Northern Irish presenter Eamonn Holmes reportedly sent Ruth Langsford a message reassuring her that he wasn’t engaged following newspaper stories in recent days.
Last weekend the Belfast man’s friend Katie Alexander was spotted at the weekend wearing a sparkling ring near his London home.
Ms Alexander was spotted by photographers for The Sun wearing the ring on her engagement finger while out running errands near Holmes’ rented apartment in South West London.
Friends close to the GB News man quickly rejected any reports the pair were engaged and it has now emerged Holmes has reportedly even sent estranged wife Langsford a message to confirm that.
Friends close to the pair told the Daily Mail: “There are other people in this and I know Eamonn had to message Ruth to say there was nothing in the engagement speculation.”
It has been reported Holmes and Ms Alexander struck up a close friendship over the past couple of years and there are claims the 64-year-old has taken her on a safari park trip, to a Manchester United game and also a Beyoncé concert in the past.
According to The Sun, the woman has told friends they are “planning a future together” and their previous “close friendship” had “gone up several notches”.
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According to the source speaking to the Daily Mail, Ms Alexander is keen to be more public about her relationship, adding: “Katie just wants to get it over and done with but Eamonn is less keen because he doesn’t want to hurt Ruth’s feelings.”
Despite the message to her from Holmes, friends close to Langsford said rumours emerging in the press about a potential engagement between her former This Morning partner and Ms Alexander has “upset her”.
A source from her camp told Ok Magazine: “Ruth has been trying her best to be respectful to Eamonn for the sake of both their families and especially Jack. She is still wearing her wedding ring and doesn’t feel right taking it off at the moment and she wanted to be as respectful as possible and does want to invite any more speculation about their situation.
“But seeing Eamonn’s new woman wearing an engagement ring over the weekend really upset her, not because of Eamonn moving on, but because she finds it hard having their marriage and split back in the limelight again.
“She would prefer it was done in private but she understands that there will be interest – it just feels like another blow – and she feels embarrassed about it all.”
Holmes and Langsford had been living “separate lives” for two years before their divorce was announced back in May after being together for 27 years and 14 years of marriage.
The pair first began presenting This Morning together in 2006, before leaving the programme in 2021 and being replaced by Dermot O’Leary and Alison Hammond.
They have one son, Jack, who was born in 2002.
It’s understood Eamonn’s health struggles and chronic back pain played a large part in the demise of the relationship with sources claiming Ruth felt more like “carer”.