Phillip Schofield’s mum, wife and daughters had the best response to his coming out as gay
Phillip Schofield and his wife of 27 years, Stefanie Lowe. (Getty)
This Morning talkshow host Phillip Schofield described how when coming out to his mother, Pat, as gay, she simply and jokingly replied: “I don’t care.”
Taking to Instagram on Friday, the presenter, 57, explained his struggle in his journey to accept himself and his worries for how it will impact his life.
On today’s This Morning, he emotionally told co-host Holly Willoughby about his experience coming out to his mother.
Sat on the plush This Morning couch, Schofield, bleary eyed, described to Willoughby the emotional moment he came out to his family.
ITV This Morning presenter @Schofe has come out as gay 🏳️🌈
Read more: https://t.co/FfpbV7QdCh pic.twitter.com/MQa53Er7mu
— PinkNews (@PinkNews) February 7, 2020
Phillip Schofield: ‘I feel guilty for any pain I caused my family in coming out.’
He feared that his nearly 27 year-long marriage to Stephanie Lowe would be shaken and it would tamper his relationship with his two daughters, Molly and Ruby.
“I am very conscious of the hurt and my overriding emotions with my family is obviously going to be guilt because I do feel guilty,” he explained.
“This can’t be anything other than a painful process for [Lowe].”
Phillip Schofield discussing his decision to come out live on This Morning. (ITV)
On discussing how it was coming out to his family: “It wasn’t easy [telling his children].
“But they were… so amazing. The love, the support.
“I sat them down and I told them and they jumped up and gave me a hug. A big hug, a long hug, and then they hugged Steph.
“And then they said, ‘It’s OK, it’s OK, this is fine, we’ll be OK, we’ll always be a family.’
“‘Always.’
TV presenter’s mother simply replied ‘I don’t care’ when coming out as gay.
“It was the same as my mum,” he continued, “my mum was watching this today.
“She’s been on the phone all morning,” his voice began to wobble and tears bubbled, “‘hope you’re OK, thinking of you.’
“I went down to see her in Cornwall and I told her and she said: “Oh, OK.
“‘Well, I don’t care.’
“And that’s the same with everyone.”
Phillip Schofield’s This Morning co-host Holly Willoughby shared this selfie of the pair after he came out as gay. (Instagram)
Discussing the decision to publicly come out, Schofield stressed the importance in talking to people transparently.
“We always say, ‘Talk to someone’, and believe me, when we say that, and we do say that a lot on this show, ‘You must talk to someone, you must talk to someone.’ I have and it’s helped a lot.
“It’s brought me back from those dark places that I mentioned in the statement, talking to people does bring you back, and in some cases, taking to people saves you and you you have to discuss it, with my friends, with my family, my wife; you have to talk it through.”
When Willoughby quizzed whether the call to come out was his own Schofield valiantly said it was his own volition.
“This is my decision, it was something I knew I had to do,” he said.
“And I don’t what the world will be like, I don’t know how this will be taken or how I will think.”
He added: “At at the same time, I will sit here and say, actually I’m, proud of myself today.”
