Ruth Langsford has recalled the heartwrenching moment her son Jack phoned husband Eamonn Holmes instead of her during his early stages of university, as she reflected on the hard process of empty nest syndrome. The couple’s only child together flew the nest to study three years ago, which Ruth, 63, admits left her in tears multiple times.
She shared: “I remember going into his bedroom and crying. I could smell him on the pillow, having a good old cry. That first week was horrendous because I was so used to having him around.” While trying to get used to the change, Ruth admitted she “fooled” herself that he was still around as she likened her emotions to “a grieving process”.
Adding to her sadness, Ruth said she barely heard from Jack at first and was upset to learn he had called Eamonn over her first. She shared: “On day three, I came in from work, I was talking to Eamonn and he said Jack said something or another, and I said, ‘Oh, you’ve spoken to Jack? And he said, ‘Yeah I spoke to him an hour ago’.
“I said, ‘Did you phone him?’ And he said, ‘No he phoned me’. It was like a dagger in my heart, I was like, ‘He phoned you? What did you talk about?’, to which Eamonn replied: “We talked about football.” After speaking to a female friend in a similar situation, they came to the conclusion that phone calls to dad were perhaps simpler, than with their mum, who would ask about their washing and whether or not they had taken their vitamins.
“I think that was a very interesting theory, Jack is just cutting the apron string,” she shared, admitting it was hard not to bombard him with such questions during their first phone call. “When he did phone, he phoned me out of the blue, I had to try so hard to not say all those things.”
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After overcoming the first week and realising Jack was fine, Ruth said she and Eamonn focused on having “a lovely time” together and worried a little less.
“When they come home, it’s wonderful but then you have that similar experience when they leave again, but each time, it gets better.”
She added on Hello! Magazine’s In A Good Place podcast: “We look at him now and he’s such a lovely young man and he’s doing well, he’s got a lovely girlfriend and we’re very proud of him.”
Jack is Ruth’s only child, while Eamonn has three more from his first marriage; sons Declan and Niall and daughter Rebecca.
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Last month, the broadcaster announced he had become a grandfather again following the birth of Declan’s second child with his wife.
In a separate post, Eamonn said the family were feeling “blessed, relieved and happy” at the safe arrival of their new addition.
The presenter first became a grandad in 2021 after their first daughter Emelia was born and he has been keeping fans up to date ever since.
Announcing the news on This Morning at the time, he and Ruth shared with viewers the sweet nicknames they had come up with for him.
Ruth shared: “We came up with Grumps, but he wasn’t too keen on that one,” before revealing Eamonn had settled on the name papa.
He quipped: “It surprises people, because they look at me and think, ‘He’s too young to be a grandfather’. I’ve got people getting in touch with me about glamorous grandfather competitions and all sorts of things like that.
“But no, my friend Bill has anointed himself Papa and I like it. It’s like the Pope. There’s an infallibility that goes with it. So I’d quite like my grandchildren to call me Papa. That would be nice,” he laughed.
Ruth added: “Congratulations, Declan and Jenny. We’re very, very excited and can’t wait to meet her.”
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