How Eamonn's formidable 'ex-wives club' have teamed up to help in his hour of need: It was dubbed the nastiest divorce in showbiz. But now Ruth has joined forces with frail star's first wife... as NEW girlfriend moves out

After one of showbiz’s most toxic divorces, triggered by the discovery of text messages to another woman, Ruth Langsford could be forgiven for walking away from her husband of 14 years for good.

But in a surprising turn of events – and one which will leave jilted husbands scratching their heads – it appears Eamonn Holmes has come out of it all rather better than some say he deserved.

For I hear that Ruth, who once claimed that the split two years ago left her with a ‘broken heart’ and ‘broken dreams’, has swallowed her pride and is back at her estranged husband’s side.

While this is no romantic reunion, it is one born of affection as she is caring for him while he remains vulnerable following a stroke six months ago.

It is an astonishing turnaround given how toxic their divorce had become. The couple, who’d hosted ITV’s This Morning together for the entire duration of their marriage, had started communicating almost exclusively via their lawyers – and, at times, through their children.

And perhaps more astonishingly still, Ruth has been joined in her efforts by Eamonn’s first wife, Gabrielle Holmes, with whom he has three children, and from whom he got divorced three decades ago.

Both women have, I’m told, put the past behind them – and, particularly for Ruth, the huge emotional toll of the recent break-up – and are bonding over the serious concerns they share for 66-year-old Eamonn’s wellbeing.

While both at one time vowed to stand by Eamonn ‘in sickness and in health’, it’s likely neither imagined they would be continuing to fulfil those promises after their marriages ended – and what Eamonn put them through.

It is perhaps telling, too, that last week Eamonn’s much-younger girlfriend Katie Alexander, 44, moved out of the penthouse apartment she shared with the TV presenter in Kingston, south-west London, with some telling me that those in Holmes’s circle were concerned that she did not have his best interests at heart.

Some insist that they have not broken up, but have said the situation is ‘very sad’ and that Katie is ‘devastated’.

And supporting him through that, too, will be his former wives.

‘For a long time Eamonn and Ruth have just been completely and entirely at odds with one another,’ the source said. ‘They reached a point where they couldn’t even communicate directly. Things became very difficult. Ruth was really upset about it all. It’s astonishing that she’s managed to put this behind her.

‘You could argue Eamonn didn’t necessarily deserve it. It’s an incredible shift. But the anger appears to have thawed and has been replaced by genuine concern.’

The source added: ‘The thought of Ruth and Gabrielle being on good terms was just as unlikely. Yet here they all are clubbing together and rallying around with the kids to protect Eamonn.

‘Ruth and Gabrielle have come through when Eamonn needed them the most. It has been a lot of pressure for Eamonn’s children and having both the support of these two women has been most helpful.’

For all Ruth’s generosity now, it must have taken a gargantuan effort to put the past behind her.

Famously, when Ruth discovered that Eamonn had moved on from their split and was romantically involved with relationship counsellor Katie, she resorted to brutal (some might say petty) measures.

As Eamonn prepared to go on a romantic break with Katie, Ruth methodically disabled the stair lift in their marital home so Eamonn – who, because of ongoing health difficulties, has struggled with his mobility – would not be able to go upstairs to pack clothes for the trip.

Giggling as she told friends what she had done, Ruth felt Eamonn deserved to suffer an indignity of his own.

Things only got worse when Ruth was forced to instruct lawyers to take her husband to court as the row over the division of their money, and the £3.2million family mansion in Weybridge, Surrey, became increasingly bitter.

Eamonn and Ruth are supposed to be in court again in November over the division of their £10million joint fortune. But it is not clear whether that will still go ahead as I am told things ‘aren’t as straightforward or as simple’ as it might appear.

Those familiar with the Holmes clan say Ruth and Gabrielle were put in touch by Eamonn’s eldest children, Declan, 37, Rebecca, 35, and Niall, 33.

All three are very close to Ruth – who has a son, Jack, 24, with Eamonn – and expressed their concerns to her as their father’s health deteriorated. I revealed earlier this month that he has had to stand down from presenting his GB News Breakfast show.

Eamonn’s exes and his children have also raised concerns about Katie, and her influence over him – more on which later.

It’s perhaps no coincidence, then, that she moved out last week.

The unlikely alliance has led the women to instruct a prominent entertainment PR firm to act on Eamonn’s behalf. Letters sent out by the agency, Plank PR, confirm they are now acting collectively on behalf of Eamonn, Ruth, Gabrielle and their shared children – further proof not only that this is a family committed to standing together, but that it is Ruth who has been pulling the strings to make it happen.

The agency is run by a longstanding television publicist, Lou Plank, who is also one of Ruth’s closest friends. She had previously represented Ruth and Eamonn jointly until 2022, when Eamonn left This Morning and they parted ways.

Just a few months later, Eamonn joined GB News and went on to take some vicious pot shots at his former employers, which embarrassed his then-wife who still worked for the network.

‘Plank PR made it very clear that they were Team Ruth and have been at her side through her split from Eamonn,’ says an industry source. ‘The fact they are now involved with Eamonn again is a hugely significant sign. It’s nothing less than a show of defiance to Katie.’

Gabrielle, who still lives in Eamonn’s native Northern Ireland, married the former GMTV star in 1985 before he became a stalwart of the daytime sofa, after meeting nine years earlier.

When his career took off in the early 1990s, their marriage became strained. He moved to London during the week, only returning home at weekends, while Gabrielle remained with the children in Belfast.

Eamonn addressed their marriage in his 2006 memoir This Is My Life: The Autobiography, saying: ‘We tended to be apart during the week because of my job, and I had no trouble with that, though Gabrielle obviously did.’

They finally split in 1996, and a year later Eamonn began dating Ruth, who was then a presenter for ITV regional station Television South West in Plymouth.

In 2002, she gave birth to son Jack, and they married eight years later in a star-studded wedding at the smart Elvetham country house hotel in Hampshire.

While there was no cross-over between Eamonn’s marriage to Gabrielle and his later relationship with Ruth, the two women had no reason to be in touch.

Katie, meanwhile, had been dating Eamonn since his marriage to Ruth broke down – although Ruth and others in the Holmes’s circle suspect they had known one another before that.

‘Unsurprisingly, Ruth had no time at all for Katie,’ says a source. ‘It wasn’t the nicest thing to watch Katie and Eamonn set up home together, or go off on holiday on a cruise where they were photographed at every port.’

Little wonder that many close to the wider family have been pleased to see Katie leaving Eamonn’s apartment.

There is even chatter that a member of Team Eamonn was behind her departure.

Katie had been splitting her time between the Kingston flat and her home in West Yorkshire where her children and former husband live.

She was said to be ‘devastated’ at having to clear her things from the rented property as Eamonn’s family stepped in to manage his affairs more tightly.

Sources tell me his family felt that Katie had been enjoying a comfortable life at Eamonn’s expense.

One entertainment insider said: ‘You can’t help but wonder if the family are trying to make sure as much of his money as possible stays safe and unspent.

‘It has now been decided that the family should step up with matters like that. What has happened to Eamonn is devastating. He is still so young but he is struggling and has been for a while now.

‘That flat isn’t cheap, and clearly Eamonn isn’t going to be living independently any time soon. His family have really stepped things up on his behalf and are starting to lock things down.’

He and Katie were regularly seen together at glamorous showbiz events. But it was a carer who found the veteran presenter after his stroke in April, before an ambulance took him to hospital.

The last time Eamonn was seen publicly was in June, with Katie at his side in hospital. Posing in his NHS robe, struggling to crack a smile, Eamonn vowed to his fans that he would be back on their screens.

‘I can’t wait to be out of this gown and back in a suit and tie', he said. ‘Watch this space, I’ll be back after this break.’

Despite that apparent determination, Eamonn’s ill health appears to have ended his broadcasting career.

He has not been seen on GB News since March 11, and had suffered a series of embarrassing on-air mishaps previously.

In March 2025, he fell off his chair live on television. A loud crash was heard off camera at around 6.15am, leaving co-presenters Ellie Costello and Charlie Rowley appearing panicked before cutting to an ad break. Eamonn returned after the break and joked, ‘I’m alive,’ before blaming the fall on a ‘wonky wheel’ on the studio’s chairs.

A month before, he had appeared to fall asleep live on air, although he later insisted: ‘I was just looking down at my mic pack to see why it was not working, as we don’t have floor managers or camera operators. Apparently I was sleeping? Whatever!’

During public appearances he had increasingly relied on wheelchairs and walking frames to cope with his reduced mobility.

He had a double hip replacement in 2016, which was followed by agonising back problems caused by a dislocated pelvis and slipped discs which left him relying on a wheelchair.

Spinal surgery in 2022 failed to rectify his problems, and multiple falls and further procedures have only increased his discomfort.

He has spoken of the need to undergo physiotherapy each morning just to get himself ready for work.

‘Eamonn has been in the wars,’ says a source who knows him. ‘He had to keep working because of his money worries [he lost a court case with the taxman in 2023 which left him facing a gargantuan bill some estimate to be more than £1million].

‘And he’s stubborn, and would never let anyone tell him what to do.

‘But now he has found himself in a situation where he desperately needs help and actually needs to accept it.

‘What perhaps he didn’t expect is that his guardian angels would be his two ex-wives.’