Phillip Schofield has issued an apology to his wife for being 'unfaithful' after admitting to having an affair with a younger colleague.
The 61-year-old announced he had left This Morning last Saturday (20 May), following an apparent feud with his co-host Holly Willoughby.
But since then, Schofield has made even further headlines thanks to an admission statement he provided exclusively to the Daily Mail this evening (26 May).
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The former This Morning presenter has admitted to having an affair with a younger male colleague on the show while he was still with his wife Stephanie Lowe, and before he came out as gay in 2020.
In his statement provided to the Daily Mail, Schofield said: "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.
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"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."
The former This Morning presenter continued by saying he is 'painfully conscious' that he has lied to many, including those at ITV and his family.
He also issued a public apology to his wife, Stephanie Lowe, saying: "I am so very, very sorry, as I am for having been unfaithful to my wife."
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The couple separated in 2020 after 27 years together as Schofield came out as gay, but the pair were still together when the affair took place.
Following that bombshell moment on the This Morning sofa over three years ago, a friend of Lowe spoke to The Mirror.
"Steph is being a rock for Phillip, as she always has been, but there's no denying she is absolutely shattered by all this," they told the paper.
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"She and the girls love him very much and will support him as much as they can, but the knowledge they have been living a lie for so long is terribly hurtful."
They concluded: "It's humiliating to think that you're married to someone who doesn't love you the way you love them."
Topics: Phillip Schofield, This Morning, UK News, ITV
Callum Jones