One of the most recognizable faces on British TV has surprised viewers and the wider industry by coming out as gay.
Phillip Schofield, who co-hosts ITV’s mid-morning chat show This Morning, posted a lengthy message to his Instagram today to say that after being married to wife Steph for the past 27 years, he was coming out.
Related: Jameela Jamil comes out on Twitter
Schofield, 57, got his first big break on TV when he began working for Children’s BBC in 1985. He has been a near-constant presence on British TV screens since that time, graduating to co-hosting This Morning in 2002. He also co-hosts primetime show Dancing on Ice.
How about we take this to the next level?
Our newsletter is like a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
His full statement reads as follows.
“You never know what’s going on in someone’s seemingly perfect life, what issues they are struggling with, or the state of their wellbeing – and so you won’t know what has been consuming me for the last few years. With the strength and support of my wife and my daughters, I have been coming to terms with the fact that I am gay.
“This is something that has caused many heart-breaking conversations at home. I have been married to Steph for nearly 27 years, and we have two beautiful grown-up daughters, Molly and Ruby…
“My family have held me so close: they have tried to cheer me up, to smother me with kindness and love, despite their own confusion. Yet still I can’t sleep and there have been some very dark moments.
“My inner conflict contrasts with an outside world that has changed so very much for the better. Today, quite rightly, being gay is a reason to celebrate and be proud. Yes, I am feeling pain and confusion, but that comes only from the hurt that I am causing to my family.
“Steph has been incredible – I love her so very much. She is the kindest soul I have ever met. My girls have been astonishing in their love, hugs and encouraging words of comfort. Both mine and Steph’s entire families have stunned me with their love, instant acceptance and support.
“Of course they are worried about Steph but I know they will scoop us both us.
“My friends are the best, especially Holly [Willoughby], who has been so kind and wise – and who has hugged me as I sobbed on her shoulder. At ITV, I couldn’t hope to work with more wonderful, supportive teams…
“Every day on This Morning, I sit in awe of those we meet who have been brave and open in confronting their truth – so now it’s my turn to share mine. This will probably all come as something and I understand, but only by facing this, by being honest, can I hope to find peace in my mind and a way forward. Please be kind, especially to my family. Phillip.”
Related: Celebrity YouTube beauty vlogger comes out as trans
Schofield co-hosts This Morning with Holly Willoughby. On today’s show, which aired minutes after Schofield’s Instagram posting appeared. Willoughby and Schofield addressed his coming out as the first topic of discussion.
“This is a big day, I know this is something you’ve been living with for a really long time,” said Willoughby.
Schofield said everyone he’s talked to had been supportive and told him they loved him and were proud of him.
“Every person I tell it gets a little lighter and a little lighter,” he said. “At the same time I have made this decision which is essential for me and essential for my head and that is principally the reason I have done this. They have been supporting while we get to this moment because we all know it was coming.”
Schofield and Willoughby have interviewed many members of the public and celebrities, and many of their interviewees have touched upon LGBTQ issues.
‘Everyone does these things at their own speed in their own time when the time is right,” said Schofield. “There’s no question it has in recent times consumed by head and has become an issue in my head, and so I got to the stage where I thought we sit here every day and I’m over there and some amazingly brave incredible person it sitting here and I’m listening to their story and thinking oh my God you’re so brave, and I’m thinking I have to be that person.”
LGBT advocacy group Stonewall was among the first to congratulate Schofield.
“Incredibly brave and moving announcement from Phillip Schofield this morning. It takes a lot of courage and is always a hugely personal decision to be open about who you are. Congrats Phillip.”
Incredibly brave and moving announcement from Phillip Schofield this morning. It takes a lot of courage and is always a hugely personal decision to be open about who you are. Congrats Phillip ? https://t.co/TY32BaL2vL
— Stonewall (@stonewalluk) February 7, 2020
A tweet from fellow broadcaster Richard Osman summed up the high regard with which Schofield is held in the British TV industry.
When you create a new entertainment show and start discussing who should host, the first name on the list is always Phillip Schofield. That’s a fact. He’s just the very best at what he does, and the public adore him. Looking forward to many more years of his charm and brilliance.
— Richard Osman (@richardosman) February 7, 2020
“When you create a new entertainment show and start discussing who should host, the first name on the list is always Phillip Schofield,” said Osman. “That’s a fact. He’s just the very best at what he does, and the public adore him. Looking forward to many more years of his charm and brilliance.”
PLAYS WELL WITH OTHERS
Good on him! Everyone is entitled to navigate their own coming out process. Unfortunately pressure to conform to an expectation of “normal” in many situations causes a person to cloak themselves into a false being. He is incredibly lucky to have the support he has.
Donston
This is why the idea of “coming out” no longer being a big deal is BS. People are still risking their reps, their jobs, their relationship with their friends and family, and they’re putting themselves in very vulnerable positions. This is also why I try not to judge anyone’s journey unless they are despicable people. It’s almost never as easy “be yourself”. Hetero pressures in the world are both direct and suggestive. A ton of “queer” males contend with mental health issues, internalized homophobia, homo inferiority complexes and/or self-misandry. Confusion is real. Fluidity is real. The romantic, sexual, affection, emotion, relationship spectrum is real. It’s often not as easy as “be yourself”, especially when you’ve amassed a whole family and life. Hopefully, him and his family are taking step towards a collective peace of mind.
Chrisk
Good for him. Live your truth. We only get one life.
ShiningSex
Good for him. More people should come out. Stop with the variation “safe” labels. Be who you are.
Gary Q VV
It’s good to read articles such as this one. Gay-powerful publicity helps all of the LGBTQ community.
Brexit
I work so have never seen his TV shows. He fronts TV ads for an online car buyer and there has been the occasional fleeting appearance I’ve seen. With that, I’d always assumed he was gay and had no idea he was a married father!
Kudos to him anyway but, personally, I found it a little underwhelming.
Sotzume
Been watching Schofield for years. This is not a shock. Believe me.
@dusyk
I know right! I thought it was already known, my bad
controversial2019
When I heard, I actually asked; “Hasn’t he always been out?” To which I was told about his wife and kids. Never knew he had kids or a wife. Had ALWAYS thought him to be an openly gay Male…
Terrycloth
Today you no longer have to marry a woman to hide being gay. He must have know he would have sex with her eventually..if he was with a women and had children hes bi….
broadshoulder
I remember him in his twenties on the TV. But I honestly wonder if any heterosexual knows how diificult it is?
fireman452
The prince in Romeo and Juliet shouts “All are PUNISHED”, him for having looked the other way at the fight between the two families and the families for their hate that ended in the death of the two lovers. Society needs to come to grips with these “norms” that forces round pegs into square holes and the impact the hate society nurtures for individuals that love members of the same gender. The odd thing about this is that the focus by most of these self proclaimed “holier than thou” is on the “sex” not the love. These people totally ignore the unconditional love these individuals have for each other. So the end result is for some individuals to try to normalize themselves and what happens eventually? – they sooner or later come to grips with their own sexuality. Who pays? – Society suddenly finds itself in a confused position with someone who they thought was one thing and now must accept his or her actual situation. It appears that we are SLOWLY moving towards accepting life’s realities.
Doug
Great for him. I thought the reactions from his co-workers were very moving. I wish I’d had the opportunity to come out with that much love around me.
iminheatlikeacat
You obviously don’t know about the alleged stories that have recently come out between him and his coworkers, lol. This article is very one sided and hasn’t delved into the seedier slant of this story and why he has now decided to come out all of a sudden (and yes, gay rumours about him have been going since the early 90s).
Thomas
He had a lot of love around him, apparently a little too much with one person. Look on twitter for #MatthewMcGreevy, I think that was the real reason he came out.
boymikefl
Some people, especially liars, don’t explain themselves very well. They’re so used to lying, telling the truth is not come naturally to them. I stopped watching when he said, “We’ve always been honest.” Are you telling me the woman chose to commit her entire life & start a family with a gay man? If so, then I’m wrong. You’ve always been honest? I think he meant “since he told her” maybe 5, 10 years ago. This guy’s a mess. He should take responsibility for all the hurt. Hard to celebrate after lifetime of knowing you’re hurting someone by lying 24/7. The guilt will destroy him.
ingyaom
I thought this was about the actor Paul Scofield, but he’s deceased … and wasn’t gay … as far as we know.
Joshua333
You didnt know? It was kinda obvious….
cruzerdad
I guess coming out at any age is good since repression, especially sexual, isn’t healthy. It’s just ridiculous in this day and age that so many men have and are still marrying women knowing they are bi or gay. It’s especially unfair to the women who lose much of their lives and identities to a “sham” marriage. I just helped a friend come out to his wife recently, and it DID NOT go well, not nearly as well as it appears to have for Mr. Schofield. So good for him.
Donston
I would guess that at least 30% of dudes are either homosexual and gay in every way, or they’re within the sexual, romantic passions, affections, emotional investment, relationship contentment spectrum. Not nearly all of those guys would be happier and more fulfilled with someone of their sex. Yes, hetero pressures, secret keeping, denial, self-resentment, shame, etc. could have been at play here. Some of those things likely were. But we don’t know what type of fluidity or confusions he may have experienced over the years. We don’t even know how much his wife knew from the beginning or what motivations she had marrying him. We don’t know a lot of shit. Don’t assume you know people’s lives or relationships from a distance.
iminheatlikeacat
@Donston
“I would guess that at least 30% of dudes are either homosexual and gay in every way,”
Are you drunk? Or just generally deluded?
Georgeiv2
I am English and remember how good looking he was a a younger man ( Hes still quite a looker ) the only surprise for me was that its taken so long to affirm it I had presumed that he had ‘come out @ years ago . I can however say how much I admire his family , It must be a great slap in the eye for his wife who must be one in a million , but surly he must have acted upon it to know for certain you cant just be gay in your mind !! so I am just a tad confused . Still its not for me to judge so good luck to the entire family and lets hope that they can be happy with the new status quo.
Donston
There are people who are entirely homosexual but never act upon it. So, yeah, it’s “in their mind”. Just like some who are bisexual in whatever ways never really indulge much of anything beyond one sex. Sexuality isn’t just sexual acts. In fact, the behavior and enjoyment of sexual acts is only a small part. There’s arousal, attractions, passions, desire. And it’s easy to dismiss those things if you’re not indulging the acts. Furthermore, a lot of people feel as if despite being homosexual or sexually homo-leaning they’re not really “gay”. They either don’t have any interests in legit being with someone of their sex, or they suppress their same-sex preferences, affections, romantic passions, emotional longing, love. Or rather they suppress those things till they can’t any longer and want legit and persistent same-sex affections and connection and relationships. Once again, we don’t know enough about this man or his journey to come to any real conclusions.
Baldmedic64
For heaven’s sake Mr Schofield: (I don’t know you personally). Just because you are a very well known TV personality (unless you are reading this in USA, in which case, sorry to bother you) It doesn’t mean that you need to tell the World about your private life. I would not personally give a damn if you were inclined to dress up as a banana in a tutu and stand on your head in a corner whilst singing the Wombles theme tune in Yiddish when at home. You are a TV presenter with talent and presence. You have been around for many years and never once offended anyone through your ability to entertain. Be happy with who you are. You clearly have a wonderful family. Why you feel it necessary to announce yourself to the populace is a mystery to me. Frankly, I’d be more interested if Julian Clarey came out as being straight. Never the less, I hope your announcement improves your wellbeing.
Donston
Well, “coming out” is still a huge deal for many people, especially if they have been contending with long-term confusion, internalized homophobia, hetero pressures, self-denial, self-resentment, manipulating people, etc. Don’t dismiss people’s desires to open up and come clean. I don’t feel like a TV announcement was the most tactful way to go, especially since he has a family. On the other end, there are rumors that he was forced to come out because a news outlet was about to out him. And if he does plan on living a “new life” and having legitimate and non-closeted same-sex relationships then this helps to get the rumors and questions out of the way. He still could have handled things with a tasteful write-up on social media or with an published interview. But don’t flat-out dismiss the coming out process, even if you don’t care for the way an individual handles it. Doing so just reflects that you likely support the closet and support internalized homophobia and public manipulation. While yes, these stories do help others who are struggling to be honest with themselves and others.