Ruth Langsford made a rare statement about the state of marriage to Eamonn Holmes just days before the couple announced they had split.

The news was announced in a shock statement on Saturday that has completely blindsided fans of the TV couple. Representatives for the couple shared: “Ruth Langsford and Eamonn Holmes have confirmed their marriage is over and they are in the process of divorcing.”

Some eagle-eyed fans had noticed that the duo hadn’t been seen together for a few months. Eamonn also raised eyebrows when he shared a snap of him cosying up to Page 3 girl Linda Lusardi on Instagram with his followers asking ‘Where is Ruth?”

Amid the confusion, Ruth, 64, gave an awkwardly timed magazine interview where she admitted she was going through a ‘testing time’ with her husband.

Ruth shared her fears that Eamonn, who she shares son Jack with, ‘might never be 100 per cent right again’ as she spoke about the impact his chronic back pain. Eamonn has battled the condition for two years.

Eamonn has undergone operations and has daily physio sessions but is yet to find relief for the agonising condition.

Ruth said: “I don’t know how much Eamonn’s mobility will improve. We live in hope.

“He does the physio, but there might have to be some acceptance that this might never be 100% right.

“With any care situation – and there are millions of carers in this country – it isn’t always easy.

“It’s testing but we manage as a family.”

Speaking in Woman’s Weekly about the importance of good health and ageing, she added: “I look at Eamonn, who’s had his health and back problems, and it makes you realise how important your health is.”

On Friday the Mirror told how TV legend Eamonn is taking part in painful physio sessions almost every day in a bid to get fully back on his feet. He had operations on his back to help with bulging discs but then faced a setback when he fell and broke his shoulder last year.

New photos showed him in London’s Notting Hill on two sticks and later in a wheelchair after another tough session.

A source close to 64-year-old Eamonn told the Mirror: “Eamonn has been using walking aids for around 18 months now so not much has changed unfortunately. He is doing everything he can but the lack of progress from the physio has obviously been a bit frustrating. But he continues to have physio sessions pretty much every day and continues to work hard in his rehabilitation.

“He is in pain a lot of the time and so that is not fun at all but he keeps going and he is loving his work still and he is a journalist at heart.”

Despite his daily pain, Eamonn continues in his job and thankfully sits down when working for GB News Mondays-Wednesdays which makes life easier. Eamonnn himself has voiced fears in the past about how much of a recovery he can make.

Speaking in January the presenter said the “harsh reality” could be that he may never be able to walk alone again unaided.

Discussing his woes, he said: “It’s as if somebody up there is playing with my life.

“In the past year I’ve had an operation on my back which went wrong and has confined me to a wheelchair. I’ve fallen and broken my shoulder. Honestly you could not make it up.”

He added: “I have tried every treatment, but you go, ‘Maybe I’ll never get out of it,’ which is a harsh reality to face.”

Ruth and Eamonn first met in 1997 when they were introduced by mutual friends and they then dated for over a decade before Eamonn popped the question and they married in 2010.

Asked for the secret of their relationship, Ruth said: “I think always respect, mutual respect. And we laugh a lot. I think love and lust and everything’s wonderful at the start of a relationship. But really…you’ve got to have that connection as friends where you feel comfortable with each other.”