Molly Schofield is said to have found out about her dad’s affair while working at his former talent agency (Picture: PA)
Phillip Schofield’s eldest daughter allegedly found out about his affair with a This Morning showrunner minutes before the news became public.
The ITV daytime presenter – who recently resigned from the channel – released a shocking tell-all statement last week, confirming that he had a relationship with a much younger male showrunner while married to his wife.
Phil, 61, and the colleague – who has not been named in the media for his privacy – were together before he came out as gay live on TV in 2020.
The former Dancing On Ice presenter said that while their relationship wasn’t ‘wise’, it was ‘not illegal’.
In his initial statement, Phil apologised to his family, colleagues, and bosses for lying about the fair when questioned on it, with an investigation now set to take place into the circumstances surrounding his departure from ITV.
As Phil’s statement was sending shockwaves around the country, it’s believed his daughter Molly, 29, was also trying to come to terms with what he had confessed.
The former ITV presenter shares two daughters with wife Stephanie Lowe (Picture: John Phillips/Getty Images)
According to MailOnline, the star’s eldest – he also shares 27-year-old Ruby with wife Stephanie Lowe – Molly was at work when she heard the news.
She works at YMU, the talent agency that manages a wealth of ITV personalities and, up until recently, her dad for 35 years.
A source told the outlet that Molly only found out about her father’s statement to the Daily Mail minutes before it was published online.
Her fellow staff members have said she was in such shock she had to be comforted before going home.
It’s believed that Molly then travelled to Cornwall to join her dad after he fled London to be with his mother.
Eldest Molly, 29, was reportedly comforted by colleagues when the news broke (Picture: Instagram)
Wife Stephanie is ‘absolutely devastated’, according to a source (Picture: Instagram)
He first left the capital two weeks ago when he initially quit This Morning amid rumours of a fallout between him and Holly Willoughby.
Phil was then pictured for the first time today (June 1) returning to his West London home, alongside youngest Ruby.
It’s not known whether his wife, 59, has been with him over recent weeks.
Phil and his family have remained a close unit since he came out two years ago.
In April, in fact, they attended Keith Lemon’s fancy dress 50th birthday celebrations together in fun outfits.
Therefore, it’s believed Stephanie is ‘heartbroken’ after ‘trusting’ her husband and sticking by him after he revealed his sexuality to the world.
Phil resigned from ITV with ‘immediate effect’ after confessing to the relationship with a runner (Picture: Instagram)
ITV are to be questioned by MPs on his departure from the channel (Picture: Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)
An insider added to the Mail: ‘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.
‘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.’
Meanwhile, Phil’s career remains uncertain, as he continues to lose brand deals and sponsorships amid the fallout of his bombshell confession.
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It’s also said he has put his £1.2million London pad on the market.
This comes after former colleague Eamonn Holmes made claims of Phil using his home for ‘playtime Thursdays’ with the young showrunner, who would then be ferried into work on Friday.
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.’
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She works for his former talent agency, YMU.