HE has shared the screen with Holly Willoughby, Fern Britton and Sarah Greene for most of his career, but there’s only ever been one woman in Phillip Schofield’s life — his wife Steph.
The former TV production assistant, mother of his two daughters Molly, 27, and Ruby, 24, has been Phillip’s rock.
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Steph, 55, was there as he moved up the ranks from kids’ presenter on the BBC to becoming the biggest star on daytime ITV.
Now, at arguably the most critical point of his life and career, Phillip, 57, has praised her loyalty and understanding after announcing he is gay.
He choked back tears as he paid tribute to Steph on live television yesterday morning after coming out on social media minutes earlier — when he described her as “the kindest soul I have ever met”.
Speaking to Holly, 38 — while sitting, for once, on the other side of the This Morning sofa — he said: “I can’t write in any statement what I feel about that woman.
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“She is amazing, incredible. There is no one in my life who would have supported me as a wife the way she has supported me. She’s astonishing — literally astonishing.”
Phillip did not give any indication as to whether the pair planned to divorce following his announcement, but he did concede Steph was in “pain” and “upset”.
But he was still wearing his wedding ring. Despite being one of TV’s best- known faces for more than four decades, Phillip has managed to keep his family out of the spotlight.
Aside from the odd Instagram post or rare red carpet appearance — their last being this month’s National Television Awards — he has ensured Steph and their daughters can live relatively normal lives outside of his showbiz bubble.
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Phillip and Steph — who he affectionately dubs Mrs S — met in the late Eighties.
He was hosting BBC Saturday morning show Going Live! and she was working in production in children’s television.
He once told how Steph housesat for him when he worked on TV projects abroad “and never moved out”.
On living with her during those early days, Phillip said: “I like having someone to come home to and discuss things with.
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"I like coming home when the lights are on in the house, bread’s being baked and the garden is mowed.”
They married in 1993 at Ackergill Castle in Wick, Scotland, a romantic location the pair regularly return to, especially around Christmas.
He proposed placing an engagement ring inside an advent calendar, revealing: “When she opened it I hopped out of bed starkers and got down on one knee.”
Before he met Steph, the squeaky-clean star hinted he was a bad boy recalling a time himself and a pal enjoyed a wild night with “two Russian hookers” while celebrating the Berlin Wall being torn down. He also admitted dabbling with drugs.
Indeed, Phillip clearly wasn’t as innocent as his on-screen image suggested, saying: “It wasn’t a case of hiding it. I did the same as everybody else.
“I was a lad, we partied a bit, but I didn’t hide anything. It’s just that nobody bothered to look in the right place.
“You have to remember that doing kids’ TV then, you were expected to be the son of Enid Blyton, and that was very difficult.”
He credited Steph for helping him deal with social anxiety. Phillip revealed: “I can be confident and comfortable in front of a camera talking to millions of people.
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“But if I go to a party and get there before my wife or my mates and I don’t know anyone, that’s about my worst situation to be in.”
Steph is popular among Phillip’s industry pals, including Ant and Dec, and Holly and her husband Dan Baldwin, who they accompanied on holidays.
Last August, they joined Holly and Dan in the Algarve, the former saying: “My kids adore Phil and Steph.”
Steph was well aware of the speculation surrounding Phillip’s sexuality throughout his career. Rumours were rife in the Nineties when he was a teen heart-throb. He was even quizzed about it during interviews.
In 1995, he said speculation about his sexuality was “nobody’s business but my own”.
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When asked if he felt “relieved to get married”, he responded: “Do you know I didn’t feel suddenly relieved thinking ‘Good Lord, I’ve got married, I can’t be gay.’”
And on his constant romantic links, he said most of them were “normally male”.
He added: “I always had a healthy sex life, was quite good at it thankfully, and then got married and practised it on a regular basis.
“So no, sex life and background and sexuality and all that sort of stuff has always been a bit of a joke as far as I’m concerned, but no, no great skeletons in the closet there I’m afraid.”
Before he got married, Phillip was asked if he had ever slept with a man.
He responded: “No absolutely not. Quite a lot of men I know have, but not necessarily me. I would never sleep with a man, but I’m not homophobic’.
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Having a family and watching them grow up was clearly important for the couple. Phillip said: “It was something I’d always looked forward to. It was something I desperately wanted.
“It’s difficult in this job to find the right person, and the person who would get to know you and marry you for the right reasons. So I was very lucky with Steph. There aren’t many like her around.”
Dillema that faces so many
By Deidre Sanders
ALL of us in the This Morning studio yesterday were longing to give Phillip a hug and, as soon as we got to the ad break, that’s exactly what many of us did, as well as shedding some tears.
But by the time I did the phone-in just over an hour later we’d had 12,000 messages of support for Phillip on Instagram, 21,100 on Facebook, 2,000 emails and thousands of positive phone calls jamming the lines.
There were also viewers who identified with Phillip’s dilemma, worrying about whether or not to come out.
Attitudes have changed but I hear every week from people who realise they are gay or bisexual and fear how those around them will react.
One man who phoned in yesterday told me his mother had said: “If you’re gay I don’t want to hear about it.”
So rejecting, but it can feel hard too for families, and for straight partners of people who may have realised their sexuality later in life, which is quite common.
They may feel they didn’t choose this dilemma but it’s important to understand that people coming out aren’t choosing a lifestyle.
None of us can choose our sexuality and what matters is that everyone is loved and valued for themselves.
There is support for everyone involved in these dilemmas: Switchboard LGBT+ (www.switchboard.lgbt, 0300 330 0630), FFLAG – Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (www.fflag.org.uk, 0845 652 0311), www.straightpartnersanonymous.com.
My leaflets on Gay Worries, Gay Resources and Bisexual Issues explain more. Email problems@deardeidre.org.
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