Holly Willoughby is thought to be prioritising her family after a’really difficult’ few months as she departs This Morning for a two-month summer holiday.
Despite declaring pauses in past years, the 42-year-old host signed out her farewell show with a ‘See you, bye,’ forgetting to admit it would be a time until she returned.
This comes in the wake of Phillip Schofield‘s shocking disclosure, which came after allegations that Holly and her then-co-presenter had been ‘barely communicating’ since 2009, and their relationship had cooled behind the scenes.
After confessing a ‘unwise but not illegal’ affair with a young male show runner, Schofield, 61, resigned from This Morning and then from all his ITV duties, including presenting the British Soap Awards.
Meanwhile, Holly took a break from the programme and returned feeling “shaken, worried, let down,” and “full of questions.”
Despite reports of ‘toxicity’ on the set of This Morning by previous guests Dr Ranj Singh and Eamonn Holmes, Holly continued to host the show without mentioning the claims, while Alison Hammond and Dermot O’Leary similarly dismissed ‘nonsense’ rumours elsewhere.
Holly is now taking another sabbatical from the show, following a low-key exit from the show that she did not publicly disclose.
The remarks come after Holly released a heartfelt letter in which she announced the death of her mother-in-law, Sandra.
She shared a cheerful snap of them raising a glass together and wrote: ‘Sleep well Sandra… Nonna, Mother, Sister, friend… To know her was to know strength itself… Raising four children after losing her husband, she then lost a son and more recently her sister…
‘Thank you for your guidance, advice and bottomless Prosecco. Thank you for raising the incredible man I’m married to… I see your strength everyday in our children… Be at peace…Love you ❤️.’
The insider elsewhere continued: ‘[Holly] and Dan [Baldwin] are closer than ever – he provided her with so much support following Phillip’s departure, and she was able to be there for him after his mother died.
‘It sounds strange, but the devastating year they’ve had has brought their family together.
‘She will be thinking about the future and making sure her family is her priority.’
Holly has been absent from This Morning since Monday, which is said to be her ‘usual and planned break over the summer’.
Her break is expected to go ahead as scheduled and was not pushed back due to her mother-in-law’s death.
She is not scheduled to return to the screen until September, when her normal summer sabbatical ends.
This Morning airs weekdays from 10am on ITV1.
