Phillip Schofield gives heartfelt thanks for overwhelming support and urges others to come out, too
Schofield responded to the messages of support he received (ITV/Twitter)
Phillip Schofield has given thanks for the thousands of messages of messages of support he received after coming out as gay, and encouraged others not to suffer in silence as he did.
Yesterday the This Morning presenter, 57, announced on social media that he had struggled with his sexuality throughout his 27-year marriage to his wife, Stephanie Lowe.
“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,” he wrote. “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 daughters, I have been coming to terms with the fact that I am gay.”
His announcement was met with an outpouring of love and support from friends, family, fans and colleagues, and the LGBT+ community welcomed him with open arms.
Schofield responded to the comments on Friday evening, posting on Twitter and Instagram: “You will never know how important your support has been today, I’ve read as much as I can.
“Please please, no matter your age or your thoughts, TALK to someone, don’t let your head beat you and hopefully you’ll find out that your friends and family have a remarkable ability to surprise you with their love and understanding. #bekind”
— Phillip Schofield (@Schofe) February 7, 2020
Not everyone reacted positively, though. As well as the inevitable Twitter trolls, Schofield’s co-presenter Eammon Holmes was criticised for responding to the news with a “sleazy” sexual joke about Schofield and Holly Willoughby in a hot tub.
And the Daily Mirror was forced to issue a grovelling apology after initially reporting Schofield’s coming out as “bizarre” in a headline reminiscent of the 1980s.
As the newspaper was condemned on social media for its “horrible, idiotic choice of words,” it quickly retracted the headline and deleted the tweet.
