There are certain moments during parenthood which are the most painful, but it’s something that cannot be stopped.
After starting a family, it’s only natural to imagine the future and big milestone events such as marriage, buying a home and the day your children fly the nest.
The last point is particularly painful, especially if it leaves your home empty afterwards.
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This is what popular daytime TV host Ruth Langsford, 63, experienced after she tearfully disclosed what she went through after her son moved out.
The Loose Women star recently shared that it felt as though ‘part of my heart ripped out’ when her son, Jack, went off to university to study broadcast journalism.
Jack, who is now 21, is the only child Ruth shares with husband Eamonn Holmes.
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The young lad move from his family home in Surrey to Salford University in Manchester which left Ruth feeling 'horrendous' and as though she couldn’t process his departure.
Speaking to Hello! Magazine's In A Good Place podcast, she explained: “That first week of not having him at home literally felt like part of my heart ripped out.
“It would be worse if they didn't want to. I kept his bedroom door shut.
“I remember coming into his bedroom and crying and getting hold of the pillow and I could smell him on the pillow.”
The distraught mother would even sob into his pillow during the initial period and think about his absence.
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Ruth continued: “That first week was horrendous because I was just so used to having him around. And half the time they don't talk to you.
“We always moan about our teenagers: ‘I don't know why I'm here, you never b****y talk to me any way, I'm just like your slave’.
“Then when they're gone, you miss making them breakfast and you miss picking their blazer off the floor and you miss their big trainers in the hall that always drive you mad.”
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It had also been an incredibly tough year for the family as Ruth's sister, Julia Johnson, died in 2019 after experiencing years of depression.
Thankfully, through the support of her husband, she was able to get through it.
In October this year, Ruth spoke to Kaye Adams on the How to be 60 podcast and shared: “The hardest year of my life was when my sister died. I can't even tell you what year it is, because I've blocked it from my memory really.
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“Eamonn was amazing during that time and Jack and then work.
“I needed a focus, which was - get up and I would cry in the shower - have a big old bawl - and then I could almost cut it off and go: 'Right, come on, time for work, dry your hair, go to work'.
“I needed that, because I could lie and cry all day about my sister. I needed that focus and structure back in my life.”
Featured Image Credit: Instagram/@rosiejnixon/@ruthlangsfordTopics: Loose Women, Parenting, TV And Film, Celebrity