When he ‘came out’ as gay in 2020, Phillip Schofield said that he was relying on the continued love of his wife Steph.

Steph, who he married in 1993, and their two daughters have supported him throughout the scandal over his ‘unwise but not illegal’ romance with a young work colleague which cost him his TV career in 2023.

And it can be revealed that two years on from the events which saw him quit This Morning, his marriage remains solid.

Phil, 63, still wears his wedding ring, he still spends time at the ‘family home’ and, according to accounts just filed by his company Fistral Productions, he and Steph are still in business together.

Steph Schofield set up the firm with husband Phil in 2010 and she remains a director.

In fact it is ‘S Schofield’- not P – who has signed the latest accounts. They show just over £2 million in net equity in the firm, which means that it has remained financially stable despite the change in his circumstances.

Notes to the accounts say that the company is owed over £900,000 by Fistral Properties, which again is owned by the husband and wife.

+6
View gallery

When he ‘came out’ as gay in 2020, Phillip Schofield said that he was relying on the continued love of his wife Steph (pictured together in 2019)

+6
View gallery

Steph, who he married in 1993, and their two daughters, pictured in 2018, have supported him throughout the scandal over his ‘unwise but not illegal’ romance with a young work colleague

Their status is that they are officially separated – he has a home in Chiswick, west London – and yet ‘still together’.

Three years earlier, in February 2020, Schofield praised his ‘remarkable’ wife after he announced his sexuality live from the This Morning sofa.

He admitted after the revelation, that he knew he was gay when he tied the knot with Stephanie.

But he told how he had been leading the ‘perfect life’ as a married family man and said he hadn’t wanted anything to get in the way of their happiness.

Schofield said he knew he had caused his wife great pain saying: ‘That is what makes this so hard. Knowing you are hurting the perfect person but I still love Steph as much as when we first met. More, probably.’

It was later revealed Stephanie chose not to file for divorce because she did not want her husband to ‘fall any further’ than he already has, and despite everything, ‘the love is still very much there’.

Schofield made his TV comeback in Channel 5 series Cast Away last October.

Schofield spoke of the ‘utter betrayal’ by ITV colleagues, claiming he was ‘chucked under a bus’ and went on to appear to take a swipe at Holly. He was shown discussing his decision to make the show at the marital home in Henley with Steph and their daughters Molly and Ruby.

+6
View gallery

Schofield has told how he had been leading the ‘perfect life’ as a married family man and hadn’t wanted anything to get in the way of their happiness (pictured: Phillip and Steph in 1997)

+6
View gallery

In February 2020, Schofield (pictured with former co-host Holly Willoughby) praised his ‘remarkable’ wife after he announced his sexuality live from the This Morning sofa

He told how he had ‘locked himself away from the outside world’ in the wake of the scandal and revealed how, in the depths of despair, he considered ending it all.

Speaking on the first episode of the three-part series Schofield said: ‘In the last eighteen months, it got as dark as it is possible to get.

‘A year ago I got so, so close. I had everything in place, everything was set up and everything was ready.

‘Molly and Ruby both looking after me at the time, and Molly said: “Do you imagine what this would do to us if you actually managed to pull this off? Can you imagine what would happen and can you imagine what it would do to me if you did this on my watch?”

‘That was just enough, just enough to take a step back from the edge. I could have been hospitalised, I just raced to the family home and shut the gates and I was in there.’

Paying tribute to his wife and daughters he said: ‘Without them, I wouldn’t be here.’

In the aftermath of the 2023 scandal, Schofield – who had also presented Dancing on Ice with Holly and racked up a series of lucrative advertising deals – was dropped as an ambassador for the Prince’s Trust.

Schofield later admitted he had made ‘a grave error’ but insisted the affair was ‘unwise but not illegal’.

+6
View gallery

Schofield made his TV comeback in Channel 5 series Cast Away last October, pictured

+6
View gallery

Last week he was pictured enjoying an afternoon at a bar with a friend, Joshua Sharman

He said at the time: ‘I have to talk about television in the past tense, which breaks my heart. I have lost everything.’

For Schofield, the hardest part to explain was the impact the revelations had on wife Stephanie, who he remains married to after 32 years along with the heartaches suffered by Molly, 31, and youngest daughter Ruby, 28.

He said: ‘I had a wonderful marriage, have a wonderful marriage, although it’s not brilliant right now, with an incredibly supportive wife and two wonderful children.’

Describing the moment he confessed the affair to his wife he said: ‘Let’s just say it was an incredibly difficult conversation. The most difficult conversation I’ve ever had to have with her, and she is extremely disappointed because I lied to her as well.’

Last week he was pictured enjoying an afternoon at a bar with a friend, Joshua Sharman, a nurse and senior lecturer in adult nursing at London South Bank University. He lives with Scott Brown, a longstanding friend of Phil’s.

Speaking at the family home in Leicester his father Mark Sharman, 61, told the Daily Mail: ‘My son and Phil have been good friends for many years.

‘They’re not partners, they’re pals, and had gone out with a group. They don’t know what all the fuss is about.’

Mark insisted he believed Schofield had been treated unfairly by ITV saying: ‘I’ve met Phil – he’s a lovely guy but I’ve not seen him for some time.

‘I think he’s doing very well now after what he’s been through. Phil was persecuted by ITV, they tried to ruin his life.’