Phillip Schofield’s wife is thought to be ‘absolutely devastated’ after learning about his affair with a much younger male colleague.
The former This Morning presenter 61, sent shockwaves through the nation last week when he confirmed after years of speculation that he did, in fact, have a relationship with a showrunner on the ITV daytime show.
Phil apologised for lying about the affair to his family, colleagues, and bosses, but insisted although the relationship was ‘unwise’, it was ‘not illegal’.
As a result of his deceit, he resigned from ITV with ‘immediate effect’ and was dropped by his talent agency YMU after 35 years.
He also stepped down from hosting the British Soap Awards, which would’ve been his last public commitment, with Jane McDonald due to take his place this weekend.
The affair took place when Phil was still married to wife Stephanie Lowe and before he came out as gay live on TV in 2020, with former co-host Holly Willoughby by his side.
While Stephanie – who has been married to Phil for 30 years – has not issued a public statement on the scandal, sources close to her have shared how shocked she is.
It’s said Phil always insisted the showrunner – who has not been named in the press due to privacy reasons – was only ‘just a friend and a colleague’, adding to Stephanie’s heartbreak as she trusted him.
Phil has continued to wear his wedding ring since coming out two years ago, and has remained close with Stephanie and their daughters, Molly and Ruby.
In April, in fact, the four were pictured attending Keith Lemon’s fancy dress 50th birthday bash together.
A source has now told MailOnline: ‘Steph is absolutely devastated, she had no idea of any of this. She is a trusting woman who has supported Phil for many, many years so this has been a real shock to her.
‘Phil always positioned the man as a friend so that has prompted a fair bit of anger, to put it mildly.
‘It is literally the most heartbreaking thing that could have happened to Steph, it isn’t just the relationship but the deceit.’
Friends of Phil’s have also said that his two daughters are supporting him as he continues to make headlines with his affair bombshell.
It’s thought that Molly, 39, travelled to Cornwall to join her father after he fled London to be with his own mother following his announcement.
Earlier today, (June 1), Phil was pictured for the first time since issuing his tell-all statement, returning to his West London home alongside youngest daughter Ruby, 27.
However, it is not known whether Stephanie, 59, has been with him at any point.
The latest reports come after it was confirmed that the ITV boss will face questions from MPs over the debacle.
Chief executive Dame Carolyn McCall has been called to address politicians about the controversy at a session of the Culture, Media and Sport (CMS) committee on June 14.
The ITV executive will be asked to give evidence regarding the affair, with a letter sent by the CMS and obtained by Variety reading: ‘Thank you for your letter of 31 May 2023 setting out ITV’s response to the reports of a relationship between Phillip Schofield and a young employee on the This Morning programme.
‘The Committee regards the media industry’s duty of care towards its staff a matter of the highest importance.
‘Whilst the recent coverage focuses on the Schofield case, it also raises fundamental issues about safeguarding and complaint handling both at ITV and more widely across the media. These issues should, particularly in the case of Public Service Broadcasters, be open to scrutiny.’
The letter continued, stressing that members of the public ‘must have confidence in the robustness of Public Service Broadcaters’ safeguarding procedures’.
‘Whilst these are issues that we want to discuss first with ITV, we will also consider them in our regular scrutiny sessions with other Public Service Broadcasters, including the BBC later this month and Channel 4 later in the year,’ it said.
‘With this in mind, we look forward to meeting with you at 10am on Wednesday 14th June so that we can raise these issues with you directly.’
Previously, ITV shared that the channel felt ‘badly let down’ after being lied to by the former Dancing On Ice host.
They also said they did launch an investigation in 2020 when rumours of a relationship first started swirling, but claim to have found no supporting evidence.
Yesterday, ITV announced that they have instructed a barrister to carry out an external review over Phil’s exit from This Morning.
Phillip Schofield statement in full
‘I am making this statement via the Daily Mail to whom I have already apologised personally for misleading, through my lawyer who I also misled, about a story which they wanted to write about me a few days ago.
‘The first thing I want to say is: I am deeply sorry for having lied to them, and to many others about a relationship that I had with someone working on This Morning. I did have a consensual on-off relationship with a younger male colleague at This Morning.
‘Contrary to speculation, whilst I met the man when he was a teenager and was asked to help him to get into television, it was only after he started to work on the show that it became more than just a friendship. That relationship was unwise, but not illegal. It is now over.
‘When I chose to come out I did so entirely for my own wellbeing. Nobody “forced” me out. Neither I nor anyone else, to my knowledge, has ever issued an injunction, super or otherwise, about my relationship with this colleague, he was never moved on or sacked by or because of me. In an effort to protect my ex-colleague I haven’t been truthful about the relationship.
‘But my recent, unrelated, departure from This Morning fuelled speculation and raised questions which have been impacting him, so for his sake it is important for me to be honest now.
‘I am painfully conscious that I have lied to my employers at ITV, to my colleagues and friends, to my agents, to the media and therefore the public and most importantly of all to my family. I am so very, very sorry, as I am for having been unfaithful to my wife.
‘I have therefore decided to step down from the British Soap Awards, my last public commitment, and am resigning from ITV with immediate effect expressing my immense gratitude to them for all the amazing opportunities that they have given me.
‘I will reflect on my very bad judgment in both participating in the relationship and then lying about it. To protect his privacy, I am not naming this individual and my deepest wish is that both he and his family can now move on with their lives free from further intrusion, and that this statement will enable them to do so.
‘I ask the media now to respect their privacy. They have done nothing wrong, and I ask that their privacy should be respected.’
Source: Read Full Article