Phillip Schofield's admission of an "unwise but not illegal" relationship with a younger male colleague on This Morning has sent shockwaves throughout the showbiz world.
Co-star Holly Willoughby severed ties with her former best friend, sharing her "hurt" over the deception - while ITV said that they were "deeply disappointed" by his "deceit".
One by one, Phillip's former co-stars popped out of the woodwork to slam the host, with Eamonn Holmes accusing ITV of a "total cover-up".
But Phillip has finally broken his silence over the situation with a series of shocking and explosive bombshells in interviews with the BBC and The Sun - from declaring that he is "not a groomer" and why he put a stop to the affair to his final text to Holly Willoughby.
Insists he did not groom his younger colleague
He said: "I did not, I did not (groom him). There are accusations of all sorts of things. It never came across that way (an abuse of power) because we’d become mates. I don’t know about that.
“But of course I understand that there will be a massive judgment, but bearing in mind, I have never exercised that anywhere else. I assume somebody, somewhere, assumed something was going on, correctly, and didn’t say anything."
He referenced a photograph of the man he later had an affair with at a drama school that the former This Morning presenter had visited.
Phillip admitted he felt "massive guilt" over the affair and claimed to have not spoken to the former colleague since stepping down from This Morning but admitted to paying for his lawyers to "to independently work on his behalf".
"I’m sorry. And I will forever be sorry. I will die sorry. I am so deeply mortified," Phillip added.
Reveals how the affair started
Phillip said that the affair became more than just friends after a "consensual moment" in his dressing room in 2017 when his former lover was 21.
Explaining that he was "struggling" with his sexuality at the time, Phillip said that their brief affair was not a relationship and that they shared a moment "five or six times".
He said: “It was not a love affair, it was not a relationship, we were not boyfriends; we were mates.
“It wasn’t feelings (I was getting), it was more like mates: excitement.”
Denies NDA or injunction is in place
Phillip denied allegations that his former This Morning colleague was made to sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) to keep him silent over their affair and feels the truth is coming out now as “the lie got too big for both of us”.
The BBC’s Amol Rajan asked: “Do you know if he has signed an NDA, a non-disclosure agreement, preventing him from speaking?”
Schofield said: “Did I make him sign an NDA? No, absolutely not.”
He also said there is no injunction or any NDA preventing media coverage of their relationship and that his former lover was not paid off for his silence.
Claims he is a victim of hate
While Phillip said that he was not a victim of the situation around the hiddent affair, he said that he feels like a "victim of hate" after the event.
He said: "I think there will probably be a lot of people watching this now thinking, ‘how dare you?’
“It would be easier for me to say I don’t feel like a victim. What I feel a victim of is spun areas of non-factual information and gossip and nastiness. But I don’t look any more.”
Slams homophobia and compares himself to Leonardo DiCaprio
He has suggested that homophobia could be behind some of the criticism his has received over his affair with a younger man.
Phillip said: “Attraction is attraction. It’s no different in the gay world as it is in the heterosexual world or in the lesbian world.
“There shouldn’t be a difference. This is where homophobia comes in.
“We did first meet when he was 15, I visited the drama school (he attended).”
He added: “So yeah, there’s a difference. It’s accepted by Leonardo DiCaprio, it’s not accepted if it’s in the gay world.”
Daughters are 'scared' to leave his side and they 'saved him'
Phillip has said that his daughters are scared to leave his side - and that if they hadn't been there then he wouldn't be.
"Last week if my daughters hadn't been there, I wouldn't be here," he said. "They've been by my side every moment because they're scared to let me out of their sight.
"They’ve guarded me and won’t let me out of their sight, it’s like a weird numbness."
Speaking of the trolling he has faced since admitting the affair,Phillip said: "Do you want me to die? Because that’s where I am."
"It is relentless, and it is day after day, after day after day.
"If you don’t think that that is going to have the most catastrophic effect on someone’s mind… do want me to die? Because that’s where I am. I have lost everything."
Believes TV career is 'over'
Phillip has said that he believes his TV career is over and told BBC host Amol Rajan: "I see nothing ahead of me but blackness and sadness and regret and remorse and guilt."
He said: "I’m not in television any more, I don’t know what I am even remotely – if I get through this. I don’t know even remotely how I move forward – what am I going to do with my days?"
"I see nothing ahead of me but blackness and sadness and regret and remorse and guilt."
He's still married
Despite the revelation of his affair with a younger ITV colleague, Phillip has confirmed that he is still married to his wife Stephanie Lowe.
After coming out as gay in 2020, Schofield said he had 'no plans' to ask for a divorce and has now revealed that he and Steph are still legally married.
"I had a wonderful marriage.. have! a wonderful marriage", correcting himself - before proudly flashing up his gold wedding band still on his left hand.
"Not brilliant right now," he added, before praising Steph as being an 'incredibly supportive wife.'
''Two beautiful children who had the most wonderful time as a family, a four is who we are."
Why he put a stop to the affair
Phillip admitted that the "lies grew bigger and bigger", which affected both parties involved in the affair, he claims.
He said: "At the time I did not think about it possibly ruining my career. I really probably only thought about it when I saw the rumour mill, and saw it growing.
"The lies grew bigger and bigger and bigger and it was affecting both of us deeply. It got to the stage where it was out of control and for whatever cost, it had to stop.
"I have massive guilt, and regret. I’ve made a mistake, I’ve had an affair at work."
Claims he didn’t lie to protect his career and it was for ex-lover
He said: "But I didn’t lie to protect my career, he didn’t want his name in public. He wanted his own life. The lies grew bigger and bigger and bigger and it was affecting both of us deeply.
"It got to the stage where it was out of control and for whatever cost, it had to stop."
Phillip continued: "I think my greatest apology must go to him.
"It has brought the greatest misery into his totally innocent life, his totally innocent family, his totally innocent friends. It has brought the greatest grief to them."
His ‘shocking’ realisation over first photo with ex
After insisting that he did not groom the young man, Phillip addressed a photo circulating on social media of the two meeting when his ex-lover was only a teenager.
He said: "At the time I did not think about it possibly ruining my career. I really probably only thought about it when I saw the rumour mill, and saw it growing.
"Then I saw the link with the drama school photo all those years before, and thought, 'this looks shocking'."
He’s still pals with ex-lover
Phillip claimed in the interviews that he was not in a relationship with the young man, insisting that they were just "mates" who had an affair and that they are still friends.
He admitted that he felt "massive guilt" over the affair and apologised to his former lover.
Phillip claimed to have not spoken to the former colleague since stepping down from This Morning but admitted to paying for his lawyers to "independently work on his behalf".
Phillip's final text to Holly
Phillip said that he texted Holly at the time that the scandal broke out... but he has received no reply.
“The last time we had a conversation was when I texted Holly and said, ‘Don’t reply’ – this was after the statement last week – ‘Don’t reply, you’re probably not allowed to, but I am deeply deeply sorry that I lied to you,'" he said.
The former presenter added: "And I am. It was the one secret in our sanctuary that was never mentioned.”
What really sparked his 'feud' with Holly
Phillip has referred to Queue-gate as the moment that sparked a rift in his relationship with Holly.
Phillip says he knew the incident was a bad idea and claimed the pair are now forever associated with "queue jumping".
He said: "I don’t ever throw anyone under the bus, but I have a very good instinct for these things and I knew it was a bad thing to do. But there is no reason that the justification that was given to me, shouldn’t have been true."
“There was no jumping of the queue. We went and spoke to everyone in the queue. We went out and met everyone in the queue then walked all the way around the building, and went into the press centre with your accreditation," Phillip recalled.
"That got messed up because the production team didn’t want to give either of our emails out, so they used work emails which obviously didn’t match up with who we are."
Holly 'did not know' about affair
Phillip has said that he's apologised to Holly for lying about the affair and that he's let her down.
He said: “I’ve lost my best friend. I let her down (Holly). I let that entire show down. I let the viewers down.
“Holly did not know (about the affair). And she was one of the first texts that I sent, to say, ‘I am so, so sorry that I lied to you’.
“She didn’t reply and I understand why she didn’t reply, as well. So yeah. If anyone is in any way linking Holly to this; that is absolutely, wholly untrue.”
He later added to the BBC, when asked, “Who knew on the team?” that “To my knowledge, I mean, somebody has to know something for there to be a rumour later on. I didn’t believe that anybody knew.”
Phillip compares himself to Caroline Flack
He said: “If my girls hadn’t been there, I wouldn’t be here. Because I don’t see a future.
“How much do you want a man to take – and are you truly only happy when he’s dead? This is how Caroline Flack felt and it didn’t stop."
Former Love Island host Caroline took her life in 2020 at the age of just 40 after being accused of assaulting her then boyfriend Lewis Burton.
The Met Police were criticised for the way they handled the case and have since apologised.
A coroner later ruled the star killed herself because she knew she was facing prosecution and feared the media attention surrounding her trial.
Comparing himself to his late ITV colleague Caroline, Phillip said he knew he had done something wrong and had "owned up to it", but felt criticism from trolls was "constant".
He said: “A friend texted me this morning saying, ‘Mate, this is relentless. What’s the agenda? When is this going to stop?’
“Someone said you’re being treated like Jack the Ripper and I haven’t looked at a single thing. That would be the final push.”
Response to Eamonn Holmes and Dr Ranj's 'toxic bully' claims
Eamonn Holmes and Dr Ranj Singh are among former ITV stars who have spoken out to condemn Schofield's position at ITV's flagship daytime show after his affair confession.
It has also been revealed that a panellist on Loose Women made a formal complained about Schofield, with Carol McGiffin saying last night that 'nobody' on the sister show was a fan of his.
Responding to the allegations, Phillip denied he is a bully.
He also denied claims that he was 'untouchable' and moved his former lover to Loose Women in a bid to 'cover up' their affair when it ended.
"I have never abused my power anywhere, I'm not a bully. You read the things you are supposed to be. I don't lord it over TV studios. Everyone is a friend.
"I've had texts from people I worked with saying 'Oh my God' I cant believe they are saying this we love working with you.'
"I snapped once at one of producers around the time I came out and after the meeting I went and apologised. It's not me I don't do that. I'm not rude on the studio floor. I don't lord it around."
Addressing criticism from his former co-stars, Schofield said: "Some people may be toxic, and see toxicity everywhere because that's the lens they are looking at the world."
He's 'vaping so much his hands are blistered'
In his interview with The Sun, Phillip is seen smoking on a blue vape held in his hand.
He said "I am not sleeping, I am not eating. There's a lot of Southern Comfort. My mind is in constant, utter turmoil. I think back to regrets, forwards to... What do I do now? What I am going to do now?
"I've been vaping, a lot. I didn't realise until suddenly it hurt, but I've been sitting looking up at the sky or out of the window, just staring into space.
"I just sit on the sofa and stare. I realise by doing that, I've blistered both hands."
Wife's reaction to affair
Phillip described his wife as being "very, very angry" after he confessed to the affair.
He had previously denied rumours about the affair to her when she had asked about them.
The former presenter said: “She got off a plane and I phoned her up and texted saying, ‘I need to talk to you’.
“She called back and I told her. She was very, very angry.”
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