'I've chosen to pick myself up & GET ON WITH LIFE'

Once one half of a TV power couple, now Ruth Langsford is turning 65 single and stronger.

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Here she talks divorce, discovering a new bond with her son and big dreams of travelling the world.

With her photo shoot complete, Ruth Langsford sits down, takes a sip of warm water, then a gentle, steadying breath. Since her surprise split from husband Eamonn Holmes last May, after 14 years of marriage and 27 years together, Ruth has been walking an unexpected new life path.

Now, as she celebrates turning 65 this month, Ruth is determined to look ahead, turn negatives into positives and has an ever-growing enthusiasm for what lies ahead.

Ruth has kept a dignified silence on the break-up, and the much-loved presenter is keen to look forward while recognising that the situation she finds herself in is far from what she had anticipated.

‘I’m all right,’ says Ruth, when w&h asks how she is. ‘Relationship breakdowns are very difficult – marriage, friendship, whatever it is – but you just deal with it and you have to move on. You can either let yourself crumble or you pick yourself up and get on with life. It’s a choice.’

Ruth, who shares son Jack, 22, with Eamonn, adds, ‘I’m not delighted my marriage is over but I’ve accepted that my marriage is over, so I am trying to now embrace the fact that I’m single and can make choices that are just about me.’

This was exactly the thought process when Ruth accepted an invitation to travel Down Under last November to take part in I’m a Celebrity… Unpacked, which coincided with her close pal and fellow Loose Women star Jane Moore’s eviction from the jungle.

And with her 65th birthday approaching, more travel plans are in motion, plus plenty of signature hard graft too. On top of her twice- weekly