Ruth Langsford might have been blindsided by her split from Eamonn Holmes two years ago, but she’s done living in the past and ready for what’s next.
As well as her new book, Feeling Fabulous, becoming an instant success and hitting number two on The Sunday Times bestseller list, Ruth is open and candid on a number of topics, including why she changed her mind on therapy and the possibility of dating again.
But when it comes to ex Eamonn - who she was with for 27 years, married for 14 of them - Ruth’s recent blunt response seems to suggest she’s not spending too much time thinking about him. When asked if Eamonn had read her new book, she simply replied, "Don’t know".
For Ruth, the book - and, indeed, her next chapter in life - is about more than her divorce. She told Heart's breakfast radio hosts Jamie Theakston and Amanda Holden, "I don't discuss the divorce.
"I don't go into any detail about the divorce, I talk about how I'm dealing with moving forward, finding myself single at 65 years old, which I didn't think would ever happen but here I am.
"It's not discussing why we got divorced or anything about that, it's talking about the experience of when you thought your life was going one way, and then it goes a different direction - and how you cope."
A big focus for Ruth's book, as the title suggests, is learning to find your way back to feeling fabulous, no matter what. And she shared that, for her, this starts with appreciating small joys each day.
"Find the joy because it's always there. We all lead such fast-paced lives. When you have those little moments of your first coffee, seeing a robin in the garden, a sunrise, a sunset - you have to hold onto that moment and pause.
"Just pause for a few seconds... I try to do that, just stop and smell the coffee."
Naturally, Ruth was asked about her dating life, and she revealed there is one thing she is categorically ruling out - dating apps.
On the show, she laughed, "Oh god, I won't be swiping. If I'm going to [date], Jamie, I want to do it the old-fashioned way.
"You know, that I might just walk out of here, bump into somebody and go 'oh sorry' and then find myself having a coffee with them. I don't know, but I won't be swiping anyone."
Previously, in an exclusive chat with woman&home, Ruth shared that her split hasn't put her off a new relationship, but she's also found being single at 65 isn't "as scary" as she thought.
She said, "I haven’t been put off having a relationship. I haven’t even been put off marriage, but I’m definitely not actively looking, and part of that is because I’ve realised I’m actually quite good on my own".
"I am independent and quite strong. It has taken me a bit of time [to realise that] and I don’t know what lies ahead, but that chapter now feels quite exciting.
"It’s not as scary as I thought."
Ruth might be in a place to embrace being single now, but there are still parts of the book that evoked painful memories for her, including revisiting the loss of her sister. Ruth’s sister, Julia, passed away in 2019, after struggling with depression.
When asked if writing her first book came easy to her, the Loose Women star answered, "It was. When I say easy, I say I enjoyed writing each chapter for different reasons.
Some, though, were "obviously very challenging… and I did the audio book myself, so talking about my sister's chapter, I'm not sure how I got through that one but I did."
