Phillip Schofield has given his first interview after coming out as gay, speaking to his co-host Holly Willoughby and the rest of his colleagues on This Morning.
The 57-year-old presenter held back tears as he appeared on the ITV show on Friday morning, telling Holly: "It's tough but this is not something that's happened quickly. I've had to deal this in my head for quite some time."
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Explaining why he felt was the right time for him to come out, the married father-of-two added: "I got to the stage where I thought we sit here, every day, and some amazingly brave person is sitting over there, and I'm thinking 'I have to be that person.'"
He added: "All you can be in your life is honest with yourself. I was getting to a stage in my life where I was thinking I don't really like myself because I'm not being honest with myself.
"We always say 'talk to someone'... and you must talk to someone. It's brought me back from some dark places and in some cases talking to people saves you."
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In the moving interview, Phil also talked to Holly about how his wife of 27 years, Stephanie Lowe, had been an incredible support throughout his coming out process, while praising his daughters, Molly and Ruby, for standing by him.
"Telling them can't have been easy," Holly said.
Phillip tearfully replied: "No it wasn't easy, but they were... they are... so amazing. They gave me a hug, and then they hugged Steph, and they said 'it's okay, this is fine'.
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"We'll be okay, we'll always be a family. Us four, we'll always be that."
Phillip also shared an emotional on-screen reunion with his This Morning colleagues Eamonn Holmes and Ruth Langsford, finally putting to bed rumours of a feud between him and Ruth.
Reacting to the interview, fans flocked to praise the TV presenter for speaking out and speaking his truth.
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"You are the same brave and kind man we all watch who deserves to live his life with love and peace," one wrote. "Much love to you and Steph and your girls, you are all that matters in this".
Meanwhile, another added: "Oh I love you @Schofe! What amazing support you have from @hollywills and #ThisMorning team. @RuthieeL with the love and @EamonnHolmes tickled me Love to steph and the family. You will all be good".
A third wrote: "Well done @Schofe i felt every emotion with your heartfelt statement today, thank goodness you are ok and not announcing you are poorly... Love you to bits and @hollywills here's to the rest of your life."
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You can read Phil's full statement here.
Featured Image Credit: ITVTopics: This Morning, Holly Willoughby, Phillip Schofield, Celebrity News, TV News, TV Entertainment, ITV