Julia battled depression for years and Ruth said losing her sparked the 'hardest year of her life.' She almost quit her TV work and has praised her husband Eamonn and son Jack for their support.
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She said: "I needed a focus, which was - get up and I would cry in the shower - have a big old bawl – and then I could almost cut it off and go: 'right, come on, time for work, dry your hair, go to work'. I needed that, because I could lie and cry all day about my sister. I needed that focus and structure back in my life."
However it wasn't easy for Ruth to carry on working. She said: “It seemed wrong to be cheery on screen, when, inside, my heart was breaking.” Ruth explained Eamonn sat her down for a “soft but strong” talk to encourage her to live her life and resume her career as a tribute to her sister.
She said: “Eamonn pointed out that he was, in effect, losing not one, but two of the most precious people in his life – Julia and me. He showed me how I had so much to live for in Julia’s memory – and beyond. He pleaded with me not to let it win, by ruining everything I had achieved – and still had to celebrate.”
Tears for her son
Ruth sobbed as she recalled her heartbreak over her son leaving the family home (Hello)Ruth recently broke down on camera as she became extremely emotional while speaking about her close-knit family. She became teary when opening up about her 21-year-old son Jack, who she shares with her TV star husband Eamonn Holmes. Ruth burst into tears as she reflected on Jack leaving for university.
She explained: "That first week of not having him at home literally felt like part of my heart ripped out. I kept his bedroom door shut." Ruth told Hello! : "I remember coming into his bedroom and crying and getting hold of the pillow, and I could smell him on the pillow, and had a good old cry, and then shutting the door and then that first week was horrendous because I was just so used to having him around."
While last year she reflected on the day she dropped him off at university for the first time. Ruth admitted: “I truly understand the pain of empty nest syndrome. The day we dropped Jack off at university, we said goodbye and, as we got around the corner, I burst into tears and Eamonn was crying too. It sounds dramatic but for the next three days, I felt like I’d had my womb ripped out. It was physical pain."
Parent's ill health
Ruth's mum is living in a care home following her dementia diagnosis (@ruthlangsford)
Ruth and Eamonn share son Jack (Getty Images)The Loose Women star's dad Dennis passed away in 2012 at the age of 84, having first shown symptoms of Alzheimer's' in the 1990s. In his final years, the former army sergeant was cared for at home by his wife and Ruth's mother, Joan. The TV star's mum later developed dementia herself, and, now 91, is living in a care home.
"You’re grieving for them while they’re still alive. They are physically there but their spirit appears not to be. It’s like you’ve lost them... but there they are," she wrote, referring to her father's "long and slow" decline. "Eventually we had to put him into care. It broke my heart. But sometimes it is not possible to keep a sufferer at home. Me and my sister had to persuade my mum to let him go into care, because being at home was making them both ill."
In a recent interview on the How To Be 60 podcast, Ruth confessed that she too frets she'll inherit the illness one day. The 61-year-old's fear of dementia, which can be genetic, is so intense that she has even admitted she's refused to do a test to see her chances of developing it.
"Whenever they say that you can do a test to see if you would be prone to getting Alzheimer’s, I don’t really want to do it, because there’s no cure at the moment," she told host Kaye Adams. "If I could do that test and they said: ‘right, now you know, this is what you do to stop you getting it. You have to take this tablet, you have to do these exercises, you have to eat this or don’t eat that.’ But there’s nobody can tell you that, so I almost don’t want to know.
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"But of course, every time I go: ‘where are my glasses?’ and they’re on my head, or: ‘where are my keys? and I have those blank moments where you suddenly forget someone’s name – somebody you know really well. You think: ‘oh my God,’ so of course I worry, with both parents. But I try not to think about it too much, because it’s too depressing."
*If you're struggling and need to talk, the Samaritans operate a free helpline open 24/7 on 116 123. Alternatively, you can email [email protected] or visit their site to find your local branch
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