Phillip Schofield has come out as gay. The This Morning presenter - who has been married for nearly 27 years - made the statement this morning. The 57-year-old wrote on his Instagram stories: 'With the strength and support of my wife and my daughters, I have been coming to the terms with the fact that I am gay.'
He added: 'This is something that has caused many heartbreaking conversations at home. I have been married to Steph for nearly 27 years, and we have two beautiful grown-up daughters, Molly and Ruby. My family have held me so close: they have tried to cheer me up, to smother me with kindness and love, despite their own confusion. Yet I still can't sleep and there have been some very dark moments.'
He then discussed the announcement on This Morning with his co-presenter and friend Holly Willoughby. He told her: 'It's tough but this is not something that's happened quickly, I've had to deal this in my head for quite some time. I got to the stage where I thought we sit here, every day, and some amazingly brave person is sitting over there and I'm thinking "I have to be that person".'
'All you can be in your life is honest with yourself,' he continued. 'I was getting to a stage in my life where I was thinking I don't really like myself because I'm not being honest with myself. We always say "talk to someone"... and you must talk to someone. It's brought me back from some dark places and in some cases talking to people saves you.'
On social media, viewers have applauded the presenter for making the statement. 'I can't begin to imagine what it must be like to hide your true self for decades,' one user wrote. 'Bravo to Philip Schofield on coming out as gay at 57. What an amazingly supportive wife and family.'
Phillip and wife Stephanie have two daughters in their twenties, Ruby and Molly.
Phillip Schofield's career timeline
1 of 121985: CBBC children's presenter
Phil's big break came as he presented the links between TV shows on CBBC, or children's BBC as it was called then. He did this from 1985 to 1987.
2 of 121987: Radio and Going Live!
Phil was also a radio presenter by this point, and presented Saturday morning children's TV show Going Live! from 1987 to 1993.
3 of 121992: Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat
In 1992, Phillip turned his hand to something completely different and appeared on stage as Joseph in the West End production, taking over the role from Jason Donovan. He performed this for five years.
4 of 122002: This Morning
Phil took to the This Morning sofa for the first time in 2002, taking over from John Leslie and presenting with Fern Britton. After she left in 2009, Holly Willoughby took up the reins, having worked with Phil on Dancing On Ice.
5 of 122006: Dancing On Ice
Speaking of which... Phil co-hosted Dancing On Ice from 2006 with Holly, before she left in 2011 and was replaced by Christine Bleakley until 2014 when the show went on hiatus. When it returned in 2018, Holly and Phil were back at the helm.
6 of 122006: The British Soap Awards
In 2006, Phil began hosting The British Soap Awards, and has been doing it annually ever since then!
7 of 122008: All Star Mr & Mrs
In 2008, Phil and his then-This Morning co-star Fern Britton began hosting All Star Mr & Mrs. When Fern left in 2010, Phil carried on until the series ended in 2016.
8 of 122009: The Cube
Phillip began presenting The Cube in 2009, a game show which saw contestants attempt to tackle the prizes inside the cube for prize money. It was GRIPPING. Sadly, it was taken off-air in 2015.
9 of 122017: Schofield's South African Adventure
Schofe got to travel around South Africa for a This Morning segment in 2017. Although there haven't been talks for another series, Phil did tell Lorraine Kelly that he'd "love" to do another one.
10 of 122017: 5 Gold Rings
He returned to the game show circuit in 2017, presenting 5 Gold Rings.
11 of 122018: Coronation Street
In 2018, Phil and Hol made Coronation Street fans very happy with a small cameo. As part of Rosie Webster's exit storyline, the pair interviewed Rosie, Craig Tinker and Gemma Winter.
12 of 122019: WeBuyAnyCar.com
On top of everything else he's doing, Phil also appears in adverts for WeBuyAnyCar.com - and his current campaign sees him playing with an ADORABLE puppy! Aww.
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