Many parents find themselves feeling a little lonely come September, when teenagers across the nation set off for university, and it was certainly no different for Loose Women's Ruth Langsford!
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Speaking exclusively to HELLO! in a new interview, the famous presenter opened up about her son Jack – who she shares with husband Eamonn Holmes - leaving the family home, and it certainly sounded as though it took the doting mum a while to adjust!
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"That first week I literally felt like I'd had my womb ripped out," the This Morning host revealed.
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© Photo: InstagramRuth, Eamonn and their son Jack
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"I'm better now. We're kind of in week three now, and he's settled really well."
There is a plus side to Jack leaving home, though – he's started to perfect his cooking skills!
Ruth continued: "He's being really chilled about it all and coping – he's even cooked something. So that's a good sign. He sent me a picture of his stir fry."
Jack's abilities in the kitchen clearly mean a lot to Ruth, who insisted that she'd always aimed to "send a man out into the world who can cook, change a bed and iron a shirt".
Ruth revealed it took a while to adjust to Jack being gone
The 60-year-old also told HELLO! that at one point, she'd even found her son leaving home too difficult to talk about, and was almost lost for words when presenting Loose Women.
"I was saying on Loose Women, I almost couldn't talk about it," the TV star explained.
What's more, Ruth said that she can't even bear to go into her son's empty room while he's not there.
"The door's shut, because I can't bear to go in there at the moment."
And it seems that even the family's beloved pet dog Maggie is missing Jack, with Ruth even catching the adorable pooch sniffing at the teenager's bedroom door while he's away.
© QVCThankfully, Ruth has her brand new fashion collection with QVC to keep her mind of Jack being gone!
"Maggie came up the stairs, she walked over to his [Jack's] room, and the door's shut, and she sniffed all under the door, and I was kind of watching, and then she looked up at the door. Then she saw me, and it literally broke my heart."
Poor Maggie! We're sure the entire family are looking forward to be reunited when Jack returns home for the holidays.
Ruth Langsford’s new AW20 collection and must-have best-sellers are available now at qvcuk.com.
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