Phillip Schofield made a documentary in South Africa with his wife Stephanie Lowe, which was released a year after his younger lover joined This Morning, it has emerged.
The veteran TV presenter, 61, quit ITV altogether with immediate effect last week after he confessed to lying to the Mail On Sunday, talent agency YMU and his colleagues about his affair behind his wife’s back.
Schofield’s younger lover, whom MailOnline has decided not to name, is now in his 20s but he was just 15 when he met the broadcaster at a talk he was giving at a theatre school, The Mail on Sunday revealed.
At the time, the schoolboy asked him for a job, and Schofield later arranged an interview for him. It led to a position as an ITV production assistant when he turned 18. Some time afterwards, their affair began.
It’s thought the runner started working at This Morning in 2016 – a year before Schofield’s South African Adventure was published; the three-part ITV series saw Phillip visit the country with his wife, with the two putting on an affectionate display.
Phillip Schofield made a documentary in South Africa with his wife Stephanie Lowe (pictured together), which was released a year after his younger lover joined This Morning, it has emerged
‘This trip promises to be the journey of a lifetime and I’m so glad my wife Steph can join me for it,’ Schofield said at the start of the programme.
The presenter – who had been married to Steph for 27 years when he came out as gay in February 2020 – added that the country had been ‘on our list of dream destinations for many years.’
In the second episode, he continued his praise of his other half, saying: ‘The perk of this trip is that my wife Steph is joining me.
‘In Cape Town we discovered she is my better half in every aspect… except drumming,’ he added, referring to a scene in the earlier episode where she failed to master the art of the instrument.
The couple were also seen buying gifts for their daughters, Ruby 27, and Molly, 30, as well as Schofield’s former co-presenter Holly Willoughby.
Another moment showed the pair enjoying a meal together before going on safari, with the presenter commenting that it was one of the best places to have breakfast.
His wife said: ‘I’ll drink to that,’ to which Schofield cheekily responded: ‘No surprise there then.’
During the safari, the couple witnessed rhinos and giraffes in their natural habitat, with Steph becoming tearful at the sight.
‘I’ve welled up, I can’t believe it,’ she admitted, while her husband offered her a hand on her shoulder for comfort.
The show was released in 2017, a year after the veteran TV presenter’s younger lover started his job with This Morning, according to The Mirror.
After Schofield came out as gay, it was suggested that although they had separated, he and his wife Steph would remain married until they were both ready to move on.
That October, Schofield confirmed the pair were still married in Chris Evans’ podcast – and he was photographed wearing his wedding ring as recently as January 2023.
It’s thought the runner started working at This Morning in 2016 – a year before Schofield’s South African Adventure was published; the three-part ITV series saw Phillip visit the country with his wife, with the two putting on an affectionate display
‘This trip promises to be the journey of a lifetime and I’m so glad my wife Steph can join me for it,’ Schofield said at the start of the programme (pictured)
The presenter – who had been married to Steph for 27 years when he came out as gay in February 2020 – added that the country had been ‘on our list of dream destinations for many years.’
In the second episode, he continued his praise of his other half, saying: ‘The perk of this trip is that my wife Steph (pictured left) is joining me’
‘I’m still married to Steph. With divorce… we’ve not discussed that at all,’ he told Evans.
However, it is unclear whether this will change in the wake of recent revelations, to which Steph and her family have not yet publicly responded.
Schofield last week admitted the ‘unwise’ romance with a much younger male colleague took place during the couple’s marriage – adding that he was ‘so very sorry’ for being unfaithful.
It came after footage re-emerged of Schofield discussing his relationship with Steph, and the difficulties they faced during his coming out, in an interview with fellow ITV star Lorraine.
He said: ‘[There were] lots and lots of hours talking to Steph and hugging Steph. We talked the whole thing through. There were no secrets, there have never been any secrets. What I knew, she knew.’
Schofield also claimed in the interview in October 2020, seven months after making the announcement about his sexuality: ‘It’s not in my nature to hurt people.’
The couple met while they were both working for the BBC, Stephanie as a production assistant and Schofield presenting children’s TV. He once told Lorraine: ‘She worked in television years ago, that was how we met.’
Schofield and Stephanie married at the 16th century Ackergill Tower in northern Scotland in 1993, and welcomed their eldest daughter Molly in the same year.
During the safari, the couple witnessed rhinos and giraffes in their natural habitat, with Steph becoming tearful at the sight. ‘I’ve welled up, I can’t believe it,’ she admitted, while her husband offered her a hand on her shoulder for comfort (pictured)
The couple (pictured) were also seen buying gifts for their daughters, Ruby 27, and Molly, 30, as well as Schofield’s former co-presenter Holly Willoughby
‘In Cape Town we discovered she is my better half in every aspect… except drumming,’ the presenter added, referring to a scene (pictured) in the earlier episode where she failed to master the art of the instrument
Another moment showed the pair (pictured) enjoying a meal together before going on safari, with the presenter commenting that it was one of the best places to have breakfast
The couple had a second daughter, Ruby, in 1996.
For most of their married life, Schofield and Stephanie lived with their children in Henley-on-Thames Oxfordshire.
They kept their relationship rather private, with the mother-of-two largely staying out of the public eye despite her husband’s fame in the UK.
However, she did appear in Schofield’s three-part documentary in 2017 – Schofield’s South African Adventure. Stephanie was also featured in his 2019 show How To Spend Well At Christmas.
But their picture perfect life was thrown into the air in February 2020, when Schofield came out as gay to his 2.7 million followers on social media.
His statement read: ‘You never know what’s going on in someone’s seemingly perfect life, what issues they are struggling with, or the state of their wellbeing – and so you won’t know what has been consuming me for the last few years.
‘With the strength and support of my wife and my daughters, I have been coming to terms with the fact that I am gay.’
Schofield later said he believed he was bisexual at the time he married Steph.
In a follow-up post, he spoke about how Steph had continued to support him after he came out.
‘Steph has been incredible – I love her so very much. She is the kindest soul I have ever met. My girls have been astonishing in their love, hugs and encouraging words of comfort.
‘Both mine and Steph’s entire families have stunned me with their love, instant acceptance and support. Of course, they are worried about Steph, but I know they will scoop us both up.’
His wife, with whom he celebrated 25 years of marriage in 2018, immediately rallied behind him, releasing a statement in support of his ‘brave step’.
She said: ‘I love Phillip, as much today as I ever have, and always will. We’ve been awestruck by the strength and love of our precious girls, even as they’ve been trying to make sense of it all for themselves. Our family have also been so supportive and will help us going forward.
‘Although this is difficult for us all, I support Phillip in taking this brave step. I will still be there, holding his hand. Everyone should be proud to live their own truth.’
The pair went their separate ways shortly after, with Schofield moving out of the family home in Oxfordshire into a bachelor’s pad in Chiswick, west London.
But they appeared to be as close knit as ever, never filing for divorce and both being pictured wearing their wedding and engagement bands as recently as January.
Stephanie has yet to release a statement in the wake of Schofield’s admission that he had an affair with a This Morning colleague during their 30 years of marriage.
On Friday, Phillip admitted that he had lied about his relationship with the man, plunging ITV into meltdown and losing millions of pounds of sponsorship deals in the aftermath.
Phillip Schofield had been married to Stephanie Lowe for 27 years when he came out as gay
In the aftermath of Schofield’s announcement in 2020, it was suggested that although they had separated, the couple would remain married until they were both ready to move on
That October, Schofield confirmed the pair were still married in Chris Evans’ podcast – and he was photographed wearing his wedding ring as recently as January 2023
ITV has continued to insist that it carried out an investigation in 2020, after rumours of Schofield’s affair with a younger male employee began to circulate.
But last night, while ITV maintains both parties were interviewed, sources close to his former lover said he was never quizzed on the matter.
Yesterday, Schofield broke his silence slamming a ‘handful of people’ with ‘persistently loud voices’ and rejected claims that there was a ‘toxic’ on the show.
In a statement posted on his Instagram, the 61-year-old presenter said: ‘Now I no longer work on This Morning I am free to say this. I hope you have noticed that it’s the same handful of people with a grudge against me or the show who seem to have the loudest voice.
‘This Morning IS the best show to work on, with the best people. In all the years I worked there was no toxicity.
‘You can listen to those persistently loud voices if you like. But the thousands of guests over the years, thousands of staff and crew, hundreds of presenters and contributors all know it, it IS a family of wonderful, talented, kind, hard, working people.’
It came after This Morning’s former resident doctor Dr Ranj Singh called out the programme for having a ‘toxic culture’.
He said he had raised concerns about ‘bullying and discrimination’ two years ago while he was still working on the programme but felt like he was ‘managed out’ for whistleblowing’.
Dr Ranj said he raised his concerns with senior executives at ITV because he had been heavily involved in ‘diversity, anti-bullying and mental health projects’ across the channel.
‘I then found myself being used less and less,’ he continued.
His wife, Stephanie Lowe, 59, with whom he shares two daughters, Ruby, 27, and Molly (pictured), 30, vowed to stand by him after he came out as gay
Speaking out for the first time since leaving the show, Schofield hit out at those ‘with a grudge against me’ (pictured)
‘I even took my concerns directly to the top of ITV: the culture at This Morning had become toxic, no longer aligned with ITV values, and I felt like because I whistle-blew I was managed out.
‘But as history and experience have taught us, things like bullying and discrimination are very hard to prove, particularly in hindsight and when the ‘people in power’ control the narrative. As we’ve seen, no review or investigation is foolproof.’
An ITV Spokesperson said in response to his post: ‘We are sorry to read Dr Ranj’s post today.
‘At ITV we are fully committed to providing every opportunity for anyone who works with us to raise any concern or comments they may have.
‘Following a complaint made by Dr Ranj, we appointed an external and independent advisor to carry out a review. This external review found no evidence of bullying or discrimination.’
This Morning has been the site of an ongoing scandal after Schofield admitted in a statement to the Daily Mail on Friday that he had lied about his relationship with a younger man to ITV, his lawyers, his talent agency and his co-star of 14 years.
On Monday the scandal showed no signs of easing with new photos emerging of a smiling Schofield with his former lover and Holly Willoughby in 2018 as they left a This Morning Live event.
In another blow to the ITV programme, with This Morning’s biggest sponsor Arnold Clark announcing it would be pulling out of its existing multi-million-pound deal with the channel this autumn as planned.
And the Mail revealed that while ITV insists that it held an investigation into the men’s relationship when rumours began to circulate in 2020, the host’s former lover is reported to have never been quizzed over the matter.
Willoughby is understood to be battling to maintain her presenting role on the show and hopes to ride out the scandal.
She has been off-air since Schofield’s sudden departure, but this was due to a planned holiday for the school half term break.
Now, Willoughby is facing calls for her to also leave the show, with former culture secretary Nadine Dorries claiming the much loved presenter ‘has questions to answer’.
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