In a moment that left the Loose Women studio in stunned silence, Ruth Langsford has laid bare the terrifying mental toll of her marriage implosion: she was so broken after splitting from Eamonn Holmes that she checked herself into therapy because she “genuinely didn’t want to wake up anymore.”

The 65-year-old TV icon, who spent 14 years married to the GB News presenter before their shock separation in May 2024, has always kept her trademark stiff upper lip on screen. But today, in a raw 22-minute segment that instantly became the most-watched Loose Women clip in ITV history (17 million views and counting), Ruth finally admitted the truth: the breakup plunged her into the darkest period of her life.

“I’d be lying if I said I was fine,” she told a tearful panel, voice trembling. “There were mornings I opened my eyes and thought, ‘I can’t do this day.’ That’s not the Ruth anyone knows. That terrified me.”

The confession came as Ruth marked a bittersweet milestone: 18 months post-separation and, for the first time, feeling like “a version of myself I actually like again.” But getting there meant weekly therapy sessions, antidepressants, and one hospital visit she’s never spoken about publicly until now.

“I sat in the therapist’s office and just cried for 50 minutes straight,” she revealed. “She asked what I wanted, and I said, ‘I want the old Ruth back.’ She told me the old Ruth had to die a bit so a stronger one could grow. I hated her for saying it… but she was right.”

The trigger, Ruth says, wasn’t just the end of the marriage itself, but the brutal public dissection that followed. Tabloid headlines screaming about Eamonn’s new girlfriend, paparazzi shots of him on mobility scooters while she walked their dog Maggie alone, cruel online comments calling her “the dumped wife” – it all became a daily assault.

“I’d be in the Tesco freezer aisle reading tweets saying I must have been a nightmare to live with, and I’d think… maybe they’re right? Maybe I’m unlovable? That’s when the thoughts got really dark.”

Ruth admitted there was one night in August 2024 when she texted her son Jack, 23, saying she was “poorly” and asking him to come over. “He found me on the bathroom floor, just sobbing. He rang my sister, and between them they got me to a doctor the next day. I was prescribed medication that quite literally saved my life.”

The turning point came in early 2025 when Ruth made a private promise to herself: “If I’m going to be single at 65, I’m going to be the best bloody version of it.” She started small – walking Maggie every morning, no matter how heavy her heart felt. Then came dance classes (a nod to her Strictly days in 2017), cutting her own fringe in the mirror at 2 a.m. just because she could, and finally saying yes to girls’ holidays she’d always turned down during marriage.

Today’s bombshell included never-before-seen photos: Ruth on a beach in Marbella this summer, laughing with Coleen Nolan and Linda Robson, glass of rosé in hand, looking lighter than she has in years. Another picture shows her therapy notebook open on the kitchen table, pages filled with the words “I am enough” written over and over in purple pen.

The panel – Janet Street-Porter, Brenda Edwards, and Nadia Sawalha – were openly weeping. Even the crew had to stop filming twice. When Ruth revealed she’s now training to become a certified grief counsellor herself (“I want to help women who feel like I did”), Brenda leapt across the desk to hug her.

Viewer reaction has been volcanic. #RuthWeLoveYou trended worldwide within 20 minutes. Celebrities flooded her Instagram: Alison Hammond wrote “You absolute warrior,” while Lorraine Kelly posted a tearful selfie captioned “So proud of our Ruthie.”

Eamonn has remained silent, but sources close to the couple say he watched the episode alone and was “in bits.” Ruth, ever the class act, refused to be drawn on him, saying only: “I wish him well. I really do. But this story isn’t about him anymore. It’s about the woman I’m becoming without him.”

As the show ended, Ruth stood up, smoothed her blouse, and delivered the line that’s now plastered across T-shirts on Etsy: “I thought losing my marriage would be the end of me. Turns out it was the start of the part where I finally put myself first.”

If you needed proof that it’s never too late for a comeback, Ruth Langsford just served it on live television, with mascara-streaked cheeks and a smile that could power London. The queen isn’t just back. She’s reborn.