Phillip Schofield said his wife, Stephanie Lowe, was ‘very, very angry’ to learn of his affair (Picture: Getty)
Phillip Schofield has revealed that Stephanie Lowe, his wife of 30 years, was ‘very, very angry’ after he finally confessed to his affair with a much younger colleague.
The This Morning host has rarely been out of the headlines in recent days after he confirmed that he had a relationship with an unnamed male colleague.
The 61-year-old apologised for lying about the affair to his loved ones, as well as pal Holly Willoughby and their ITV bosses, but insisted that although the relationship was ‘unwise’, it was ‘not illegal’.
He was later dropped by his talent agency, YMU, after 35 years and also resigned from ITV with ‘immediate effect’, with Jane McDonald set to fill in at the upcoming British Soap Awards.
In a sit-down interview with the Sun, Schofield opened up about the moment he broke the news of his affair to Lowe, who he shares daughters, Molly and Ruby with.
The former Dancing On Ice host explained that he previously told her that rumours surrounding their relationship were ‘untrue’ and ‘b******s’, something she believed.
The ITV star had an affair with a much younger male colleague (Picture: WireImage)
‘She got off a plane and I phoned her up and texted saying, “I need to talk to you”,’ he recalled. ‘She called back and I told her. She was very, very angry.’
‘She is very, very angry but we spoke today. And my daughters were unbelievable.
‘They are without question, our greatest asset. I always say our, but from a father’s point of view, my greatest asset are my girls.’
Phil has continued to wear his wedding ring since coming out two years ago, and has remained close with his estranged wife.
Phillip shares daughters Ruby and Molly with his estranged wife (Picture: Getty)
Lowe, who has been married to Schofield for 30 years, has yet to speak publicly on the scandal, but an insider recently revealed that she is ‘devastated’ by the betrayal.
‘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,’ a source told the MailOnline.
‘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.’
Phillip came out as gay in 2020 (Picture: Getty)
In the wake of the affair, ITV bosses have instructed a barrister to conduct an external review of the facts surrounding his exit from This Morning.
The network’s chief executive, Dame Carolyn McCall, confirmed the news in a letter seen by the PA news agency, calling for an external review.
In the letter, she wrote that ITV takes the matter ‘extremely seriously and have reviewed our own records … [which] show that when rumours of a relationship between Phillip Schofield and an employee of ITV first began to circulate in late 2019/early 2020 ITV investigated.
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.’
‘Both parties were questioned then and both categorically and repeatedly denied the rumours, as did Phillip’s then agency YMU.
‘In addition, ITV spoke to a number of people who worked on the This Morning and wider Daytime team and were not provided with, and did not find any evidence of a relationship beyond hearsay and rumour.
However, she says, the network continued to question both men who ‘continued to deny the rumours including as recently as this month,’ adding there has been ‘a lot of inaccuracy in the reporting’ and wanted to ‘set out some facts.’
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They share two daughters together.