Loose Women’s Ruth Langsford opens up on major regret after heartbreaking loss

Ruth Langsford has opened up about the heartbreak she’s faced and said ‘it’s a hard lesson to learn’.

Loose Women presenter Ruth Langsford has revealed the devastating heartbreak she endured after both her parents received dementia diagnoses.

The ITV host, who was formerly wed to Eamonn Holmes, discussed her family circumstances on today’s programme (Monday, 17 November), following news that Pauline Quirke’s relatives had provided an update regarding her dementia condition.

Ruth revealed: “My dad was diagnosed when he was 72, but we look back and go, late 60s, he had behaviours that were out of character for him.

“He was an army man, very clean, smart, shaved twice a day, always clean, started to suddenly not want to have a shower, and was putting his shirt on from the day before.

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“And my mum was going, ‘Why are you wearing that with an egg stain on?’ and he’d go, ‘It’s fine, there’s nothing wrong with it’, suddenly he was a bit grubby, and it was so unlike him,” reports the Express.

She went on: “My dad had Alzheimer’s, my mum sadly now has Alzheimer’s, but I am so much better looking after my mum and being with my mum because of all the mistakes I made with my dad, because there was so little awareness. There needs to be more but we are more aware now.

“When my dad would say things like, ‘Oh I’ve been here before, haven’t I?’ I’d go, ‘No dad,’ because I thought I was helping him remember, and I used to use that word and go, ‘Dad, remember’.

“And now I look back and think, he didn’t remember, he couldn’t remember.

“My mum I don’t do any of that, and if she says, ‘I’ve sat here and done that show,’ I go, ‘Yeah that’s nice,’ and it’s done, there’s no stress.

“But sadly it’s a hard lesson to learn.”

Ruth has previously opened up about looking after her mum Joan, who lives in a care facility close to her Surrey home.

She told The Independent: “She wouldn’t remember what she’s had for her lunch or breakfast, and if I go and see her, when I leave, if you said to her was Ruth here today, she’d say no.

“But in the moment, she still knows it’s me – as soon as she sees me, she says ‘Oh, what a lovely surprise!’ like she hasn’t seen me for months.

“It’s very difficult, but I’m much more well-versed in this with my mum, because of my dad. We as a family had no idea about Alzheimer’s or dementia when he got it, and we were a bit lost. I learned a lot of lessons with my dad.”

Loose Women broadcasts weekdays from 12.30pm on ITV1 and ITVX