Clutching a vape in one hand and the waist of his younger male companion in the other, Phillip Schofield looked every inch the carefree bachelor as he emerged from a boozy afternoon in London.
The former This Morning presenter, 63, was accompanied by Joshua Luke Sharman — a London-based nurse — during a visit to the capital’s first LGBTQ+ dedicated cinema, the Arzner Bar & Café in Bermondsey.
In the sweltering summer heat, Schofield appeared slightly worse for wear, but had Sharman — who describes himself as a “nurse, academic, inexperienced aviator and clueless but optimistic PhD candidate” — close by as a steadying presence. 
Absent was the other steady figure in his life: wife Stephanie Lowe, the woman who has stood by him for more than three decades.
Schofield, who publicly came out as gay over five years ago, has remained married to Stephanie despite living openly as a gay man. Their 32-year union has survived infidelity, scandal, and a career-ending fallout — but his latest public appearance has once again sparked speculation about whether divorce could be on the horizon.
The pair’s love story began when Schofield, then 25, was a fresh-faced children’s TV presenter and Stephanie was a production assistant for CBBC. They married six years later in the romantic surroundings of the 16th-century Ackergill Tower in Scotland’s Sinclair’s Bay.
Stephanie was already pregnant with their first child, Molly, who arrived in July 1993, followed by Ruby in 1996 — the same year Schofield made the leap into mainstream TV and West End theatre. Stephanie was a constant presence at his side through years of red-carpet events and career highs.
But their marriage weathered a major storm when Schofield admitted to an affair with a younger male colleague while hosting This Morning. His confession, and the collapse of his friendship with Holly Willoughby, left him in a dark place — at one point suicidal. Stephanie, however, remained by his side.
Speaking to The Sun at the time, she said: “I love Phillip as much today as I ever have, and always will… Although this is difficult for us all, I support Phillip in taking this brave step. I will still be there, holding his hand.”
Insiders have claimed the couple’s decision to stay together is partly down to co-dependency, with one friend saying: “They still love each other. It’s that simple.”
Last year, the couple allowed Channel 5 cameras into their Oxfordshire home for Schofield’s docuseries Phillip Schofield: Cast Away. The series — which followed him living alone on a remote island — also featured emotional scenes with his daughters, including Molly describing how his coming out initially “turned everything upside down” for their family.
In one heartbreaking moment, Schofield revealed he had planned a suicide attempt but was stopped when Molly begged him to think about the impact on his family. “That was just enough to take a step back from the edge,” he recalled. “Without them, I wouldn’t be here.”
During the programme, Schofield also addressed his affair: “It was an unwise and unprofessional thing to do. I will be forever sorry. I screwed up. I made a mistake, and I hurt the people around me.”
Now, as Schofield enjoys afternoons out that give him the air of a single man, the question remains: after everything, will his marriage to Stephanie endure — or is the end finally in sight?
Source: https://www.heart.co.uk/showbiz/
